Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c23.29

c23.29

Nursing was encouraged by a special reward. A sick Bhikkhu dying, his bowl and robes were to be given to his nurse by a special Resolution passed in a meeting of the Saṁgha. In the event of two nurses waiting upon him, the gift would be divided between them equally, even if one of them were a mere Sāmaṇera and the other a fully ordained Bhikkhu. If the dead Bhikkhu leaves property in excess of the requisites which his attending Bhikkhus can legitimately claim, it is to be first appropriated by the Saṁgha then present there, and, if there is still an excess, it is to be reserved for "the Saṁgha of the four directions, those who have come in, and those who have not" [*Mahāv.*, viii, 27].