The treasury of knowledge book five buddhist ethics buddhist ethics v 5 (21)

Minor Infractions [5"] This class consists of one hundred and twelve minor infractions: The one hundred and twelve minor infractions Concern the wearing of robes, decorum, Sitting, recei

saying, “Please serve the food first to the elder monks,” when, disregarding the order of seniority, she distributes the food first to the younger monks

(3) Transgressing the rule not to beg at a household is explained in

this way: When a patron has become destitute of food and wealth, a rule [not to beg from him] should be instituted [by the monastic community] through formal procedure Once instituted, monks should not beg for more than, say, a few vegetables from that person If one begs [for more], this down-fall has been committed Subsequently, [when the patron is

no longer destitute,] lifting of this rule is to be done through

a ceremony

(4) Eating without checking the safety of the forest means to eat in a

secluded and precarious place away from the monastery without having verified its safety, when one has been ap-pointed to do so by the monastic community.167

These are called “offenses to be individually confessed” because at the time of purifying the downfall, the monk must confess each of them while showing regret

Minor Infractions [5"]

This class consists of one hundred and twelve minor infractions:

The one hundred and twelve minor infractions

Concern the wearing of robes, decorum,

Sitting, receiving food, manner of eating,

Begging bowl, teaching the doctrine, behavior,

And climbing Thus, a monk must observe

A total of two hundred and fifty-three rules.

To facilitate recitation, the rules dealing with minor infractions are here set forth in easily understood verses:

Ten rules concern the wearing of robes:

(1) Wear the lower robe evenly, not high in one place or low

in another

Never wear it untidily in any of the following ways: (2) Raised up so that it is too high, or (3) trailing so that it is too low,

(4) The bottom edge hanging to one side like an elephant’s trunk,

(5) Folding the top like a palm leaf,

(6) Gathered unevenly at the belt like [tying] a sack of grain,

or (7) hanging over the top of the belt like a cobra’s hood The upper robes should also be worn (8) even all around, (9) Not too low or (10) high

Twenty rules concern decorum while traveling:

(1) Control body and speech with mindfulness

(2) Dress with dignity; (3) limit idle chatter

(4) Keep eyes from wandering; (5) gaze just a yoke’s length ahead

(6) Don’t cover the head; (7) don’t hoist the lower robe (8) Don’t drape the upper robe over both shoulders (9) Don’t walk with the hands clasping the nape of the neck,

or (10) clasped behind the head

(11) Don’t go about jumping, or (12) strutting,

or (13) walking only on the heels or (14) on tiptoes (15) Don’t walk with the hands on hips, elbows extended (16) Don’t walk with the body bent; (17) don’t swing [or wave] the arms while walking

(18) Don’t walk wagging the head, or (19) touching shoulders with others

(20) Don’t walk around holding another’s hand

Nine rules concern sitting:

(1) [Don’t sit] before the patron or host has invited one to sit (2) Don’t sit without checking whether or not there are liv-ing beliv-ings on the seat

(3) Don’t sit down heavily; (4) do not sit with the legs stretched out and the feet crossed,

(5) Don’t sit with thighs crossed,

(6) Or with one ankle on top of the other,

(7) Tucking the legs under the seat, (8) with legs outspread, (9) Sitting with the private parts exposed

As ancillary [rules], do not rest cheek in hand,

Or walk while carrying a mat on the back

Eight rules concern receiving food:

(1) Don’t fill to the brim the begging bowl

(2) Take equal amounts of rice and vegetables

(3) Accept [food] only if served in the order of seniority (4) When accepting food, pay attention to the begging bowl (5) Don’t hold out the begging bowl before food is offered (6) Don’t cover [the vegetables] with rice when wanting [more] vegetables,

(7) Or [the rice] with vegetables when wanting more rice (8) Do not hold the begging bowl higher than the serving dishes

Twenty-one rules concern the manner of eating:

(1) Don’t eat food with poor manners

(2) Don’t eat very large or (3) very small mouthfuls (4) Eat in moderation, according to etiquette

(5) Don’t open the mouth before bringing food to it (6) Don’t speak with the mouth full

(7) Don’t eat making blah blah sounds when food is not tasty,

(8) Yum yum when tasty, (9) brr brr when cold, (10) phff phff

when hot

(11) Don’t poke out the tongue while eating

(12) Don’t eat rice, etc., a grain at a time

(13) Don’t criticize [the quality of] the food, or (14) chew the food on the right and then the left cheek,

(15) Don’t make a smacking sound against the palate, or (16) bite off part of a mouthful of food,

(17) Don’t lick food off the hands after wiping the begging bowl, or (18) lick food from the begging bowl

(19) Don’t shake off food that is stuck to the hand

(20) Don’t shake the begging bowl while eating,

(21) Or make the food into the shape of a stupa

Fourteen rules concern the use of the begging bowl:

(1) Don’t scorn the begging bowl of another monk

(2) Don’t touch the water container with food stuck to the hands

(3) Don’t toss dishwater at another monk

(4) Don’t throw dishwater into the grounds of a household [without permission]

(5) Don’t put leftover food into the begging bowl

(6) Don’t put down the begging bowl on bare earth without

a support beneath it, or

(7) [At the edge of] a ravine, or (8) a crevice, or (9) near a slope or steps;

Don’t wash the begging bowl in three locations:

(10) [At the edge of] a ravine, or (11) a crevice, or (12) near a slope or steps, or (13) while standing

(14) Don’t scoop water by holding the begging bowl against the current of the river

Twenty-six rules concern teaching the doctrine:

(1) Do not teach standing up to a person who is seated as though sick

(2) Similarly, do not teach [sitting] to someone lying down, or (3) A person seated on a high or rich seat

(4) Do not teach someone when walking behind him, (5) or someone walking in the center [of the road] when you are on the side

(6) [Do not teach] those with covered heads, (7) clothes hoisted up, or (8) their upper robes draped over both shoulders,

(9) Those with arms crossed holding the neck,

(10) Or hands clasped behind,

(11) Those wearing topknots, (12) hats, or (13) crowns, (14) Those wearing flower garlands, or (15) silk veils, (16) Those mounted on elephants, or (17) horses, or (18) those riding in a palanquin, or (19) a vehicle,

(20) Those wearing shoes, (21) those holding staffs, or (22) umbrellas,

(23) Those holding weapons, (24) swords, (25) bows and ar-rows, or (26) those wearing armor

Three rules concern proper behavior:

(1) Do not defecate or urinate while standing; (2) do not throw feces or urine into water or onto grass;

(3) Don’t spit or clean the nose, vomit [or discharge mucus] into water, unless ill

One rule concerns moving:

(1) Don’t climb trees taller than a man, unless in danger

If one transgresses any of these rules, one commits an infraction Conforming to the proper conduct is all that is required to correct the wrongdoing; thus, they are called minor infractions

To enhance the laity’s appreciation [of the monastic community], when going to the home of a layperson, a monk should keep these

rules in mind; his robes should be dignified, and his conduct peace-ful and disciplined Having taken his place, he should sit in a con-templative posture and partake politely of the food and drink Then, maintaining mindfulness, he should speak of the doctrine in a way appropriate to the occasion

Thus, the disciplinary code of a monk is made up of a total of two hundred and fifty-three rules that prohibit the five classes of down-falls These downfalls fall into two categories: naturally unwholesome and unwholesome because of prescription “Naturally unwholesome” refers to murder and similar acts that would be negative if commit-ted by anyone (laypersons or renunciates) “Unwholesome because

of prescription” refers to eating after noon, etc.—[acts] that would not be negative for laypersons but are prohibited for renunciates Any transgression of the above-mentioned rules is a downfall because by transgressing it, one may be reborn in the lower realms

The Rules of the Nun [ii']

The nun must observe three hundred and sixty-four rules.

The nun must observe three hundred and sixty-four rules: not to commit the eight defeating offenses that constitute root downfalls,168

twenty partially defeating acts, thirty-three downfalls involving forfeiture, one hundred and eighty downfalls requiring confession alone, eleven downfalls to be individually confessed, and one hun-dred and twelve minor infractions However, since the nun’s ethical conduct is not observed in Tibet at the present time, [the subject] will not be discussed here One wishing to know more [on this subject] should refer to texts [on monastic discipline].169

Prohibitions concern that which is incompatible with ethical conduct.

All the above prohibitions concern acts incompatible with ethical conduct Therefore, one should know what these offenses are and avoid doing them

Training in the Prescribed Discipline [b']

The scriptures [on discipline] state:

The entire [monastic disciplinary code] is contained within

[seventeen] bases:

(1) Ordination, (2) confession,