Editor’s Foreword
As the translator says, the purification of the Sangha
is now an urgent matter, as the neglect of the Vinaya rules is
commonplace. Also, as the Sayādaw says, “If a monk, who is
well-trained in the Vinaya, accumulates many followers and
great material wealth, he can do much damage to the Buddha
dispensation, unlike an ignorant monk.” So books like this are
vital.
In the absence of the Buddha, maintaining acceptable
standards of conduct for monks is hard, even if there is wide
agreement on what acceptable standards are. The monks most in
need of restraint are those least amenable to advice. At the
first Buddhist Council, even five hundred Arahants could not
agree on which offences were lesser and minor. The
Milindapañha says that offences of wrong doing
(dukkata) and wrong speech (dubhasita) are
lesser and minor offences. This is reasonable since offences
requiring confession (pācittiya), or confession with
forfeiture (nissaggiyā pācittiya) include: killing
animals, drinking intoxicants, telling deliberate lies,
abusing monks, hitting monks, eating in the afternoon, and
using money. All these things are contrary to the precepts
observed by lay people or novices. So we cannot regard them as
minor, except in comparison to the major offences such as
sexual misconduct, stealing, or killing human beings. We could
regard telling jokes, making sarcastic remarks, or talking
with the mouth full while eating as minor offences, but
scrupulous monks will observe even these minor rules out of
respect for the Buddha.
Books like this are vital nowadays. Due to lack of
knowledge, ignorant lay people will slander shameless monks,
shameless monks will criticise scrupulous monks, scrupulous
monks will have ill-will towards shameless monks, and many
will fall into hell.
As the Sayādaw points out, there are skilful ways to
criticise the wrong conduct of shameless monks without making
unwholesome kamma. Wise lay people can make merit by donating
allowable requisites and paying respect to shameless monks. If
asked for unallowable things, they can politely ask, “Is this
allowable?” to remind a shameless monk of his remissness
without criticising him directly. There are so many rules to
observe, that even the most scrupulous monk is likely to
overlook some offences. A lay person can give money to a lay
attendant, inviting a monk to ask for whatever he needs. If a
lay person gives money or other unallowable things to a monk,
he or she will make only demerit.1 An attendant is living in dependence on
the monk, so he should obey the monk’s instructions, but a lay
person does not have to.
Regarding one’s own conduct one should not tolerate
the slightest fault, but regarding others’ conduct one should
cultivate boundless compassion and tolerance, or practise
detachment. When associating with fools, which means all those
who do not observe basic morality, one should guard one’s mind
and speech very carefully, otherwise one will be sure to make
unwholesome kamma. Diamonds, rubies, and emeralds are
extremely valuable due to their great rarity. If one is unable
to find such precious jewels, one must make do with quartz or
marble for ornaments — and even sandstone can be used for
grinding knives!
These are very special rare times that we live in. The
Buddha’s dispensation is extremely precious, but it is
decaying year by year. All Buddhists should strive to maintain
the true Dhamma, but they need sufficient knowledge and wisdom
to discriminate between true Dhamma and corrupt Dhamma. From
corrupt Vinaya comes corrupt Dhamma; from corrupt Dhamma comes
corrupt Vinaya. Therefore, they should read books such as this
carefully, and reflect deeply on their own moral and mental
purity. They should practise tranquillity and insight
meditation to gain control of the passions. If lay Buddhists
have a mature knowledge of Dhamma and Vinaya it can only help
to prolong the Buddha’s dispensation. With great compassion
they should urge and encourage the monks to promote the
essential practices of scriptural study or insight meditation,
instead of giving them money or asking them to practise
astrology.
The translator’s preference was to leave technical
terms untranslated, but in my experience most readers find
Pāli words a barrier to understanding. If one insists on one
different English word for each Pali term, being consistent is
very difficult. The key terms here are few, but their meaning
varies according to context. Three very similar Pāli terms —
susīla, lajjī, and sīlavanta — could all be translated as
“moral” or “virtuous.” To show that “lajjī” has the opposite
meaning to “alajjī” — shameless, I have used the translation
“scrupulous,” but in some contexts “moral” or “virtuous” is
more appropriate. In the Vinaya, “dussīlo — immoral” has the
specific meaning of defeated, no longer a monk due to
commission of the gravest offence, so one should not use it
loosely.
As the Vinaya rules only relate to verbal and physical
misdeeds, a scrupulous monk could lack virtue or goodness. It
depends on his intention for observing the Vinaya rule. If it
is only for the sake of praise and gain, it will not amount to
much. However, if he reveres the Buddha and follows the rule
out of respect for the Buddha’s command, then he rightly
deserves to be called a virtuous monk, not just “scrupulous.”
He certainly should not be called “fussy” or “difficult” just
because he is not weak-willed and shameless.
A virtuous monk may break rules sometimes due to
unmindfulness or strong defilements, but when he realises his
offence, or if his fellow monks remind him of it, he readily
admits his fault and duly makes amends according to the Vinaya
procedure prescribed.
A shameless monk, on the other hand, may be wise in
the sense of being learned in Abhidhamma, Sutta, and Vinaya,
but he lacks any genuine virtue. He frequently breaks the
rules knowingly and deliberately, without any moral scruples
or sense of shame. Though he knows his offences clearly, he
does not admit that there is any fault in breaking the
Buddha’s injunctions. If his fellow monks point out his
offences, he either retorts by accusing them of other
offences, evades the issue, or follows the rule only while
others are looking. Such completely shameless monks lack
virtue and moral integrity. They are not just weak or
heedless, but truly wicked.
Many modern monks, due to lack of proper training, do
not clearly know what is an offence, and what is not. They
just follow what their preceptors, teachers, and fellow monks
do. Such monks are shameless as well as foolish, though they
may sometimes be good-natured. Having become a bhikkhu, one
should understand the training that one has undertaken. If one
reads just the basic Pātimokkha rule, one will soon realise if
one’s teacher or preceptor is shameless. A newly ordained monk
is not in a position to correct a shameless preceptor or
teacher. He will either have to disrobe and seek re-ordination
elsewhere, or ask to study with a famous teacher or meditation
master. If he is negligent, he will inevitably become
shameless like his teacher.
What the Sayādaw says here applies to lay people too.
Lay Buddhists can also be classified as moral or immoral, wise
or foolish, good or bad. The texts contain plenty of
guidelines for lay Buddhists to become moral, wise, and good
devotees. As monks have a duty to study and train in the
monastic discipline, lay Buddhists have a duty to study and
train in the lay person’s discipline. Detailed guidance can be
found in the Singāla, Mangala, and Sāleyyaka Suttas. They
should also undertake regular courses in insight meditation,
since insight is indispensable to moral purity. If both lay
Buddhists and monks strive hard to study and practise the
Dhamma and Vinaya, the Buddha’s dispensation will be preserved
in its pristine purity. All that is necessary for evil to
succeed is for good people to do nothing. |
Note:
1 The word “āsādeti” means “invite to accept” or
“offer”, so a lay person makes demerit even if a scrupulous
monk refuses to accept money. Though the action of giving is
incomplete, the action of offering is complete. Any honest
person will be insulted if offered a bribe, and one can be
arrested and charged with trying to bribe a police officer or
customs official. Offering money to a monk is also an insult.
“Yampi so Tathāgatam vā Tathāgatasāvakam vā
ākappiyena āsādeti,
iminā pañcamena thānena bahum apuññam
pasavati.”
“Also, whoever offers to the Tathāgata or to the
Tathāgata’s disciple what is not allowable, in this fifth
case makes much demerit.”
(Jīvaka Sutta, M. i.
369)
Most Buddhists know that money is not allowable for
monks, so why do they offer it? It is better to ask monks what
they need. Even if the monk says that he does not need
anything at the moment, one makes a great deal of merit by
offering what is allowable, because the action of offering is
completed. If one is determined to give something, one can
give some money to a trusted lay supporter, and invite the
monk to ask for whatever he needs up to the amount that one
has given: “Venerable sir, I will give £20 to so-and-so,
please ask him for whatever you need.”
To avoid being embarrassed by a greedy monk asking for
too much, one can specify the value of what one wishes to
offer — “Venerable sir, I have twenty pounds. Is there
anything that you need?” If a shameless monk then asks for
something costing £100, one can say, “I don’t think that can
be got for £20, but I will try to find one.” Then the monk
will get what he deserves, and the donor will keep his
£20. |
