BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

Buddhist Monastic Code 1Usually, if a Community transaction has been improperly performed, it is invalid andunfit to stand even if the bhikkhus involved think that they are following the properprocedure. In other words, in the case just mentioned, the site would strictlyspeaking not count as approved, and the hut would involve a saṅghādisesa.However, the Vibhaṅga seems to be making a special exemption here in assigningonly a dukkaṭa, perhaps so as not to punish unduly a bhikkhu who went to all thetrouble to follow, as best he and his fellow bhikkhus knew how, the properprocedures prior to building his hut.Effort. The Vibhaṅga allots the derived penalties related to the factor of effort underthis rule as follows: If the hut is such that when finished it will entail a saṅghādisesaor two, each act in its construction entails a dukkaṭa, until the next to the last act,which entails a thullaccaya.If a bhikkhu, intending it for his own use, completes a hut that others have started,he is still bound by the stipulations given in this rule. In other words, the offenseshere do not apply only to the original initiator of the hut's construction.The Commentary mentions a special case in which two bhikkhus, building a hut fortheir own use but not to the stipulations under this rule, complete it without havingdecided which part of the hut will go to which bhikkhu. Because of their indecision,the Commentary states that neither of them incurs the full offense until he has laidclaim to his part of the hut.Getting others to build the hut. The Vibhaṅga states that if, instead of building thehut himself, a bhikkhu tells others, "Build this hut for me," he must inform them ofthe four stipulations mentioned in this rule. If he neglects to inform them, and theyfinish the hut in such a way that it does not meet any or all of the stipulations, heincurs all the relevant offenses for the stipulations that he neglected to mention andthat the builders violated. For example: He tells them to build a hut of the right size,but neglects to tell them to have the site approved. They build it to the right size,the site is without disturbances and has adequate space but is not approved, andhe incurs a saṅghādisesa. Offenses in cases like this apply whether he gets them tostart the hut's construction or gets them to complete a hut that he has started.If, while the builders are still building the hut, he hears of what they are doing, hemust either go himself or send a messenger to tell them of the stipulations heneglected to mention. If he does neither, he incurs a dukkaṭa, and when the hut isfinished he incurs all the relevant offenses for the stipulations that he neglected tomention and that the builders violated.If, while the hut is still unfinished, he returns to the site and discovers that thestipulations he neglected to mention are being violated, he must either have the huttorn down (to the ground, says the Commentary) and have it rebuilt in line with thestipulations, give it to another bhikkhu or the Community, or face the full penalty —when the hut is finished — for each of the stipulations that he neglected to mentionand that the builders violated.108