BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

Buddhist Monastic Code 1Three: The 16 Dealing with Teaching DhammaSN VI.2 records that the Buddha himself had the highest respect for the Dhamma hehad discovered; that, as others might live under the guidance of a teacher, honoringand revering him, the Buddha lived under, honored, and revered the Dhamma. Heenjoined his followers to show the same respect for the Dhamma not only whenlistening to it but also when teaching it, by refusing to teach it to a person whoshows disrespect.The following set of rules deals with situations in which a listener, in terms of theetiquette at that time, would be regarded as showing disrespect for a teacher or histeaching. As the Vinaya-mukha notes, a few of these cases — such as thoseconcerning footwear — are not considered disrespectful under certaincircumstances at present, although here the exceptions given for listeners who areill might be stretched to cover any situation where the listener would feelinconvenienced or awkward if asked to comply with the etiquette of the Buddha'stime. On the other hand, there are many ways of showing disrespect at present thatare not covered by these rules, and an argument could be made, reasoning fromthe Great Standards, that a bhikkhu should not teach Dhamma to a person whoshowed disrespect in any way.Dhamma here is defined as any statement spoken by the Buddha, his disciples,seers, or devatās, connected with the teaching or with its goal. See Pc 7 for a moredetailed discussion of this point.57. I will not teach Dhamma to a person with an umbrella in hishand who is not ill: a training to be observed.An umbrella or sunshade, at that time, was considered a sign of rank. According tothe Commentary, this rule applies regardless of whether the umbrella is open orclosed, as long as one's listener has his/her hand on it. If, however, the umbrella ison the listener's lap, resting against his/her shoulder, or if someone else is holdingit over the listener's head, there is no offense in teaching him/her any Dhamma.This last point may have been offered as a concession to royalty at the time.58. I will not teach Dhamma to a person with a staff in his handwho is not ill: a training to be observed.According to the Vibhaṅga, a staff is a pole two meters long. For some reason, anypole shorter or longer than that would not come under this rule — perhaps becausea two-meter pole was used as a weapon, whereas other poles, such as walkingsticks, were not.452