innumerable times in the discourses; for example, in the
Cūlahatthipadopama Sutta, at M 27.17‐26.
8. Page 330, That I now did… A certain bhikkhu called
Meghiya ends up in a similar pickle to that described by Vāsitthī
in these paragraphs — also because his mind is ill‐prepared for
solitary meditation. The story is found at §3 of the ‘Book of the
Nines’ (see also Chapter 18, note §3):
Mean thoughts, trivial thoughts
come tempting the mind to fly away;
not understanding what these thoughts are,
the heart strays chasing them back and forth.
(Ud. 4.1; A 9.3)
CHAPTER 42: THE SICK NUN
1. Page 333, After some time Angulimāla’s turn came…
It is true that the monks used to take it in turns to instruct the
nuns (e.g. in the Nandakovāda Sutta, M 146.3) but K.G. seems
to be employing some poetic license here; it is very unlikely,
considering the realities of monastic life, that Angulimāla would
have been allotted the duty of coming to teach the nuns.
According to the Vināya discipline a bhikkhu must have
been ordained for at least five years before he would take on
regular teaching duties at all, and for one to be able to qualify
as a bhikkhu suitable to be an official instructor for the
bhikkhunīs, a very strict set of criteria is employed.
It is true that these standards technically only apply to
the monk who comes and gives the nuns their obligatory
‘Exhortation’ on the full and new moon days, however, in the
spirit of this, Angulimāla would definitely have been considered
an unsuitable teacher.
To qualify as such an Exhorter, the bhikkhu must: 1)
have been ordained for at least twenty years; 2) be conversant
in all the rules of both the monks and the nuns; 3) be scrupulously
virtuous and never have committed a serious transgression against
the discipline; 4) be eloquent and well‐versed in the Teachings;
5) be well‐liked by the bhikkhunīs; and 6) have never, before his
ordination, raped or molested a bhikkhunī, or a female novice.
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Angulimāla would thus not be allowable as an Exhorter
of Nuns — falling short on point 1) and almost definitely on
point 5) — he regularly suffered assault and injury on account
of people’s memories of him as a murderer of their friends and
families (see Chapter 15, note §3). There would thus be many
nuns who, if not aggressive towards him, would have been
fearful and suspicious nonetheless.
Having said this, it should be added that is allowable for
a bhikkhu to visit the dwelling place of a bhikkhunī, if she is
sick and cannot join the other nuns for the fortnightly instruction
by the Elder. This is the only reason why a bhikkhu can visit
the dwelling place of a nun; in such situations both he and the
nun would need to have a chaperone present as it is also
unallowable for a bhikkhunī to be alone with a man and for a
bhikkhu to be alone with a woman in a private place. The
allowance is made in the bhikkhus’ training rule, Pācittiya §23,
although such visits, and also the Exhortation, should not take
place after nightfall — this is proscribed in Pācittiya §22.
2. Page 335, unfitting and profane to use a monk in such
a way — as a go‐between… This is in reference to one of the
more serious of the bhikkhus’ training rules, Sanghādisesa §5,
which prohibits a monk from acting as a go‐between or an
arranger of marriages.
3. Page 336, it was not seemly for a nun to travel alone…
One of the weightier rules in the discipline for the bhikkhunīs is
that a nun should never travel alone — she should always have
another bhikkhunī with her. The rule is Nuns’ Sanghādisesa §3.
4. Page 338, “A crowded, dusty corner is domestic life”…
This phrase is another of those oft repeated in the Theravāda
scriptures (K.G. also used it before on page 140, para. 5). It is
the stock expression of dissatisfaction in the householder’s life
and prefaces the statement of the desire to go forth. For example,
see the Cūla‐hatthipadopama Sutta, at M 27.12.
5. Page 339, how splendid it would be to roam through
exquisite regions… This passage is very reminiscent of the
‘Song of Kāludāyī’ — inviting the Buddha to visit his hometown,
Kapilavatthu, for the first time since his leaving the palace life.
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The occasion was at the end of the first winter season after the
enlightenment.
It is found in the Theragāthā (‘The Verses of the Elder Monks’):
Lord, there are trees that now like embers burn;
Hoping for fruit, they have let their green veils drop
And blaze out boldly with a scarlet flame:
It is the hour, Great Hero, Taster of Truth.
Trees in high bloom that are a mind’s delight,
Wafting scents to the four winds of space,
Their leaves they have let fall, expecting fruit;
It is time, O Hero, to set out from here.
Now is a pleasant season, Lord, for travel,
For it is not too cold, nor over‐warm.
Let the Sākyans and the Koliyans see you
Facing the west, crossing the Rohinī River.
Thag. 527‐9 (Bhikkhu Ñānamoli trans.)
6. Page 339, the rainy season… imposed a still longer
trial for our patience… It is against the discipline of both the
monks and nuns to travel for more than six days during the
Rains Retreat. After that time one must return to the monastery
of residence. The rule is mentioned at Mahāvagga 3.1.
7. Page 339, “Just as when in the last month of the rainy season…
This passage is taken almost verbatim from the
Mahādhamma‐
samādāna Sutta (‘The Greater Discourse on Ways of Undertaking
Things’) at M 46.22; a comparable passage is at Iti. §27.
8. Page 339, that sun of all the living… The connection of
the Buddha to the image of the sun is not just an Apollonian
flight of fancy by K.G. or a poetic nicety here. The Sākya clan,
into which the Buddha was born, claimed its ancestry from the
Sun God — Ādicca — via an ancient king, Okkāka.
The Buddha was also known in his lifetime by the epithet
Ādiccabandhu — ‘Kinsman of the Sun’ — and also
Angirasa,
meaning ‘emitting rays of various hues.’
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