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109.                           The Elder Maha-Mitta’s mother was sick with a poisoned tumor. She told her daughter, who as a bhikkhuni had also gone forth, ‘Lady, go to your brother. Tell him my trouble and bring back some medicine’. She went and told him. The Elder said ‘I do not know how to gather root medicines and such things and concoct a medicine from them. but rather I will tell you a medicine: since I went forth I have not broken [my virtue of restraint of] the sense faculties by looking at the bodily form of the opposite sex with a lustful mind. By this [40] declaration of truth may my mother get well. Go and tell the lay devotee and rub her body’. she went and told her what had happened and then did as she had been instructed. at that very moment the lay dev0tee’s tumor vanished, shrinking away like a lump of froth. She got up and uttered a cry of joy: ‘If the Fully Enlightened One were still alive why should he not stroke with his net-adorned hand the head of a bhikkhu like my son?’. So

110.                                  Let another noble clansman
            Gone forth in the Dispensation
            Keep, as did the Elder Mitta,
            Perfect faculty restraint.

111.                          (c)  As restraint of the faculties is to be undertaken by means of mindfulness, so Livelihood purification is to be undertaken by means of energy. For that is accomplished by energy, because the abandoning of wrong livelihood is effected in one who has rightly applied energy. Abandoning, therefore, unbefitting wrong search, this should be undertaken with energy by means of the right kind of search consisting in going on alms round, etc., avoiding what is of impure origin as though it were a poisonous snake, and using only requisites of pure origin.

112.                            Herein, for one who has not taken up the Ascetic Practices any requisites obtained from  the Community, from a group of bhikkhus, or from laymen who have confidence in his special qualities of teaching the Dhamma, etc., are called ‘of pure origin’. But those obtained on alms round, etc., are of extremely pure origin. For one who has taken up the Ascetic Practices those obtained on alms round, etc., and—as long as this is in accordance with the rules of the ascetic practices—from people who have confidence in his special qualities of ascetism, are called ‘of pure origin’. And if he has got putrid urine with mixed gall nuts and ‘four sweets’31 for the purpose of curing a certain affliction, and he eats only the broken gall nuts, thinking ‘Other companions in the life of purity will eat the “four-sweets”’, his undertaking of the ascetic practices is befitting, for he is then called a bhikkhu who is supreme in the Noble Ones’ Heritages (See A. ii, 28).

113.                          As to the robe and the other requisites, no hint, indication, roundabout talk, or intimation, about robes and alms food is allowable for a bhikkhu who is purifying his livelihood. But a hint, indication, or roundabout talk, about a resting place is allowable for one who has not taken up the ascetic practices. [41].

114.                          Herein, a ‘hint’ is when one who is getting the preparing of the ground, etc., done for the purpose of [making] a resting place is asked ‘What is being done, venerable sir? Who is having it done?’ and he replies ‘No one’; or any other such giving of hints. An ‘indication’ is saying ‘Lay follower, where do you live?’—‘In a mansion, venerable sir,’—‘But, lay follower, a mansion is not allowed for bhikkhus.’ Or any other such giving of indication. ‘Roundabout talk’ is saying ‘The resting place for the Community of Bhikkhus is crowded’; or any other such oblique talk.

115.                          All, however, is allowed in the case of medicine. But when the disease is cured, is it or is it not allowed to use the medicine obtained in this way? Herein, the Vinaya specialists say that he opening has been given by the Blessed One, therefore it is allowable. But the Suttanta specialists say that though there is no offence, nevertheless the livelihood

116.                      is sullied, therefore it is not allowable. But one who does not use hints, indications, roundabout talk, or intimation, though these are permitted by the Blessed One, and who depends only on the special qualities of fewness of wishes, etc., and makes use only of requisites obtained otherwise than by  indication, etc., even when he thus risks his life, is called supreme in living in effacement, like the venerable Sariputta.

117.                          It seems that the venerable one was cultivating seclusion at one time, living in a certain forest with the Elder Maha-Moggallana. One day an affliction of colic arose in him, causing him great pain. In the evening the Elder Maha-Moggallana went to attend upon him. Seeing him lying down, he asked what the reason was. And then he asked ‘What used to make you better formerly, friend?’ The Elder said ‘When I was a layman, friend, my mother used to mix ghee, honey, sugar and so on, and give me rice gruel with pure milk. That used to make me better’. Then the other said ‘So bi it, friend. If either you or I have merit, perhaps

118.                      tomorrow we shall get some’. Now a deity who dwelt in a tree at the end of the walk overheard their conversation. [Thinking] ‘I will find rice gruel for the lord tomorrow’, he went meanwhile to the family who was supporting the Elder [42] and entered into the body of the eldest son, causing him discomfort. Then he told the assembled relatives the price of the cure: ‘If you prepare rice gruel of such a kind tomorrow for the Elder, I will set this one free’. They said ‘Even without being told by you we regularly supply the Elder’s needs’, and on the following day they prepared rice gruel of the kind needed.

119.                          The Elder Maha-Moggallana came in the morning and said ‘Stay here, friend, till I come back from the alms round’. Then he went into the village. Those people met him. They took his bowl, filled it with the stipulated kind of rice gruel, and gave it back to him. The Elder made as though to go, but they said ‘Eat, venerable sir, we shall give you more’. When the Elder had eaten, they gave him another bowlful. The Elder left. Bringing the alms food to the venerable Sariputta, he said ‘Here, friend Sariputta, eat’. When the Elder saw it, he thought ‘The gruel is very nice. How was it got?’, and seeing how it had been obtained, he said ‘Friend, the alms food cannot be used’.

120.                          Instead of thinking ‘He does not eat alms food brought be the likes of me’, the other at once took the bowl by the rim and turned it over on one side. As the rice gruel fell on the ground the Elder’s affliction vanished. From then on it did not appear again during forty-five years.

121.                          Then he said to the venerable Maha-Moggallana ‘Friend, even if one’s bowels come out and trail on the ground, it is not fitting to eat gruel got by verbal intimation’, and he uttered this exclamation:
           ‘My livelihood might well be blamed
           ‘If I were to consent to eat
           ‘The honey and the gruel obtained
           ‘By influence of verbal hints.
           ‘And even if my bowels obtrude
           ‘And trail outside, and even though
           ‘My life is to be jeopardized,
           ‘I will not blot my livelihood (Miln. 370).
           ‘For I will satisfy my heart
           ‘By shunning all wrong kinds of search;
           ‘And never will I undertake
           ‘The search the Buddhas have condemned’ ( ). [43]

122.                          And here too should be told the story of the Elder Maha-Tissa the Mango-eater who lived at Ciragumba (see §132 below).32 So in all respects
           A man who has gone for the in faith
           Should purify his livelihood
           And, seeing clearly, give no thought
           To any search that is not good.

123.                          (d)  And as livelihood purification is to be undertaken by means of energy, so virtue dependent on requisites is to be undertaken by means of  understanding. For that is accomplished by understanding, because one who possesses understanding is able to see the advantages and the dangers in requisites. So one should abandon greed fro requisites and undertake that virtue by using requisites obtained lawfully and properly, after reviewing them with understanding in the way aforesaid.

124.                          Herein, reviewing is of two kinds: at the time of receiving requisites and at the time of using them. For use is blameless in one who at the time of receiving robes, etc., reviews them either as [mere] elements or as repulsive,33 and puts them aside for later use, and in one who reviews them thus at the time of using them.

125.                          Here is an explanation to settle the matter. There are four kinds of use: use as theft,34 use as debt, use as an inheritance, use as a master. Herein, use by one who is unvirtuous and makes use [of requisites], even sitting in the midst of the community, is called ‘use as theft’. Use without reviewing by one who is virtuous is ‘use as debt’; therefore the robe should be reviewed every time it is used, and the alms food should be reviewed every time it is used, and the alms food lump by lump. Once who cannot do this [should review it] before the meal, after the meal, in the first watch, in the middle watch, and in the last watch. If dawn breaks on him without his having reviewed it, he finds himself in the position of one who has used it as a debt. Also the resting place should be reviewed each time it is used. Recourse to mindfulness both in the accepting and the use of medicine is proper; but while this is so, though there is an offence for one who uses it without mindfulness after mindful acceptance, there is no offence for one who is mindful in using after accepting without mindfulness.

126.                          Purification is of four kinds: purification by the Teaching, purification by restraint, purification by search, and purification by reviewing. Herein, virtue of the Patimokkha restraint is called ‘purification by the Teaching’; [44] for that is so called because it purifies by means of teaching. Virtue of restraint of faculties is called ‘purification by restraint’; for that is so called because it purifies by means of the restraint in the mental resolution ‘I shall not do so again’. Virtue of livelihood purification  is called ‘purification by search’; for that is so called because search is purified in one who abandons wrong search and gets requisites lawfully and properly. Virtue dependent on requisites is called ‘purification by reviewing’; for that is so called because it purifies by the reviewing of the mind already described. Hence it was said above (§125) ‘There is no offence for one who is mindful in using after accepting without mindfulness’.

127.                          Use of the requisites by the seven kinds of Trainers is called ‘use as an inheritance’; For they are the Buddha’s sons, therefore they make use of the requisites as the heirs of requisites belonging to their father. But how then, is it the Blessed One’s requisites or the laity’s requisites that are used? Although given by the laity, they actually belong to the Blessed One, because it is by the Blessed One that they are permitted. That is why it should be understood that the Blessed One’s requisites are used. The confirmation here is in the Dhammadayada Sutta (M. Sutta 3).
    Use by those whose cankers are destroyed is called ‘use as a master’; for they make use of them as masters because they have escaped the slavery of craving.

128.                          As regards these kinds of use, use as a master and use as an inheritance are allowable for all. Use as a debt is not allowable, to say nothing of use as theft. But this use of what is reviewed by one who is virtuous is use freed from debt because it is the opposite of use as a debt or is included in use as an inheritance too. For one possessed of virtue is called a Trainer too because of possessing this training.

129.                          As regards these three kinds of use, since use as a master is best, when a bhikkhu undertakes virtue dependent on requisites,  he should aspire to that and use them after reviewing them in the way described. And this is said: [45]  
           ‘The truly wise disciple
           ‘Who listens to the Dhamma
           ‘As taught by the Sublime One
           ‘Makes use, after reviewing,
           ‘Of alms food, and of dwelling,
           ‘And of a resting place,
           ‘And also of the water
           ‘For washing dirt from robes’  (Sn. 391).
                ‘So like a drop of water
                ‘Lying on leaves of lotus,
                ‘A bhikkhu is unsullied
                ‘By any of these matters,
                ‘By alms food, [and by dwelling,]
                ‘And by a resting place,
                ‘And also by the water
                ‘For washing dirt from robes’  (Sn. 392)
           ‘Since aid it is and timely
           ‘Procured form another
           ‘The right amount he reckons,
           ‘Mindful without remitting
           ‘In chewing and in eating,
           ‘In tasting food besides :
           ‘He treats it as an ointment
           ‘Applied upon a wound’     (             ).
                ‘So like the child’s flesh in the desert
                ‘Like the greasing for the axle,
                ‘He should eat without delusion
                ‘Nutriment to keep alive’     (            ).

130.                           And in connection with the fulfilling of this virtue dependent on requisites there should be told the story of the novice Sangharakkhita the Nephew. For he made use of requisites after reviewing, according as it is said:
           ‘Seeing me eat a dish of rice
           ‘Quite cold, my Preceptor observed:
           ‘”Novice, if you are not restrained,
           ‘”Be careful not to burn your tongue”.
           ‘On hearing my Preceptor’s words,
           ‘I then and there felt urged to act
           ‘And, sitting in a single session,
           ‘I reached the goal of Arahantship.
           ‘Since I am now waxed full in thought
           ‘Like the full moon of the Fifteenth (See M.iii, 277),    
           ‘And all my cankers are destroyed,
           ‘There is no more becoming now’.  [46]
                And so should any other man
                Aspiring to end suffering
                Make use of all the requisites
                Wisely after reviewing them.
    So virtue is of four kinds as ‘virtue of Patimokkha restraint’, and so on.

131.                          18.  In the first pentad in the fivefold section the meaning should be understood in accordance with the virtue of those not fully admitted to the Order, and so on. For this is said in the Patisambhida: ‘(a) What is virtue consisting in  limited purification?  That of the training precepts for those not fully admitted to the Order: such is virtue consisting in limited purification.  (b) What is virtue consisting in unlimited purification? That of the training precepts for those fully admitted to the Order: such is virtue consisting in unlimited purification.  (c) What is virtue consisting in fulfilled purification? That of Magnanimous Ordinary Men devoted to profitable things, who are perfecting [the course’ that ends in Trainership, regardless of the physical body and life, having given up [attachment to’ life: such is virtue of fulfilled purification. (d) What is virtue consisting in purification not adhered to? That of the seven kinds of Trainer: such is virtue consisting in purification not adhered to. (e) What is virtue consisting in tranquillized purification? That of the Perfect One’s disciples with cankers destroyed, of the Undeclared Enlightened Ones, of the Perfect Ones, accomplished and fully enlightened: such is virtue consisting in tranquillized purification; (Ps. I, 42-3).

132.                          (a)  Herein, the virtue of those not fully admitted to the Order should be understood as virtue consisting in limited purification, because it is limited by the number ‘of training precepts, that is, 5 or 8 or 10].
    (b)  That of those fully admitted to the Order is [describable] thus:
           Nine thousand millions, and a hundred
           And eighty millions then as well,
           And fifty plus a hundred thousand,
           And thirty-six again to swell
           The total restraint disciplines:
           These rules the Enlightened One explains
           Told under heads for filling out,
           Which the Discipline restraint contains.35
So although limited in number, [47] it should yet be understood as virtue consisting in unlimited purification,  since it is undertaken without reserve and has no obvious limit such as gain, fame, relatives, limbs or life. Like the virtue of the Elder Maha-Tissa the Mango-eater who lived at Ciragumba (see §122 above).

133.                          For that venerable on never abandoned the following Good Man’s Recollection,
           ‘Wealth for a sound limb’s sake should be renounced,
           ‘And one who guards his life gives up his limbs;
           ‘And wealth and limbs and life, each one of these,
           ‘A man gives up who practices the Dhamma’,
and never transgressed a training precept even when his life was in the balance, and in this way be reached Arahantship with that same virtue of unlimited purification as his support while he was being carried on a lay devotee’s back. According as it is said:
           ‘Nor your mother nor your father
           ‘Nor your relatives and kin
           ‘Have done as much as this for you
           ‘Because you are possessed of virtue’
           So, stirred with urgency, and wisely
           Comprehending36 with insight,
           While carried on his helper’s back
           He reached the goal of Arahantship.

134.                          (c)  The Magnanimous Ordinary Man’s virtue, which from the time of admission to the Order is devoid even of the stain of a [wrong] thought because of its extreme purity, like a gem of pure water, like well-refined gold, becomes the proximate cause for Arahantship itself, which is why it is called consisting of fulfilled purification; like that of the Elders Sangharakkhita the Great and Sangharakkhita the Nephew.