History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c15.s5.7

c15.s5.7

Two references in the *Vinaya* indicate the shame and annoyance felt by Buddhist monks at being mistaken for Ājīvikas. The first incident is said to have taken place when a group of *bhikkhus* was robbed of their robes on the road from Sāketa to Sāvatthi. Not being permitted to beg fresh robes of householders, they entered the city of Sāvatthi naked, and the citizens wondered at the handsome naked Ājīvikas whom they saw talking with the clothed *bhikkhus*.⁴ The second incident also took place at Sāvatthi, at the Jetavana, when the Buddha allowed his monks to remove their robes and expose their bodies to a cooling shower of rain. At the time the pious laywoman Visākhā sent her maid to invite them to a meal, but when she saw the naked *bhikkhus* the girl returned to her mistress and declared that the *ārāma* was no longer occupied by Buddhist monks but by Ājīvikas.⁵ As a result of both these incidents the Buddha amended the rules of the order, to avoid any danger of similar misapprehensions in future.