English
9. The Chapter on the Suspension of the Pātimokkha 1. Request for the Recitation of the Pātimokkha 383. At that time, the Buddha, the Blessed One, was staying in Sāvatthī, in the Pubbārāma, the palace of Migāra's mother. Now at that time, on that Uposatha day, the Blessed One was seated, surrounded by the assembly of bhikkhus. Then, when the night was far advanced, when the first watch had passed, Venerable Ānanda rose from his seat, arranged his upper robe over one shoulder, and, having saluted the Blessed One with joined hands, said to him: "The night, venerable sir, is far advanced; the first watch has passed; the assembly of bhikkhus has been seated for a long time. Let the Blessed One, venerable sir, recite the Pātimokkha to the bhikkhus." When this was said, the Blessed One remained silent. A second time, when the night was far advanced, when the middle watch had passed, Venerable Ānanda rose from his seat, arranged his upper robe over one shoulder, and, having saluted the Blessed One with joined hands, said to him: "The night, venerable sir, is far advanced; the middle watch has passed; the assembly of bhikkhus has been seated for a long time. Let the Blessed One, venerable sir, recite the Pātimokkha to the bhikkhus." A second time, the Blessed One remained silent. A third time, when the night was far advanced, when the last watch had passed, when the dawn had broken, when the night was smiling, Venerable Ānanda rose from his seat, arranged his upper robe over one shoulder, and, having saluted the Blessed One with joined hands, said to him: "The night, venerable sir, is far advanced; the last watch has passed; the dawn has broken; the night is smiling; the assembly of bhikkhus has been seated for a long time. Let the Blessed One, venerable sir, recite the Pātimokkha to the bhikkhus." "The assembly, Ānanda, is not pure." Then it occurred to Venerable Mahāmoggallāna: "Whom, I wonder, does the Blessed One have in mind when he says: 'The assembly, Ānanda, is not pure'?" Then Venerable Mahāmoggallāna encompassed the entire assembly of bhikkhus with his mind, pervading it with his mind. Venerable Mahāmoggallāna saw that person. a wicked, immoral, evil-natured one, impure and of suspicious conduct, with hidden deeds, no ascetic, but claiming to be an ascetic, no celibate, but claiming to be a celibate, inwardly rotten, leaky, a mere lump of refuse, sitting in the midst of the community of bhikkhus. Having seen him, he approached that person. Having approached, he said to that person: “Get up, friend, you have been seen by the Blessed One; there is no dwelling together with the bhikkhus for you.” When this was said, that person remained silent. A second time, indeed, Venerable Mahāmoggallāna said to that person: “Get up, friend, you have been seen by the Blessed One; there is no dwelling together with the bhikkhus for you.” A second time, indeed, that person remained silent. A third time, indeed, Venerable Mahāmoggallāna said to that person: “Get up, friend, you have been seen by the Blessed One; there is no dwelling together with the bhikkhus for you.” A third time, indeed, that person remained silent. Then, indeed, Venerable Mahāmoggallāna, taking that person by the arm, led him out beyond the door-post, and having fastened the bolt, he approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he said to the Blessed One: “That person, sir, has been expelled by me; the assembly is pure; let the Blessed One, sir, recite the Pātimokkha for the bhikkhus.” “Wonderful, Moggallāna, amazing, Moggallāna, that such a deluded man would wait even until he was taken by the arm!” Then, indeed, the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus: 2. The Eight Wonders of the Great Ocean 384. “Bhikkhus, there are these eight wonderful, amazing qualities in the great ocean, which, seeing again and again, the asuras delight in the great ocean. Which eight? “The great ocean, bhikkhus, slopes gradually, inclines gradually, descends gradually, and does not drop off abruptly. That, bhikkhus, the great ocean slopes gradually, inclines gradually, descends gradually, and does not drop off abruptly – this, bhikkhus, is the first wonderful quality in the great ocean. A noble, wonderful quality, seeing which again and again, the Asuras delight in the great ocean. Again, furthermore, monks, the great ocean, by its nature, does not overflow its shore. And that, monks, the great ocean, by its nature, does not overflow its shore – this, monks, is the second amazing, wonderful quality in the great ocean, seeing which again and again, the Asuras delight in the great ocean. Again, furthermore, monks, the great ocean does not dwell with any dead corpse. Whatever dead corpse there is in the great ocean, that it quickly washes to the shore, it casts it onto the land. And that, monks, the great ocean does not dwell with any dead corpse, whatever dead corpse there is in the great ocean, that it quickly washes to the shore, it casts it onto the land – this, monks, is the third amazing, wonderful quality in the great ocean, seeing which again and again, the Asuras delight in the great ocean. Again, furthermore, monks, whatever great rivers there are, namely – the Gaṅgā, the Yamunā, the Aciravatī, the Sarabhū, the Mahī, having reached the great ocean, they abandon their former names and lineages, they are reckoned only as the great ocean. And that, monks, whatever great rivers there are, namely – the Gaṅgā, the Yamunā, the Aciravatī, the Sarabhū, the Mahī, having reached the great ocean, they abandon their former names and lineages, they are reckoned only as the great ocean – this, monks, is the fourth amazing, wonderful quality in the great ocean, seeing which again and again, the Asuras delight in the great ocean. Again, furthermore, monks, whatever streams in the world flow into the great ocean, and whatever rain showers fall from the sky, by that, no decrease or increase in the great ocean is perceived. And that, monks, whatever streams in the world flow into the great ocean, and whatever rain showers fall from the sky, by that, no decrease or increase in the great ocean is perceived – this, monks, is the fifth amazing, wonderful quality in the great ocean... a wondrous, amazing quality, which, seeing again and again, the asuras delight in the great ocean. "Furthermore, monks, the great ocean has one taste, the taste of salt. That, monks, the great ocean has one taste, the taste of salt— this, monks, is the sixth wondrous, amazing quality in the great ocean, which, seeing again and again, the asuras delight in the great ocean. "Furthermore, monks, the great ocean has many jewels, innumerable jewels. Therein are these jewels: pearl, gem, lapis lazuli, conch, rock, coral, silver, gold, ruby, and cat's eye. That, monks, the great ocean has many jewels, innumerable jewels, therein are these jewels: pearl, gem, lapis lazuli, conch, rock, coral, silver, gold, ruby, and cat's eye— this, monks, is the seventh wondrous, amazing quality in the great ocean, which, seeing again and again, the asuras delight in the great ocean. "Furthermore, monks, the great ocean is the abode of great beings. Therein are these beings: timi, timingala, timitimiṅgala, asuras, nāgas, gandhabbas. There are in the great ocean bodies a hundred leagues long, bodies two hundred leagues long, bodies three hundred leagues long, bodies four hundred leagues long, bodies five hundred leagues long. That, monks, the great ocean is the abode of great beings, therein are these beings: timi, timingala, timitimiṅgala, asuras, nāgas, gandhabbas; there are in the great ocean bodies a hundred leagues long... bodies five hundred leagues long— this, monks, is the eighth wondrous, amazing quality in the great ocean, which, seeing again and again, the asuras delight in the great ocean. These, monks, are the eight wondrous, amazing qualities in the great ocean, which, seeing again and again, the asuras delight in the great ocean." 3. In this Dhamma-Vinaya, eight wondrous, amazing qualities 385. Just so, monks, in this Dhamma and Discipline there are eight wonderful, amazing qualities, which seeing again and again, monks delight in this Dhamma and Discipline. Which eight? Just as, monks, the great ocean slopes gradually, inclines gradually, shelves gradually, it does not have an abrupt drop; just so, monks, in this Dhamma and Discipline there is gradual training, gradual practice, gradual path, there is no abrupt penetration of knowledge. That, monks, in this Dhamma and Discipline there is gradual training, gradual practice, gradual path, there is no abrupt penetration of knowledge – this, monks, is the first wonderful, amazing quality in this Dhamma and Discipline, which seeing again and again, monks delight in this Dhamma and Discipline. Just as, monks, the great ocean remains within its bounds, it does not overflow its shore; just so, monks, whatever training rule I have laid down for my disciples, my disciples do not transgress it even for the sake of life. That, monks, whatever training rule I have laid down for my disciples, my disciples do not transgress it even for the sake of life – this, monks, is the second wonderful, amazing quality in this Dhamma and Discipline, which seeing again and again, monks delight in this Dhamma and Discipline. Just as, monks, the great ocean does not tolerate a dead corpse, whatever dead corpse is in the great ocean, it quickly washes it to the shore, casts it onto the land; just so, monks, that person who is immoral, of evil nature, impure in conduct, suspicious in behavior, with concealed deeds, not a recluse but claiming to be a recluse, not a celibate but claiming to be a celibate, inwardly rotten, oozing, a heap of refuse, the Sangha does not tolerate him, quickly gathering, they expel him, even if he is sitting in the midst of the assembly of monks. Then he is far from the Sangha, and the Sangha from him. That, monks, that person who is immoral,