BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

Buddhist Monastic Code 1having them accepted in one's name. The discourses contain passages, though,indicating other purposes for this rule as well:"For anyone for whom gold and silver are allowable, the five strings of sensuality arealso allowable. For anyone for whom the five strings of sensuality are allowable,gold and silver are allowable (reading yassa pañca kāmaguṇā kappanti tassa-pijātarūpa-rajataṃ kappati with the Thai edition). That you can unequivocallyrecognize as not the quality of a contemplative, not the quality of one of the Sakyansons." — SN XLII.10"Bhikkhus, there are these four obscurations of the sun and moon, obscured bywhich the sun and moon don't glow, don't shine, don't dazzle. Which four? Clouds...Fog... Smoke and dust... Rāhu, the king of the asuras (believed to be the cause ofan eclipse) is an obscuration, obscured by which the sun and moon don't glow,don't shine, don't dazzle... In the same way, there are four obscurations ofcontemplatives and brahmans, obscured by which some contemplatives andbrahmans don't glow, don't shine, don't dazzle. Which four? There are somecontemplatives and brahmans who... do not refrain from drinking alcohol andfermented liquor... who do not refrain from sexual intercourse ... who do not refrainfrom accepting gold and silver ... who do not refrain from wrong livelihood...Because of these obscurations, some brahmans and contemplatives ... coveredwith darkness, slaves to craving, led on, swell the terrible charnel ground, grab atfurther becoming." — AN IV.50Bhikkhus, in abandoning the use of money, make real their abandonment of worldlypursuits and show others by example that the struggle for wealth is not the true wayto find happiness.The factors for an offense under this rule are two: object and effort. However,because "object" is defined in one way for the first two actions stated in the rule,and in another way for the third, it seems best to analyze this rule as covering twoseparate but related offenses.In the first offense the factors are:1) Object: gold or silver.2) Effort: One accepts or gets someone else to accept it.In the second offense they are:1) Object: gold or silver intended for one.2) Effort: One consents to its being placed down next to one.Object. The Vibhaṅga defines gold so as to include anything made of gold. Silver itdefines to cover coins made of silver, copper, wood, or lac, or whatever is used asa currency. The Commentary adds such examples as bones, pieces of hide, fruit,and seeds of trees used as currency, whether they have been stamped with a figureor not. At present, the term would include coins and paper currency, as well as190