The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, when Mahāmaudgalyāyana allowed the going forth of Upāli and a band of seventeen healthy new youths, and ordained them. Come twilight, reduced and wracked by hunger as they were, they would cry out and the Blessed One would hear these great many cries from within the monastery’s grounds.
EN
Though they hear, blessed buddhas may inquire about what they already know. Though they already know, they may inquire—or, even though they know, they may not inquire. They inquire when the time is right, not when the time has passed. Their inquiries are meaningful, not meaningless. In this way blessed buddhas dam the flow of meaningless inquiries.
EN
As blessed buddhas know the time for a meaningful inquiry, the Blessed Buddha asked the venerable Ānanda, “Who are these great many young boys who cry within the monastery’s grounds at twilight?”
EN
“Reverend, it is Upāli and a band of seventeen healthy new youths whom Mahāmaudgalyāyana allowed to go forth, and has ordained. At twilight it is they who, reduced and wracked by hunger, cry out.”
EN
“Ānanda, do monks grant ordination into the monkhood to persons who have not yet reached twenty years?”
EN
“Reverend, they do.”
EN
“Ānanda, ones so young should not be ordained. Persons who are not yet twenty years of age cannot accept all they may be subjected to—the cold, the heat, the hunger, the thirst, the blowflies, the gadflies, the gnats, the wind, the sun, the snakes, the abuse hurled at them, the bad that befalls them, or the physical pains that are intolerable, oppressive, intense, dreadful, and life-threatening. Their nature is such that they cannot abide or withstand their longing for defilements.
EN
“Persons who have reached twenty years of age, on the other hand, can accept all they may be subjected to—the cold, the heat, the hunger, the thirst, the blowflies, the gadflies, the gnats, the wind, the sun, the snakes, the abuse hurled at them, the bad that befalls them, or the physical pains that are intolerable, oppressive, intense, dreadful, and life-threatening. Their nature is such that they can abide and withstand their longing for defilements.”
EN
The Blessed One thought, “All those shortcomings ensue from monks granting ordination into the monkhood to persons who have not yet reached twenty years.”
EN
Then he decreed, “In light of this, monks should not grant ordination into the monkhood to persons who have not yet reached twenty years. If someone wishing to be ordained approaches any of you, ask him if he has reached twenty years. If you grant ordination without asking this, a breach occurs.”
The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, when Mahāmaudgalyāyana allowed the going forth of Upāli and a band of seventeen healthy new youths, and ordained them. Come twilight, reduced and wracked by hunger as they were, they would cry out and the Blessed One would hear these great many cries from within the monastery’s grounds.
EN
Though they hear, blessed buddhas may inquire about what they already know. Though they already know, they may inquire—or, even though they know, they may not inquire. They inquire when the time is right, not when the time has passed. Their inquiries are meaningful, not meaningless. In this way blessed buddhas dam the flow of meaningless inquiries.
EN
As blessed buddhas know the time for a meaningful inquiry, the Blessed Buddha asked the venerable Ānanda, “Who are these great many young boys who cry within the monastery’s grounds at twilight?”
EN
“Reverend, it is Upāli and a band of seventeen healthy new youths whom Mahāmaudgalyāyana allowed to go forth, and has ordained. At twilight it is they who, reduced and wracked by hunger, cry out.”
EN
“Ānanda, do monks grant ordination into the monkhood to persons who have not yet reached twenty years?”
EN
“Reverend, they do.”
EN
“Ānanda, ones so young should not be ordained. Persons who are not yet twenty years of age cannot accept all they may be subjected to—the cold, the heat, the hunger, the thirst, the blowflies, the gadflies, the gnats, the wind, the sun, the snakes, the abuse hurled at them, the bad that befalls them, or the physical pains that are intolerable, oppressive, intense, dreadful, and life-threatening. Their nature is such that they cannot abide or withstand their longing for defilements.
EN
“Persons who have reached twenty years of age, on the other hand, can accept all they may be subjected to—the cold, the heat, the hunger, the thirst, the blowflies, the gadflies, the gnats, the wind, the sun, the snakes, the abuse hurled at them, the bad that befalls them, or the physical pains that are intolerable, oppressive, intense, dreadful, and life-threatening. Their nature is such that they can abide and withstand their longing for defilements.”
EN
The Blessed One thought, “All those shortcomings ensue from monks granting ordination into the monkhood to persons who have not yet reached twenty years.”
EN
Then he decreed, “In light of this, monks should not grant ordination into the monkhood to persons who have not yet reached twenty years. If someone wishing to be ordained approaches any of you, ask him if he has reached twenty years. If you grant ordination without asking this, a breach occurs.”
Sutraya