BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

Buddhist Monastic Code 1"So they went to Mahānāma the Sakyan and on arrival said to him, 'We need atubful of ghee, my friend.'"'Please wait for the rest of today, venerable sirs. People have just gone to thecattle pen to get ghee. You may come and fetch it in the morning.'A second time... A third time, they said to him, 'We need a tubful of ghee, myfriend.'"'Please wait for the rest of today, venerable sirs. People have just gone to thecattle pen to get ghee. You may come and fetch it in the morning.'"'What's with this invitation without wanting to give, friend, in that having made theinvitation you don't give?'"So Mahānāma the Sakyan criticized and complained and spread it about, 'How cantheir reverences, being told, "Please wait for the rest of today, venerable sirs," notwait?'"As the story shows, the person making the invitation was expected to provide thegoods he offered, while bhikkhus were expected to be reasonable in their requests.The Vibhaṅga's discussion here assumes that this rule applies to invitations offeringmedicines, but it does not say explicitly whether it covers invitations made toindividuals or to those made to entire Communities. The Commentary, however,argues reasonably from a statement in the Vibhaṅga's non-offense clauses (seebelow) that it covers only invitations made to Communities.The rule and origin stories show that invitations of this sort originally had threestandard forms: a four-month invitation (each of the major seasons in India lastsfour months, which may have been the reason for this type of invitation), a renewedfour-month invitation, and a permanent invitation. Eventually, though, the Vibhaṅgaworked out the following fourfold schema to cover invitations of a wide variety ofsorts: those that specify (1) requisites (medicines), (2) a time period, (3) both, or(4) neither.1) An invitation specifying requisites may specify merely the type of item offered —"Let me know if you ever need any honey or sugar" — or also the amount — "Let meknow if you ever need a bottle of honey... a pound of sugar." In cases like these, abhikkhu may ask for the type or amount of the item offered. If he asks for otheritems or for more of the proper item than the amount offered, if that too is specified,he incurs a pācittiya. However, because the donor mentions no time limit, theVibhaṅga says that the bhikkhu may ask at any time.2) An invitation specifying the time period may be phrased, for example, "Let meknow if you need any medicine during this Rains-residence." In cases like this, abhikkhu may ask for any type or amount of medicine during that time period. But asthe origin stories to this and the other rules dealing with asking make clear (see Sg350