BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

Buddhist Monastic Code 12) from cuttings or stakes (e.g., willows, rose bushes),3) from joints (e.g., sugar cane, bamboo),4) from runners (e.g., strawberries, couch grass), or5) from seeds (e.g., corn, beans).According to the Commentary, a whole plant or part of one that has been removedfrom its original place is no longer classed as bhūtagāma. If it is capable of growingagain when placed in the ground, it is classed as bījagāma, which means "home ofa seed." When a seed is sown, it is regarded as bījagāma until the first shoot turnsa fresh green color and the first leaf appears. After that it is regarded as bhūtagāma.In line with this criterion, the Commentary classifies as bījagāma such lower formsof plant life as mushrooms that still have their spores, fungi, lichens without leaves,and molds, in that they do not pass through a fresh green stage, have nodiscernable leaves, and yet are capable of regeneration. Mushrooms that have losttheir spores, and parts of any plants that have been removed from place and willnot grow, or that have been cooked or otherwise damaged to the point where theyare incapable of generation, are not grounds for an offense under this rule.The Commentary asserts further that to damage bījagāma entails a dukkaṭa. TheVibhaṅga does not mention this point, but the Commentary cites as its justification apassage occurring in a number of suttas (such as DN 2) saying that a bhikkhuconsummate in virtue refrains from harming both bhūtagāma and bījagāma. In doingso, the Commentary is utilizing the Cullavagga's blanket rule assigning a dukkaṭa toall bad habits (Cv.V.36). The Mahāvagga and Cullavagga give further but partialjustification to the Commentary's assertion in two passages, dealing with bhikkhuseating fruit, which we will discuss below. The Jain ascetics follow similarobservances, which suggests that both the Buddhists and the Jains adopted thispoint from the ancient Indian ascetics who predated both religions.Furthermore, according to the Commentary, there are certain kinds of plants that donot count either as bhūtagāma or bījagāma under this rule, and to damage thementails no offense. To justify this point it quotes a passage from Cv.VIII.1.3: "If awall treated with ochre...(or) a finished floor is moldy (§), one should moisten a rag,wring it out, and wipe it clean." The Commentary extends the Canon's instructionshere to cover not only mold on walls but also other lower forms of plant life — suchas algae on the inside of water jars, fungus on toothbrushes, and mold on food —that would count as filth if they were allowed to continue growing.Effort. According to the Vibhaṅga, the term damaging includes such actions ascutting, breaking, and cooking, as well as getting other people to perform theseactions. The Commentary defines damaging as "dealing with a plant as one likes bycutting it, breaking it, and so on." Although the word for dealing with, — paribhuñjati— literally means "making use of," the Commentary's illustrations of what thiscovers include even such things as shaking a tree limb to get the dry leaves to falloff so that one can sweep them up. Thus, it says, damaging would include pickingflowers or leaves, uprooting a plant, engraving one's initials in a tree trunk, etc.Because no exception is made for doing such things with "benevolent" intentionstoward the plant, pruning would be included as well. Given the catch-all nature of264