BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

Buddhist Monastic Code 1building where snakes and other dangerous animals live, this also extends, it says,to the areas where they regularly forage for food.(3) The site is not near any places that will disturb the bhikkhu's peace and quiet.Examples given in the Vibhaṅga are: fields, orchards, places of execution,cemeteries, pleasure groves, royal property, elephant stables, horse stables, prisons,taverns, slaughterhouses, highways, crossroads, public rest-houses, and meetingplaces.Adequate space means that there is enough room on the site for a yoked wagon ora man carrying a ladder to go around the proposed hut. The question arises as towhether this means that all trees within that radius of the hut must be cut down orsimply that there must be enough land around the hut so that if the trees were notthere it would be possible to go around the hut in the ways mentioned. The Subcommentarystates that the stipulation for adequate space is so that the hut will notbe built on the edge of a precipice or next to a cliff wall, and the Vinaya-mukhanotes that the Vibhaṅga here is following the Laws of Manu (an ancient Indian legaltext) in ensuring that the dwelling not be built right against someone else's property.Both of these statements suggest that there is no need to cut the trees down.The Vinaya-mukha deduces further from the Vibhaṅga's discussion that theprocedures for getting the site approved are concerned basically with laying claimto unclaimed land and thus don't need to be followed in locations where theCommunity already owns the land, such as in a monastery; if a bhikkhu in suchCommunities wishes to build a hut for his own use on monastery land, he need onlyget the approval of the abbot. Nothing in the ancient texts, however, supports thisopinion.— Clearing the site. Before notifying the local Community, the bhikkhu must get thesite cleared — so says the Vibhaṅga, and the Commentary adds that he should getit leveled as well. In both cases, he should arrange to have this done in such a waythat does not violate Pc 10 & 11. If one is planning to build the hut on monasterygrounds, the wise policy would be to obtain permission from the abbot beforeclearing the site. Again, the question arises as to whether clearing the site meanscutting down the trees on the spot where one proposes building the hut. In theorigin story to the following rule, Ven. Channa caused an uproar by cutting down avenerated tree on a site where he planned to build, which led the Buddha toformulate the rule that the Community must inspect and approve the site to preventuproars of this sort. This suggests that clearing the site here means clearing theunderbrush so that the presence or absence of termites, etc., can be clearlydetermined. Only after the Community has approved the site should the necessarytrees be cut down.— Getting the site inspected. The bhikkhu then goes to the Community and formallyasks them to inspect the site. (The Pali passages for this and the remaining formalrequests and announcements are in the Vibhaṅga.) If all the members of theCommunity are able to go and inspect the site, they should all go. If not, theCommunity should select some of its members to go and inspect the site in itsstead. The Vibhaṅga says that these inspectors should know what does and does106