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5. Chapter on Abuse 1. Discourse on Disputes 41. Then the venerable Upāli approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, the venerable Upāli said to the Blessed One: "What, venerable sir, is the reason, what is the cause, why quarrels, contentions, disputes, and controversies arise in the Saṅgha, and the bhikkhus do not dwell at ease?" "Here, Upāli, bhikkhus declare what is not Dhamma to be Dhamma, they declare what is Dhamma to be not Dhamma, they declare what is not Vinaya to be Vinaya, they declare what is Vinaya to be not Vinaya, they declare what was not spoken or uttered by the Tathāgata to be spoken or uttered by the Tathāgata, they declare what was spoken or uttered by the Tathāgata to be not spoken or uttered by the Tathāgata, they declare what was not practiced by the Tathāgata to be practiced by the Tathāgata, they declare what was practiced by the Tathāgata to be not practiced by the Tathāgata, they declare what was not laid down by the Tathāgata to be laid down by the Tathāgata, they declare what was laid down by the Tathāgata to be not laid down by the Tathāgata. This, Upāli, is the reason, this is the cause, why quarrels, contentions, disputes, and controversies arise in the Saṅgha, and the bhikkhus do not dwell at ease." First. 2. First Discourse on the Roots of Disputes 42. "How many, venerable sir, are the roots of disputes?" "There are ten roots of disputes, Upāli. Which ten? Here, Upāli, bhikkhus declare what is not Dhamma to be Dhamma, they declare what is Dhamma to be not Dhamma, they declare what is not Vinaya to be Vinaya, they declare what is Vinaya to be not Vinaya, they declare what was not spoken or uttered by the Tathāgata to be spoken or uttered by the Tathāgata, they declare what was spoken or uttered by the Tathāgata to be not spoken or uttered by the Tathāgata, they declare what was not practiced by the Tathāgata to be practiced by the Tathāgata, they declare what was practiced by the Tathāgata to be not practiced by the Tathāgata, they declare what was not laid down by the Tathāgata to be laid down by the Tathāgata, they declare what was laid down by the Tathāgata to be not laid down by the Tathāgata. These, Upāli, are the ten roots of disputes. roots of contention.” The second. 3. The Second Discourse on the Roots of Contention 43. “How many roots of contention are there, venerable sir?” “There are ten roots of contention, Upāli. Which ten? Here, Upāli, monks declare a non-offense to be an offense, they declare an offense to be a non-offense, they declare a light offense to be a grave offense, they declare a grave offense to be a light offense, they declare a serious offense to be a non-serious offense, they declare a non-serious offense to be a serious offense, they declare an offense with a remainder to be an offense without a remainder, they declare an offense without a remainder to be an offense with a remainder, they declare an offense that can be remedied to be an offense that cannot be remedied, they declare an offense that cannot be remedied to be an offense that can be remedied. These, Upāli, are the ten roots of contention.” The third. 4. The Kusinārā Discourse 44. At one time the Blessed One was staying in Kusinārā, in the Baliharaṇa forest grove. There the Blessed One addressed the monks, saying: “Monks!” “Venerable sir!” those monks replied to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this: [Cūḷava. 399; Pari. 436] “A monk, bhikkhus, who wishes to admonish another, should examine five qualities within himself and establish five qualities within himself before admonishing the other. Which five qualities should be examined within himself? A monk, bhikkhus, who wishes to admonish another, should examine thus: ‘Is my bodily conduct pure? Am I endowed with pure bodily conduct, without flaw, without reproach? Does this quality exist in me, or not?’ If, bhikkhus, a monk’s bodily conduct is not pure, if he is not endowed with pure bodily conduct, without flaw, without reproach, then there will be those who say to him: ‘Come now, venerable sir, train yourself in bodily conduct!’ Thus will there be those who say to him. “Furthermore, bhikkhus, a monk who wishes to admonish another should examine thus: ‘Is my verbal conduct pure Am I, endowed with purified verbal conduct, flawless and irreproachable? Does this quality exist in me, or not? If, monks, a bhikkhu is not of purified verbal conduct, not endowed with purified verbal conduct, flawless and irreproachable, then there are those who will say to him: ‘Come now, venerable one, train in verbal conduct!’ So will there be those who say to him. Again, moreover, monks, a bhikkhu who wishes to admonish another should thus reflect: ‘Is my mind established in loving-kindness towards my fellow practitioners, without ill-will? Does this quality exist in me, or not?’ If, monks, a bhikkhu’s mind is not established in loving-kindness towards his fellow practitioners, without ill-will, then there are those who will say to him: ‘Come now, venerable one, establish a mind of loving-kindness towards your fellow practitioners!’ So will there be those who say to him. Again, moreover, monks, a bhikkhu who wishes to admonish another should thus reflect: ‘Am I learned, a holder of the teachings, a collector of the teachings? Are those teachings beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end, expounding the holy life complete and pure, with meaning and with letter— are such teachings well-learned by me, retained by me verbally, familiarized by me mentally, well-penetrated by me through understanding? Does this quality exist in me, or not?’ If, monks, a bhikkhu is not learned, not a holder of the teachings, not a collector of the teachings, if those teachings beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end, expounding the holy life complete and pure, with meaning and with letter— if such teachings are not well-learned by him, not retained by him verbally, not familiarized by him mentally, not well-penetrated by him through understanding, then there are those who will say to him: ‘Come now, venerable one, learn the scriptures!’ So will there be those who say to him. Again, moreover, monks, a bhikkhu who wishes to admonish another One who desires to admonish should reflect thus: 'Are both Pātimokkhas well-received by me in detail, well-divided, well-practiced, well-determined, according to the suttas, according to the minor points? Does this Dhamma exist in me or not?' If, bhikkhus, both Pātimokkhas are not well-received by the bhikkhu in detail, well-divided, well-practiced, well-determined, according to the suttas, according to the minor points, when asked, 'Venerable sir, where was this said by the Blessed One?', he will not be able to answer. Then there will be those who say to him: 'Come now, Venerable sir, learn the Vinaya!' So they will say to him. These five qualities should be reflected upon internally. Which five qualities should be established internally? 'I will speak at the right time, not at the wrong time; I will speak what is factual, not what is not factual; I will speak gently, not harshly; I will speak what is beneficial, not what is unbeneficial; I will speak with a mind of loving-kindness, not with inner ill-will' – these five qualities should be established internally. Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu who desires to admonish another should admonish the other after reflecting on these five qualities internally and establishing these five qualities internally. The Fourth. 5. The Discourse on Entering the Royal Harem 45. Bhikkhus, there are these ten dangers in entering the royal harem. Which ten? Here, bhikkhus, a king is seated with his chief queen. A bhikkhu enters there. Either the chief queen, seeing the bhikkhu, reveals a smile, or the bhikkhu, seeing the chief queen, reveals a smile. Then the king thinks: 'Surely, they have done something, or they will do something!' This, bhikkhus, is the first danger in entering the royal harem. Furthermore, bhikkhus, a king, being very busy, having many duties, goes to a certain woman and forgets her – 'She conceives a child by him.' Then the king thinks: 'No one else enters here, except for the recluse. Could it be... the ascetic's doing." This, monks, is the second danger in entering the royal inner palace. "Furthermore, monks, in the king's inner palace, some jewel goes missing. Then the king thinks: 'No one else enters here except the ascetic. Could it be the ascetic's doing?' This, monks, is the third danger in entering the royal inner palace. "Furthermore, monks, in the king's inner palace, secret counsels from within become known outside. Then the king thinks: 'No one else enters here except the ascetic. Could it be the ascetic's doing?' This, monks, is the fourth danger in entering the royal inner palace. "Furthermore, monks, in the king's inner palace, a father desires his son, or a son desires his father. Then they think: 'No one else enters here except the ascetic. Could it be the ascetic's doing?' This, monks, is the fifth danger in entering the royal inner palace. "Furthermore, monks, the king places a low-ranking person in a high position. Those to whom this is displeasing then think: 'The king is indeed associated with the ascetic. Could it be the ascetic's doing?' This, monks, is the sixth danger in entering the royal inner palace. "Furthermore, monks, the king places a high-ranking person in a low position. Those to whom this is displeasing then think: 'The king is indeed associated with the ascetic. Could it be the ascetic's doing?' This, monks, is the seventh danger in entering the royal inner palace. "Furthermore, monks, the king dispatches the army at an improper time. Those to whom this is displeasing then think: 'The king is indeed associated with the ascetic. Could it be the ascetic's doing?' This, monks,