Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c22.39

c22.39

**Regulation of Relations between these Groups in a Vihāra.** Special rules were called for to maintain the harmony of relations between different groups. Disciplinary steps against the novices of a group had to be taken through the head of the group, the Upajjhāya of the novices concerned. Once the Chabbaggiya Bhikkhus¹ laid a ban upon novices without the consent of their Upajjhāyas, who, searching after and not finding them, complained, "How is it that our novices have disappeared?" and on being told the cause of their disappearance protested, "How can the Chhabbaggiya Bhikkhus lay a ban upon our novices without having obtained our consent?" On this, the Blessed One prescribed the rule: "Let no one, O Bhikkhus, lay a ban upon novices without consent of the Upajjhāyas" [*Mahāvagga*, i, 58]. The next mischief of the Chhabbaggiya Bhikkhus was to draw the novices of senior Bhikkhus over to themselves. This dissolution of their following put their teachers, the Theras, to serious personal inconvenience and on their complaint the Blessed One ruled: "Let no one, O Bhikkhus, draw the followers of another Bhikkhu over to himself" [ib., i, 59]. Thus this rule was required to stop intrigues of the Professors of a Vihāra with students and preserve a proper standard of academic etiquette and decorum governing the delicate relations among the staff. There were, however, certain cases agreed to, on which disciplinary action against the offending novices would be in operation directly and automatically without any reference to their Upajjhāyas. The most serious of them were ten in number, comprising the following: destroying life, stealing, committing impurity, lying, drinking intoxicating liquors, defaming the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṁgha, holding false doctrines, and misconduct with Bhikkhunīs. These offences were to be punished by immediate expulsion of the offenders from the Order. There are enumerated five other less serious cases when a novice was directly punishable, viz. "when he is intent on the Bhikkhus receiving no alms, meeting with misfortunes, and finding no residence, when he abuses and reviles the Bhikkhus and when he causes divisions between Bhikkhus and Bhikkhus" [*Mahāv.*, i, 57, 1]. At first the novices committing these offences were punished by being forbidden entrance to the Saṁghārāma or monastery, and they retaliated by "going away, or returning to the world or going over to Titthiya schools" whereupon it was prescribed that they should be forbidden only the places "where they live or which they used to frequent" [ib., i, 57, 2].