68 CHAPTER THREEoffense for a monk to persist in fomenting schism within the Sangha after the
assembly has formally warned him three times to desist. It is also an offense for
other monks to persist in supporting a schismatic and for a monk to persist in
being obtuse and refusing to accept admonition after the third warning. The
thirteenth offense of this class is for a monk who, having been banished from
a community for having an evil influence on the laity, criticizes the monks
who imposed the banishment on him. In each case, a formal meeting of the
Sangha is called and the offending monk is placed under probation for at least
six days.
The probationer forfeits many privileges. He must not allow monks in
good standing to offer salutation, provide seats for him, carry his robe or bowl,
or massage him. Every day he must announce to the monks in the monastery
the reason for his probation, repeating this announcement whenever new-
comers arrive. He is required always to take the lowest seat, the worst bed, the
worst room, and to sit at the end of the line when food is being distributed.
He may not leave the monastery unless accompanied by four monks of good
standing. When the probation period is over, he may be reinstated only by a
Sangha of 20 monks or more. This class of rules is followed by two dealing
with how to handle a case when a monk has been sitting in private with a
woman and ~is accused of an offense; the assembly must meet to review the
case, deciding what penalty, if any, is called for.
Thirty rules deal with improper use or acquisition of an article, requiring
confession and forfeiture of the article involved. For the most part the rules
concern robes, alms bowls, and seat-rugs. The monk must not have more than
one of each of these at a time. However, when his begging-bowl develops five
cracks, he may exchange it for a new one. He must not get a nun to do his
laundry, give him a robe (except in exchange), or prepare wool for a rug. He
may store medicinal foods for only seven days. He may not receive gold or sil-
ver, buy, sell, or barter.
Ninety-two of the rules require simple confession. The list is quite miscel-
laneous: lying, verbal abuse, divisive tale-bearing, stealing another monk's
sleeping space, sporting in the water, or eavesdropping while other monks
quarrel. It is prohibited to dig the ground, destroy plant life, or sprinkle water
with living creatures in it. These rules, ostensibly to protect worms and bugs,
also safeguarded the religious against lapsing into peasanthood or becoming
solitary hermits, growing their own food. Another group of rules prohibits
the monk (except for good cause) from going near an army drawn up for bat-
tle, staying with an army for more than two or three nights, and watching
other military activities. The idea seems to be that the monk should not be an
accessory to bloodshed, although the prohibitions were probably also intended
to protect him from accusations of engaging in espionage or diplomatic in-
trigue. As opposed to killing a human being, deliberately taking animal life
does not warrant expulsion but does require confession. The monk must not
even drink or otherwise use water that contains living things that would die
from his using it. He must not eat food after noon or before dawn, nor is he