1. Now at that time a certain Bhikkhu had a disturbance in his bowels, and he
lay fallen in his own evacuations. And the Blessed One on going round the
sleeping-places accompanied by the venerable Ânanda came to that Bhikkhu's
abode, and saw him so. And he went up to him, and asked him, 'What is the matter
with you, O Bhikkhu?'
'I have a disturbance, Lord, in my bowels.'
'Then have you, O Bhikkhu, any one to wait upon you?'
'No, Lord.'
'Why do not the Bhikkhus wait upon you?'
'Because I am of no service, Lord, to the Bhikkhus.'
2. Then the Blessed One said to the venerable
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[paragraph continues] Ânanda: 'Go, Ânanda, and fetch some water. Let us bathe
this Bhikkhu.'
'Even so, Lord,' said the venerable Ânanda, in assent to the Blessed One, and
fetched the water. And the Blessed One poured the water over that Bhikkhu; and
the venerable Ânanda wiped him down. And the Blessed One taking hold of him at
the head, and the venerable Ânanda at the feet, they lifted him up, and laid him
down upon his bed.
3. Then the Blessed One, on that occasion and in that connection, convened a
meeting of the Bhikkhu-samgha, and asked the Bhikkhus, 'Is there, O Bhikkhus, in
such and such an apartment, a Bhikkhu who is sick?'
'There is, Lord.'
'Then what, O Bhikkhus, is the matter with that Bhikkhu?'
'He has a disturbance, Lord, in his bowels.'
'And is there any one, O Bhikkhus, to wait upon him?'
'No, Lord.'
Why, then, do not the Bhikkhus wait upon him?'
'That Bhikkhu, Lord, is of no service to the Bhikkhus; therefore do they not
wait upon him.'
'Ye, O Bhikkhus, have no mothers and no fathers who might wait upon you! If ye,
O Bhikkhus, wait not one upon the other, who is there indeed who will wait upon
you? Whosoever, O Bhikkhus, would wait upon me, he should wait upon the sick.
4. 'If he have an upagghâya, his upagghâya should wait upon him as long as his
life lasts, and wait until he has recovered; and so if he have an âkariya, a
saddhi-vihârika, an antevâsika, a fellow
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saddhi-vihârika, or a fellow antevâsika 1. And if he have neither of all these,
then should the Samgha wait upon him; and whosoever does not do so, shall be
guilty of a dukkata.
5. 'There are five qualities, O Bhikkhus, which, when a sick man has, he is
difficult to wait upon--when he does not do what is good for him; when he does
not know the limit (of the quantity of food) that is good for him 2; when he
does not take his medicine; when he does not let a nurse who desires his good
know what manner of disease he has, or when it is getting worse that that is so,
or when it is getting better that that is so, or when it is stationary that that
is so; and when he has become unable to bear bodily pains that are severe,
sharp, grievous, disagreeable, unpleasant, and destructive to life 3. These are
the five qualities, O Bhikkhus, which, when a sick man has, he is difficult to
wait upon.
6. 'There are five qualities, O Bhikkhus, which, when a sick man has, he is easy
to wait upon--when he does' (&c., the contrary of the last section).
7. 'There are five qualities, O Bhikkhus, which, when one who waits upon the
sick has, he is incompetent to the task--when he is not capable of prescribing
medicines; when he does not know what (diet) is good and what is not good for
the patient, serving what is not good, and not serving what is good for him;
when he waits upon the sick out of
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greed, and not out of love; when he revolts from removing evacuations, saliva or
vomit; when he is not capable from time to time of teaching, inciting, arousing,
and gladdening the patient with religious discourse. These are the five
qualities, O Bhikkhus, which, when one who waits upon the sick has, he is
incompetent to the task.
8. 'There are five qualities, O Bhikkhus, which, when one who waits upon the
sick has, he is competent to the task--when he is capable' (&c., the contrary of
the last section).
Footnotes
240:1 Buddhaghosa says, Ekâdhippâyan ti ekam adhippâyam. Eka-puggala-pativisam
eva dethâ ti attho.
242:1 On all except the last two this duty has already been enjoined above in
the passages on the mutual duties of masters and pupils (Mahâvagga I, 24, 25; I,
26, II; I, 32, 3; I, 33, r).
242:2 Compare Gâtaka II, 293, 294.
242:3 This last clause occurs also above, at I, 49, 6.
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