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Homage to that Blessed One, Arahant, Perfectly Enlightened Buddha. In the Vinaya Piṭaka Pārājika Section Commentary (First Part) Introduction to the Work He who, for myriads of aeons, Performing deeds most difficult, Suffered weariness for the world's good, the Lord— Homage to that Greatly Compassionate One. That which is not awakened, but served by the Buddha, Which goes through existence and non-existence, the world of beings— Homage to that excellent Dhamma, Destroyer of the net of defilements like ignorance. He who is endowed with virtues Such as morality, concentration, wisdom, Liberation, and knowledge, A field for beings seeking merit— That Noble Saṅgha I salute with my head. Thus, having paid homage to The Triple Gem, worthy of utmost veneration, I obtained abundant streams of merit; By its power, obstacles are removed. That in which the teaching, though unestablished, Becomes established for the well-established; That unmixed Vinaya I shall explain, Relying on the power of the former teachers. Although by the foremost former teachers, Whose defilements and impurities were washed away by the water of knowledge, Who possessed pure knowledge and analytical insights, And were skilled in expounding the good Dhamma, Who were hard to find in their ascetic practices, Like banners of the Great Monastery, This Vinaya was expounded with methods, With various thoughts, in the lineage of the Supreme Buddha. This exposition, however, Being composed in the language of the island of Sri Lanka, Does not convey any meaning To the bhikkhus in other islands. Therefore, I shall now begin This exposition, conforming to the Pāli method, Mindfully recalling the request Of the elder named Buddhassiri. And beginning that exposition, Making the Great Commentary its body, And likewise the Mahāpaccariya, And the well-known Kurundi and others, The decisions stated in the commentaries, Not abandoning the appropriate meaning, From that, too, including the Theravāda, I shall properly begin the exposition. May the elders and bhikkhus, Both new and middle, listen to me with serene minds, The Dhamma of the Tathāgata, The lamp of the Dhamma, with reverence. Respecting. By the Buddha, Dhamma and Vinaya were spoken; Which by his sons was likewise known; By whom, surpassing their (own) opinions; Because previously they made commentaries. Therefore, what was said in the commentaries; Excluding that which is a careless writing; All of it, for those respectful of the trainings; Because it is the standard here for the wise. And then, having abandoned merely the difference in language; And having condensed the path of elaboration; And having left nothing out of the determination; And having not deviated at all from the Canon. The meaning of the words of the Suttanta; Explaining it in accordance with the Suttas; Because this will be an explanation; Therefore, it should be diligently studied. External Introductory Account There, I shall explain it. Because it is said to lead away (from evil), the Vinaya must first be defined. Therefore, it is said – "Here, by Vinaya is meant the entire Vinaya Piṭaka." And for its explanation, this is the summary: By whom, when, and for what reason it was spoken, And by whom it was memorized and brought (down), And where it is established—having stated this, then the method. Of the text beginning with "By that", The meaning in various ways; Showing, I shall make, An explanation of the meaning of the Vinaya. There, "by whom, when, and for what reason it was spoken"—this statement refers to the words beginning with "At that time, the Buddha, the Blessed One, was dwelling in Verañjā." This, indeed, is not the Buddha's own direct statement. Therefore, it must be stated: "By whom was this statement spoken, when was it spoken, and for what reason was it spoken?" It was spoken by the Venerable Elder Upāli, and that, moreover, at the time of the First Great Council. Account of the First Great Council This, the so-called First Great Council, although it is mentioned in the Khandhaka on the Council of Five Hundred, for the sake of skill in the introduction, should be known here also in this manner. Indeed, beginning with the Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma, up to the taming of the wanderer Subhadda, after the Buddha's work was done, in Kusinārā, in the Upavattana Sāla Grove of the Mallas, between the twin Sāla trees, on the full moon day of Visākhā, at dawn, the unconditioned... When the Blessed One, the Lord of the world, had attained final Nibbāna, the Nibbāna-element with no remainder, and seven days after the Blessed One's final Nibbāna, the Elder of the Sangha, the Venerable Mahākassapa, for the seven hundred thousand monks assembled at the Blessed One's final Nibbāna, remembering the words spoken by Subhadda, the old renunciant: "Enough, friends, do not grieve, do not lament! We are well rid of that great ascetic! We were troubled by being told: 'This is allowable for you, this is not allowable for you!' Now we shall do what we wish, and what we do not wish, we shall not do!" (Cūḷava. 437; Dī. Ni. 2.232) [He thought:] "Indeed, there is this possibility, that evil monks, thinking the teaching to be without a teacher, might soon gain a following and make the True Dhamma disappear. As long as the Dhamma and Vinaya stand, so long is the teaching not without a teacher. For this was said by the Blessed One: 'Whatever Dhamma and Vinaya have been taught and laid down by me, Ānanda, for you, that shall be your teacher after my passing.' (Dī. Ni. 2.216). "Why don't I recite the Dhamma and Vinaya, so that this Dispensation may endure for a long time, may be long-lasting. And since I was by the Blessed One – having said: 'Will you, Kassapa, wear my coarse, rag-robe garments?' and by sharing the use of the robe, and by saying: 'I, monks, whenever I wish, quite secluded from sensual pleasures... I enter and dwell in the first jhāna; Kassapa too, monks, whenever he wishes, quite secluded from sensual pleasures... he enters and dwells in the first jhāna.' In this and other ways, in the nine progressive attainments and the six supernormal powers, which are superhuman states, having been favored by being placed on an equal footing with himself, what other debt of gratitude could there be for him? Did not the Blessed One, like a king granting his own armor and authority to a son who would establish his family lineage, thinking, 'This one will be the establisher of my lineage of the True Dhamma,' favor me with this extraordinary favor?" thinking, "It will be so," he aroused the bhikkhus to compile the Dhamma and Vinaya. As it is said: "Then the venerable Mahākassapa addressed the bhikkhus: 'Once, friends, I was traveling on the road from Pāvā to Kusinārā with a great company of bhikkhus, with five hundred bhikkhus'" (Dī. Ni. 2.231). All the Subhadda episode should be understood in detail. After that, it is said: "Come now, friends, let us chant the Dhamma and the Vinaya. Before the unrighteous shines forth, the righteous is pushed back; before the undisciplined shines forth, the disciplined is pushed back. Before the advocates of unrighteousness become strong, the advocates of righteousness become weak; before the advocates of undiscipline become strong, the advocates of discipline become weak" (Cūḷava. 437). The bhikkhus said: "Then, venerable sir, let the Elder select the bhikkhus." The Elder, rejecting many hundreds and many thousands of ordinary individuals, stream-enterers, once-returners, non-returners, dry-insight Arahants who held the entire nine-fold teaching of the Master, selected only Arahant bhikkhus, mostly those declared by the Blessed One as foremost in various categories such as the three knowledges, who were masters of the entire Tipitaka and its divisions, and who had attained analytical knowledge, numbering four hundred and ninety-nine. Concerning them, this was said: "Then the venerable Mahākassapa selected five hundred Arahants minus one" (Cūḷava. 437). Why did the Elder make it one less? To make an opportunity for the venerable Ānanda Thera. For it was not possible to hold the Dhamma compilation either with or without that venerable one. That venerable one was a trainee, still having things to do, therefore it was not possible with him. But since he had not received any Suttas, Geyyas, etc., taught by the Ten-Powered One, without the Blessed One's presence, it was not possible without him. If so, even though he was a trainee, he should have been selected by the Elder due to his great usefulness for the Dhamma compilation. Why then was he not selected? To avoid blame from others. For the Elder trusted the venerable Ānanda very much. he was, for indeed, even when white hairs appeared on his head, he was admonished with the address of "youngster," "This youngster did not know moderation." And this venerable one, born into the Sakya clan, was the Tathāgata's brother, the son of his paternal uncle. There, the bhikkhus, thinking it was like acting out of desire, might have criticized, "The elder, setting aside many bhikkhus who had attained the unconditioned analytical knowledges, chose Ānanda, who had attained the conditioned analytical knowledges." Avoiding that criticism from others, he did not choose him, thinking, "Without Ānanda, the recitation cannot be done; I will take him with the bhikkhus' consent." Then the bhikkhus themselves requested the elder for Ānanda's sake. As it is said: "The bhikkhus said to the venerable Mahākassapa: 'Venerable sir, this venerable Ānanda, though a trainee, is incapable of going an improper course due to desire, hatred, delusion, or fear; and much Dhamma and Vinaya has been learned by him in the presence of the Blessed One; therefore, venerable sir, let the elder also choose the venerable Ānanda.' Then the venerable Mahākassapa also chose the venerable Ānanda." Thus, with that venerable one, chosen with the bhikkhus' consent,