[ p. 171 ]
SEVENTH LECTURE, CALLED REGULATION OF POSSESSION [^438].
‘I shall become a Sramana who owns no house, no property, no sons, no cattle, who eats what others give him; I shall commit no sinful action; Master, I renounce to accept anything that has not been given.’ Having taken such vows, (a mendicant) should not, on entering a village or scot-free town, &c., take himself, or induce others to take, or allow others to take, what has not been given. A mendicant should not take or appropriate any property, viz. an umbrella [^439] or vessel or stick, &c. (see II, 2, 3, § 2), of those monks together with whom he stays, without getting their permission, and without having inspected and wiped (the object in question); but having got their permission, and having inspected and wiped (the object in question), he may take or appropriate it [^440]. (1)
He may beg for a domicile in a traveller’s hall, &c. [ p. 172 ] (see II, 1, 8, § 2), having reflected (on its fitness for a stay); he should ask permission to take possession of it from him who is the landlord or the steward of that place: ‘Indeed, O long-lived one! for the time, and in the space which you concede us, we shall dwell here. We shall take possession of the place for as long a time as the place belongs to you; and of as much of it as belongs to you; for as many fellow-ascetics (as shall stand in need of it); afterwards we shall take to wandering [^441].’ (2)
Having got possession of some place, a mendicant should invite to that food, &c., which he himself has collected, any fellow-ascetics arriving there who follow the same rules and are zealous brethren; but he should not invite them to anything of which he has taken possession for the sake of somebody else. (3)
Having got possession of some place (in a traveller’s hall, &c.), a mendicant should offer a footstool or bench or bed or couch, which he himself has begged, to any fellow-ascetics arriving there who follow other rules than he, yet are zealous brethren; but he should not offer them anything of which he has taken possession for the sake of somebody else. (4)
Having got possession of some place in a traveller’s hall, &c., a mendicant might ask from a householder or his sons the loan of a needle or a Pippalaka [^442] or an ear-picker or a nail-parer, he should not give or lend it to somebody else; but [ p. 173 ] having done that for which he wanted one of the above articles, he should go with that article there (where the householder, &c., is), and stretching out his hands or laying the article on the ground, he should, after consideration, say: ‘Here it is! here it is!’ But he should not with his own hand put it in the hand of the householder. (5)
A monk or a nun should not take possession of anything 1 on the bare ground, on wet ground, where there are eggs, &c.; nor on pillars or such an above-ground place (II, 2, 1, § 7); nor on a wall, &c.; nor on the trunk of a tree, &c.; nor where the householder or fire or water, or women or children or cattle are, and where it is not fit for a wise man to enter or to leave, &c., nor to meditate on the law; nor where they have to pass through the householder’s abode or to which there is no road, and where it is not fit, &c.; nor where the householder or his wife, &c., bully or scold each other, &c. (see II, 2, 1, § 9, and 3, § 7); nor where they rub or anoint each other’s body with oil or ghee or butter or grease; nor where they take a bath, &c.; nor where they go about naked, &c. (all as in II, 2, 3, §§ 7-12).
This is the whole duty, &c.
Thus I say. (6-12)
He may beg for a domicile in a traveller’s hall, &c. (see II, 1, 8, § 2), having reflected (on its fitness); he should ask permission to take possession [ p. 174 ] of it from the landlord or the steward of that place: ‘Indeed, O long-lived one! for the time and in the space you concede us, we shall dwell here [1],’ &c. (see 1, § 2). Now what further after the place is taken possession of? He should not remove from without to within, or vice versa, any umbrella or stick, &c. (see II, 2, 3, § 2) belonging to Sramanas or Brâhmanas (previously settled there); nor should he wake up a sleeping person, nor offend or molest the (inmates). (1)
A monk or a nun might wish to go to a mango park; they should then ask the landlord’s or steward’s permission (in the manner described above). Now what further after the place is taken possession of? Then they might desire to eat a mango. If the monk or the nun perceive that the mango is covered with eggs, living beings, &c. (see II, 1, 1, § 2), they should not take it; for it is impure, &c. (2)
If the monk or the nun perceive that the mango is free from eggs, living beings, &c., but not nibbled at by animals, nor injured, they should not take it; for it is impure, &c. But if they perceive that the mango is free from eggs, living beings, &c., and is nibbled at by animals and injured, then they may take it; for it is pure, &c. [2] (3)
The monk might wish to eat or suck one half of a mango or a mango’s peel or rind or sap or smaller particles. If the monk or the nun perceive that the above-enumerated things are covered with eggs, or living beings, they should not take them; for they are impure, &c. But they may take them, if they are [ p. 175 ] free from eggs, &c., and nibbled at by animals or injured [3]. (4)
A monk or a nun might wish to go to a sugarcane plantation. They should ask permission in the manner described above. The monk or the nun might wish to chew or suck sugar-cane. In that case the same rules as for eating mango apply also; likewise if they wish to chew or to suck the sugar-cane’s pulp, fibres, sap, or smaller particles. (5)
A monk or a nun might wish to go to a garlic field. They should ask permission in the manner described above. The monk or the nun might wish to chew or suck garlic. In that case the same rules as for eating mangoes apply also; likewise if they wish to chew or suck the bulb or peel or stalk or seed of garlic [4]. (6)
A monk or a nun, having got possession of a place in a traveller’s hall, &c., should avoid all occasions to sin (proceeding from any preparations made by) the householders or their sons, and should occupy that place according to the following rules. (7)
Now this is the first rule:
He may beg for a domicile in a traveller’s hall, &c., having reflected (on its fitness for a stay), &c. (§ 2 of the preceding Lesson is to be repeated here).
This is the first rule. (8)
Now follows the second rule:
A monk resolves: ‘I shall ask for possession of a dwelling-place, &c., for the sake of other mendicants, [ p. 176 ] and having taken possession of it for their sake, I shall use it.’
This is the second rule. (9)
Now follows the third rule:
A monk resolves: ‘I shall ask for possession of a dwelling-place, &c., for the sake of other mendicants, and having taken possession of it for their sake, I shall not use it.’
This is the third rule. (10)
Now follows the fourth rule:
A monk resolves: ‘I shall not ask for possession of a dwelling-place, &c., for the sake of other mendicants; but if the dwelling-place, &c., has already been ceded to them, I shall use it.’
This is the fourth rule. (11)
Now follows the fifth rule:
A monk resolves: ‘I shall ask for possession of a dwelling-place for my own sake, not for two, three, four, or five persons.’
This is the fifth rule. (12)
Now follows the sixth rule:
If a monk or a nun, occupying a dwelling-place in which there is Ikkada reed, &c. (see II, 2, 3, § 18), get this thing, then they may use it; otherwise they should remain in a squatting or sitting posture.
This is the sixth rule. (13)
Now follows the seventh rule:
A monk or a nun may beg for a dwelling-place paved with clay or wood. If they get it, then they may use it; otherwise they should remain in a squatting or sitting posture.
This is the seventh rule.
One who has adopted one of these seven rules, should not say, &c. (all as in II, 1, 11, § 12). (14)
[ p. 177 ]
I have heard the following explanation by the venerable (Mahâvîra): The Sthaviras, the venerable ones, have declared that dominion [5] is fivefold:
The lord of the gods’ dominion;
The king’s dominion;
The houseowner’s [6] dominion;
The householder’s [7] dominion;
The religious man’s [8] dominion.
This is the whole duty, &c.
Thus I say. (15)
End of the Seventh Lecture, called Regulation of Possession.
171:1 Oggahapadimâ. ↩︎
171:2 The commentator (Sîlâṅka) states that the monks in Kuṅkanadesa, &c., are allowed to carry umbrellas, because of the heavy rains in that country. ↩︎
171:3 Oginheggâ vâ pagginheggâ vâ. The commentators explain these words ‘to take for once’ (sakrit) and ‘to take repeatedly’ (anekasas). Later on the Guzerati commentator explains ogginheggâ by mage, he should ask.’ ↩︎
172:1 Compare the corresponding precept in II, 2, 3, § 3. ↩︎
172:2 The Guzerati commentator only says that pippalaka is some utensil. The older commentators do not explain this passage. ↩︎
173:1 Oggaha. ↩︎
174:1 § 2 of the preceding Lesson is repeated word for word. ↩︎
174:2 See II, 1, 1, §§ 3, 4. ↩︎