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Fifth Khandhaka. Chapter 8

8 1.

1.
Now at that time the Se"t"th"i of R"g"agaha had acquired a block 2 of sandal-wood of the most precious sandal-wood flavour. And the Se"t"th"i of R"g"agaha thought, 'How would it be if I were to have a bowl carved out of this block of sandal-wood, so that the chips 3 shall remain my property, and I can give the bowl away?' And the Se"t"th"i of R"g"agaha had a bowl turned out of that block of sandal-wood, and put it in a balance, and had it lifted on to the top of a bamboo 4, and tying that bamboo at the top of a succession of bamboos, he let it be known, saying, 'If any Sama"n"a or Brahman be an Arahat and possessed of Iddhi, let him get down the bowl. It is a gift to him!'

Then Pra"n"a Kassapa went to the Se"t"th"i of R"g"agaha, and said to him, 'I, O householder, am

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an Arahat and possessed of Iddhi. Give me the bowl.
'

'If, Sir, you are an Arahat and possessed of Iddhi, let your reverence get down the bowl!'

Then Makkhali Gosla, and A"g"ita Kesa-kambal, and Pakudha Ka"k"k"yana, and Sa"g"aya Bela"t"th"iputta, and Niga"n"th"a Nta-putta went severally to the Se"t"th"i of R"g"agaha, [and preferred the same request, and received the same reply.]

Now at that time the venerable Mah Moggallna and the venerable Pi"n"d"ola Bhradv"g"a, having dressed themselves early in the morning, went into R"g"agaha, duly bowled and robed, for alms. And the venerable Pi"n"d"ola Bhradv"g"a said to the venerable Mah Moggallna: 'The venerable Mah Moggallna is both an Arahat and possessed of Iddhi. Go, friend Moggallna, and fetch down this bowl, for this bowl belongs to thee.'

'The venerable Pi"n"d"ola Bhradv"g"a also is both an Arahat and possessed of Iddhi. Go, friend Bhradv"g"a, and fetch down the bowl, for this bowl belongs to thee.'

Then the venerable Pi"n"d"ola Bhradv"g"a, rising up in the air, took the bowl, and went thrice round R"g"agaha (in the air). And at that time the Se"t"th"i of R"g"agaha stood in his dwelling-place with his wife and children, and holding up his clasped hands in reverent salutation, he exclaimed, 'May the venerable Bhradv"g"a be pleased to descend upon our dwelling-place.' And the venerable Bhradv"g"a descended into his dwelling-place. Then the Se"t"th"i of R"g"agaha took the bowl from the hands of the venerable Bhradv"g"a, and filled it with costly food, and presented it to the venerable Bhradv"g"a. And

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the venerable Bhradv"g"a took the bowl, and departed to his rma.

2.
Now the people heard, 'The venerable Pi"n"d"ola Bhradv"g"a, they say, has got down the R"g"agaha Se"t"th"i's bowl.' And those people, with shouts loud and long, followed in the steps of Pi"n"d"ola Bhradv"g"a. And the Blessed One heard the shouts loud and long, and on hearing them he asked the venerable nanda, 'What now, nanda, does this so great shouting mean?'

The venerable Pi"n"d"ola Bhradv"g"a, Lord, has got down the R"g"agaha Se"t"th"i's bowl; and the people ther are following in his steps with shouts loud and long.'

Then the Blessed One, on that occasion and in that connection, convened a meeting of the Bhikkhu-Sa"m"gha, and asked Pi"n"d"ola Bhradv"g"a, 'Is it true, as they say, that you, Bhradv"g"a, have got down the R"g"agaha Se"t"th"i's bowl?'

'It is true, Lord.'

The Blessed Buddha rebuked him, saying, 'This is improper, Bhradv"g"a, not according to rule, unsuitable, unworthy of a Sama"n"a, unbecoming, and ought not to be done. How can you, Bhradv"g"a, for the sake of a miserable wooden pot, display before the laity the superhuman quality of your miraculous power of Iddhi? Just, Bhradv"g"a, like a woman who displays herself for the sake of a miserable piece of money 1, have you, for the sake of a miserable

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wooden pot displayed before the laity the superhuman quality of your miraculous power of Iddhi. This will not conduce, Bhradv"g"a, either to the conversion of the unconverted, or to the increase of the converted; but rather to those who have not been converted remaining unconverted, and to the turning back of those who have been converted.'

And when he had rebuked him, and had delivered a religious discourse 1, he addressed the Bhikkhus, and said: 'You are not, O Bhikkhus, to display before the laity the superhuman power of Iddhi. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a dukka"t"a 2. Break to pieces, O Bhikkhus, that wooden bowl; and when you have ground it to powder, give it to the Bhikkhus as perfume for their eye ointments 3. And you are not, O Bhikkhus, to use wooden bowls. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a dukka"t"a 4.'

Footnotes

78:1 A
Burmese version of the following legend is translated by Bishop Bigandet in his 'Legend of the Burmese Buddha,' vol. ii, pp. 212-216 (Third Edition).

78:2
\"K"andana-gan"th" uppann hoti ti "k"andana-gha"t"t"ik uppann hoti (B.). Compare ga"n"th"ik at "G"taka I, 150 = ga"n"d"ik at ibid. Ii, 124, and our note below on that word at V, 29, 3.

78:3
Lekha"m". It is clear from V, 9, 2, below, and Buddhaghosa's note there, that likhitu"m" is used in the sense of 'to plane' or 'to adze' wood or metal; and the Sinhalese MSS. read here likha"m" instead of lekha"m". It cannot be 'to turn,' as the turning lathe is quite a modern invention.

78:4 A
similar proceeding is related of a Bhikkhu at 24, 1.

80:1
Msaka-rpassa. On the msaka, see Rh. D.'s 'Ancient Coins and Measures, &c.,' p. 13. It is evident from the use of the word rpa here that stamped pieces of money were known in the valley of the Ganges as early as the time when the "K"ullavagga p. 81 was composed. The word occurs also below at "K"ullavagga Xii, 1, X.

81:1
See "K"ullavagga I, 1, 2.

81:2
Compare the 4th Pr"g"ika.

81:3
The use of sandal-wood for this purpose is allowed by the closing words of Mahvagga Vi, 11.

81:4
This injunction is repeated below in the summary at V, 37.
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