English
" Having said this, they seized the unrighteous debaters, just as a thief is caught with his hiding place. This is a story to illustrate this point: It is said that in the past, in a village on the bank of a river not far from Bārāṇasī, lived a dancer named Pāṭali. One festival day, he took his wife, entered Bārāṇasī, danced, and played the lute. Having played and sung, having gained wealth, at the end of the festival, having had much rice and liquor served, as he was going to his village, he reached the riverbank. Seeing the new water coming, he ate his meal, vomited liquor, sat down, became intoxicated, and not knowing his own strength, he tied his great lute around his neck, and thinking, "I will enter the river and go," he took his wife by the hand and entered the river. Water entered through the holes of the lute. Then that lute made him sink in the water. His wife, knowing that he was sinking, released him, came out, and stood on the riverbank. Naṭapāṭali sometimes emerged, sometimes submerged, water entered him, and his belly became bloated. Then his wife thought, "My husband will die now. I will ask for a song and singing it in the assembly, I will make a living." Thinking this, she said, "Husband, you are sinking in the water. Give me a song, with it I will make a living." Much learned, eloquent, the Ganges carries Pāṭali; Being carried away, good sir, give me one verse. Then Naṭapāṭali said, "Good woman, how can I give you a song? Now the water, which is a refuge for the great multitude, is killing me." By which they sprinkle the suffering, by which they sprinkle the sick; In its midst I shall die, fear arises from a refuge. Then Aṭulatthera, fear arising from the Cūḷagaṇṭhipada, which was his refuge, not knowing what to say, became downcast and suffered defeat. This was the third defeat of Aṭulatthera. Then the king, having heard the words of those two parties, knowing the instability of the Cūḷagaṇṭhipada, due to its confusion with errors of prior and posterior contradiction, its not being well-entered into the suttas and their accordance, and the absence of purity of tradition, like a house that has stood for over a hundred years, being extremely weak, he was pleased, thinking, "Now the Dispensation will be purified." And he commanded, "In my kingdom, all bhikkhus shall be uniform in doctrine by way of their robes." he established it. From that time onwards, up to the present day, throughout the entire country of Myanmar, they are of the same opinion regarding the wearing of robes. This is a summary of the matter: If the debate between these two factions, with their statements and counter-statements, were to be recounted in detail, it would not reach an end even after five or six volumes. However, since recounting everything without omission would make this history of the Dispensation too extensive, we shall present only what is desired here and then pass over the rest. The Great Elder, the Sangharaja, Ñāṇābhivaṃsadhammasenāpatimahādhammarājādhirāja Guru, was the original teacher and a great benefactor to the bhikkhus of the Amarapura Nikaya in Sri Lanka. The Amarapura Nikaya means that it originated from that Elder. When the Kali Yuga had reached one thousand one hundred and eighty-one years, the grandson of that king, named Siritribhavanādityapavarapaṇḍitamahādhammarājādhirāja, ruled the kingdom. He moved from Amarapura and founded Ratanapura as the fourth capital. During his reign, he appointed the Elder Sīlācāra, a disciple of the Elder Guṇamunindādhipatimahādhammarājādhirājaguru, who resided in Sajīvagāma, to the chief position of the forest-dwelling bhikkhus. He had a monastery built in the place called Rājāgāra and gave it to him. When the Kali Yuga had reached one thousand one hundred and eighty-one years, he brought the Elder Paññāsīha from Calangapura and established him in the Ratanabhūmikittivihāra in Asokārāma, and bestowed upon him the title Munindābhisirisaddhammadhajamahādhammarājādhirājaguru. When the Kali Yuga had reached one thousand one hundred and eighty-four years, he bestowed the title Munindābhivaṃsadhammasenāpatimahādhammarājādhirājaguru, and gave the monastery named Mahājeyyabhūmivihārarammaṇīya, and appointed that same Great Elder to the position of Sangharaja. And on one occasion, the king asked the Great Elder, "Are the four canine teeth included among the forty teeth, or are they separate from the forty teeth?" i asked if they were separate. Then some elders said, "The four canine teeth are included among the forty teeth." But some said, "The four canine teeth are separate from the forty teeth." Then the king said, "Bring the scripture!" Then the elders who held the view that they were included brought the scripture, "Even for others with complete sets of teeth, there are thirty-two teeth, but for him, there will be forty." "Teeth" means the thirty-two bone structures of a person with a complete set of teeth. They are white in color, and of various shapes. Indeed, in the lower jaw, the four front teeth are shaped like gourd seeds arranged in a row on a lump of clay. On either side of these, one tooth on each side has one root and one point, shaped like a jasmine bud. Then, one tooth on each side has two roots and two points, shaped like a carriage prop. Then, two teeth on each side have three roots and three points. Then, two teeth on each side have four roots and four points. And the same applies to the upper jaw. It is said that because his upper lip was underdeveloped, it seemed as if it had been split horizontally and half removed. It did not cover the four teeth and two canine teeth. Therefore, they called him "Half-lipped." There, "his" refers to the Licchavi prince. "Because his upper lip was underdeveloped" means because the upper lip was underdeveloped. "As if half removed" means it seemed as if half of the upper lip had been removed. "Did not cover" means it did not cover the upper half of the upper lip. Therefore, because it did not cover the four teeth and two canine teeth, they called that Licchavi prince "Half-lipped." Thus, when the elders who held the view that they were included brought and showed the scripture, everyone accepted that view. And at one time, the king asked his minister, "Do the fields, lands, and so on, given by former kings to a monastery or a stupa, remain established as given during the time of later kings, or not?" Then the minister said, "For the Sangha, On the land, personal seeds are sown, and having given a share, they are to be enjoyed. Having made ten portions, one portion is to be given to the landowners. As it is stated in the Vinaya commentaries, the fields and properties and so on given by a former king remained as given during the time of a later king. Here, because it is said "of the Sangha's land," just as in a gain-boundary, without giving tribute, because it was given along with the land, it is understood that there is Sangha land by tradition. And here, when the recipients have died, the other Sangha of the four directions and the future Sangha are the owners, it belongs to them, it is to be managed by them. A monastery given for the purpose of a lamp for a cetiya or for its repair is also to be maintained, it is to be caused to be maintained even without wages. And it is stated in the commentary that one who repairs a parasol or a railing of a cetiya, or something old, or performs whitewashing and so on, should have it done from the deposit for the cetiya. Therefore, it should be understood that the fields and properties and so on given to the cetiya by former kings remained as belonging to the cetiya even in the time of later kings. Then he asked further, "From when, in whose reign, were fields and properties and so on given to the monastery or cetiya?" Then the minister said this, "It should be understood that even in former eons, in the time of former kings, they were given to the monastery or cetiya. Therefore, it is recorded in the texts that our Bodhisatta, the universal monarch, together with the seven jewels, gave two thousand small islands and the four great islands to the Lord named Sujāta. And he caused the residents of the country to perform the work of maintaining the monastery. Therefore, it should be understood that fields and properties and so on have been given by former kings from a very long time ago. Even in the royal lineages, more than a hundred years after the Lord's passing away, in the city of Sirikhetta, a field of five karīsas was given by a certain woman who made cakes to a certain elder. That King named Dvattapoṅko plundered and seized it. Then, having struck the striking-gong and drums, They made no sound. The king's spear-wheel, as before, did not go to the place it was sent. Then, knowing that reason, the baker woman offered it to the elder just as it had been given. But in the Kaliyuga, when one thousand, one hundred, and ninety-nine years had passed, his younger brother, Siripavarādityalokāpeti Vijayamahādhammarājādhirānā, reigned. That king, moving from Ratanapura, built Amarapura as a second city. In the very year of that king's reign, on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Jeṭṭha, in the city of Ratanapura, in the Piṭaka Hall called Māravijayaratana Sudhammā, in the assembly of the elder named Sūriyavaṃsa, he had the royal decree read out and bestowed the Sangha-rajja. He also gave the title Sūriyavaṃsābhisiripavarālaṅkāradhammasenāpatimahādhammarājādhirājaguru. That elder, in the Kaliyuga, when one thousand, one hundred, and twenty-five years had passed, on the seventh day of the bright half of the month of Migasira, on a Monday, was born by rebirth in the village of Vālukavāpi. Having reached seventy-seven years of age, he attained the Sangha-rajja. He was calm in his senses, patient in his conduct, eager for training, devoted to the study of the scriptures, a disciple of the elder Tipitakālaṅkāramahādhammarājaguru. But he,