English
"Bought with money" means a son bought from his parents, or a slave bought from his owners, by giving money and imposing the status of a slave. These two should not be ordained. If one ordains them, they should be made non-slaves according to the custom in those places, and then ordained. "Brought by force" means they plunder a foreign country, or entice people, and bring free people from a foreign country; or the king commands some village that has committed an offense within the country, "Plunder it!" and then they also bring people. There, all the men are slaves, the women are slave women. Such a slave brought by force, while living with those who brought him, or imprisoned in a jail, or guarded by men, should not be ordained. But if he has escaped and gone, he may be ordained in the place he has gone to. If the king, being pleased, says, "Release those brought by force!" or if their bonds are released by a general rule, then they should be ordained. "One who has voluntarily become a slave" means one who, for the sake of livelihood or for protection, has himself become a slave, saying, "I am your slave," like the elephant keepers, horse keepers, cowherds, and buffalo keepers of kings. Such a slave should not be ordained. The sons of the king's courtesan slaves are like the sons of ministers; they too should not be ordained. Free women who are unrestrained associate with courtesan slaves; it is permissible to ordain their sons. If they themselves impose the condition, it is not permissible. The slaves of groups like hired laborers' sons should not be ordained unless given by them. In monasteries, there are slaves called "monastery attendants" given by kings; it is not permissible to ordain them. But it is permissible to ordain them after making them free. In the Mahāpaccariya, it is said: "They bring those born within and bought with money, and give them to the community of bhikkhus, saying, 'We give them as monastery attendants.' They are like those who have had oil poured on their heads. It is permissible to ordain them." In the Kurundi, however, "saying, 'We give a monastery attendant' by a permissible expression, ...given by any transaction whatsoever, should not be ordained." So it was said. Poor people, thinking "We will live relying on the Saṅgha," become temple workers in the monastery. It is proper to ordain these. If his mother and father are slaves, or if his mother is a slave and his father is not a slave, it is not proper to ordain him. But if his mother is not a slave and his father is a slave, it is proper to ordain him. If a monk's relatives or supporters give a slave, saying, "Ordain this one, he will do service for you," or if he himself has a slave, he must be freed before being ordained. If owners give a slave, saying, "Ordain this one. If he delights in it, he is not a slave. But if he strays, he will be our slave again," this is called "temporary." It is not proper to ordain him. So it is said in the Kurundī. If there is a masterless slave, he too must be freed before being ordained. If one ordains or gives higher ordination unknowingly, and later comes to know, it is proper to free him. And to make this meaning clear, they tell this story: Once, a family slave woman fled from Anurādhapura with a man, and living in Rohaṇa, she bore a son. He, having gone forth and received higher ordination, was conscientious and scrupulous. Then one day he asked his mother, "Lay follower, do you have no brother or sister? I see no relatives at all." "My son, I was a family slave in Anurādhapura. I fled with your father and live here." The virtuous monk, thinking "My ordination is impure!" felt a sense of urgency. He asked his mother the name and clan of that family, came to Anurādhapura, and stood at the doorway of that family's house. Even when told "Please come in, Venerable Sir," he did not enter. They came out and asked, "What is it, Venerable Sir?" "Do you have a runaway slave woman named so-and-so?" "Yes, Venerable Sir." "I am her son. If you permit me, I will keep my ordination. You are my owners." They, delighted and pleased, said, "Pure, "Venerable sir, your ordination!" Making him free, they made him dwell in the Great Monastery, attending to him with the four requisites. The Elder, relying on that family, while dwelling there, attained Arahantship. 132. "Monks, one with a severed hand should not be ordained. One with a severed foot, one with severed hands and feet, one with a severed ear, one with severed ears and nose, one with severed fingers, one with a severed penis, one with severed tendons, one with a snake-like hand, one who is a hunchback, one who is a dwarf, one with a goitre, one marked by a branding iron, one marked by a whip, one who is tattooed, one with elephantiasis, one with a severe disease, one who corrupts the assembly, one who is blind in one eye, one who is crippled, one who is lame, one who is paralyzed, one whose posture is impaired, one who is frail from old age, one who is blind, one who is mute, one who is deaf, one who is blind and mute, one who is blind and deaf, one who is mute and deaf, one who is blind, mute, and deaf should not be ordained. Whoever ordains such a one, there is an offense of wrong-doing." (Mahāva. 119) According to this, those with severed hands and so on should not be ordained. Here, "one with a severed hand" means one whose hand, whether at the palm, or at the wrist, or at the elbow, or anywhere, one or two hands are severed. "One with a severed foot" means one whose foot, whether at the forefoot, or at the ankles, or at the shin, or anywhere, one or two feet are severed. "One with severed hands and feet" means one whose two, or three, or all hands and feet are severed in the manner described. "One with a severed ear" means one whose ear, whether at the base of the ear, or at the earlobe, one or two ears are severed. However, if the ear is severed at the helix, and it can be reattached, then after reattaching the ear, he may be ordained. "One with a severed nose" means one whose nose, whether at the bridge, or at the tip, or at one nostril, or anywhere, is severed. However, if the nose can be reattached, then after making it suitable, he may be ordained. "One with severed ears and nose" should be understood in both ways. "One with severed fingers" means one whose one or many fingers are severed, not showing the nail-remainder. However, if the thread-like tendon even a nail-sized part of oneself is visible, it is fit to ordain him. One with a severed thumb is one whose one or many thumbs among the four thumbs are severed in the manner described for fingers. One with severed tendons is one whose great tendons, called kaṇḍarā, are severed in front or behind, due to the severing of even one of which, he walks on the front part of his foot or walks on the heel, he cannot place his foot down. One with a webbed hand is one whose fingers are connected like the wings of a bat. One wishing to ordain him should split the spaces between the fingers, remove all the inner skin, make it suitable, and then ordain him. And one who has six fingers, one wishing to ordain him should cut off the extra finger, make it suitable, and then ordain him. A hunchback is one whose body is hunched due to a protrusion from the chest, back, or side. But if some limb or minor limb is slightly bent, it is fit to ordain him. For only a great man has a perfectly straight body, there is no other being who is not somewhat hunched. A dwarf is one who is short-legged, or short-waisted, or short in both. For a short-legged person, the lower body from the waist down is short, the upper body is complete. For a short-waisted person, the upper body from the waist up is short, the lower body is complete. For one short in both, both parts of the body are short, due to the shortness of which, his body is like a large pot-bellied jar, like that of spirits. It is not fit to ordain any of these three types. One with a goitre is one who has a lump on his throat like a pumpkin. And this is merely an example; if there is a lump in any place whatsoever, he should not be ordained. The decision in this matter should be understood in the manner stated in "Monks, one afflicted with five diseases should not be ordained" (Mahāvagga 89). What should be said about those marked, struck, or scarred, has already been stated below. One with elephantiasis is called one with a heavy foot. One whose foot is swollen, covered with sores, rough, s he should not be ordained. But if it has not yet become hard, it is possible to bind it with a poultice, insert it into a water pit, fill it with water-sand, so that the veins become visible, and the leg becomes like an oil-tube, thus to make it shrivel. Having made his foot like this, it is permissible to ordain him. If it grows again, even the ordainer must do likewise before ordaining him. One with an evil disease, that is, one constantly afflicted by any disease among piles, fistula, bile, phlegm, cough, consumption, etc., an incurable, repulsive, unpleasant disease, this one should not be ordained. 133. One who defiles the assembly, that is, one who defiles the assembly by his own disfigurement: or is excessively tall, his navel region being at the head-level of others; or excessively short, like a double dwarf; or excessively dark, like a stump in a burnt field; or excessively fair, like polished copper-red with curds and buttermilk; or excessively thin, with little flesh and blood, like a body of bones, veins, and skin; or excessively fat, heavily fleshed, with a large belly, like a great demon; or with an extremely large head, like one standing with a basket on his head; or with an excessively small head, endowed with a head too small, disproportionate to his body; or with a pointed head, endowed with a head like a cluster of palm fruits; or with a peaked head, endowed with a head gradually tapering upwards;