Cullavagga - Fourth Khandhaka: Chapter 10

1. 'There are ten cases, O Bhikkhus, in which the taking of votes is invalid;
and ten in which the taking of votes is valid.
'Which are the ten in which the taking of votes is invalid? When the matter in
dispute is trivial 2--when the case has not run its course (that is, when. the
necessary preliminaries of submission to arbitration have not been carried out
3)--when regarding the matter in dispute the Bhikkhus have not formally
remembered, or been formally called upon to remember, the offence 4--when the
taker of votes 5 knows that those whose opinions are not in accordance with the
law will be in the majority,
p. 27
or probably 1 may be in the majority--when he knows that the voting will result
in a schism in the Samgha--when he is in doubt whether the voting will result in
a schism in the Samgha--when the votes are irregularly given 2--when all do not
vote equally 3--and when they do not vote in accordance with the view (which
they really hold). These are the ten cases in which the voting is invalid 4.
2. 'And which are the ten cases in which the voting is valid?'
[The ten cases are precisely the reverse of the other ten.]



Footnotes
26:1 On this chapter, see further below, IV, 14, 24-26.
26:2 Oramattakam. Compare the English law maxim, De minimis non curat lex.
26:3 Buddhaghosa says, Na ka gatigatan ti dve tayo âvâse na gatam, tattha tatth’
eva vâ dvitikkhattum avinikkhitam. See on these proceedings above.
26:4 Buddhaghosa says, Na ka sarita-sâritan ti dvitikkhattum tehi bhikkhûhi
sayam saritam va aññehi sâritam vâ na hoti.
26:5 Gânâtî ti salâkam gâhento gânâti. (S.P.)
27:1 App eva nâma. That this phrase does not merely mean 'perhaps' is clear from
its use in § 2.
27:2 Adhammena ganhantî ti adhammavâdino evam mayam bahû bhavissâmâ ti dve dve
salâkâyo ganhanti. (S.P.)
27:3 On vaggâ, here = vi + agga, compare our note on the 21st Pâkittiya, and
Kullavagga I, 2, 1. Buddhaghosa here says, Vaggâ ganhantî ti dve dhammavâdino
ekam dhammavâdisalâkam ganhanti evam dhammavâdino na bahû bhavissanti ti
maññamânâ.
27:4 With this chapter the 26th section of chapter 14 should be compared, where
very curious means are inculcated for avoiding some of the votes here stated to
be invalid.