So it was heard by me:

At one time Bhagavat dwelt at Sāvatthī, in /G/etavana, in the park of Anāthapi/nd/ika. Then the follower (upāsaka) Dhammika, together with five hundred followers, went to Bhagavat, and having gone to Bhagavat and saluted him, he sat down apart; sitting down apart the follower Dhammika addressed Bhagavat in stanzas:

1.
'I ask thee, O Gotama of great understanding, How is a Sāvaka (disciple) to act to be a good one? is it the one who goes from his house to the wilderness, or the followers with a house?

2.
'For thou knowest the doings of this world and that of the gods, and the final end; there is nobody like thee seeing the subtle meaning (of things); they call thee the excellent Buddha.

3.
'Knowing all knowledge thou hast revealed the Dhamma, having compassion on creatures; thou hast removed the veil (of the world), thou art all-seeing, thou shinest spotless in all the world.

4.
'The king of elephants, Erāva/n/a by name, hearing that thou wert /G/ina (the Conqueror), came to thy presence, and having conversed with thee he went away delighted, after listening (to thee, and saying), "Very good!"

5.
'Also king Vessava/n/a Kuvera came to ask thee about the Dhamma; him, too, thou, O wise man, answeredst when asked, and he also after listening was delighted.

6.
'All these disputatious Titthiyas and Ā/g/īvikas and Niga/nth/as do not any of them overcome thee in understanding, as a man standing (does not overcome) the one that is walking quickly.

7.
'All these disputatious Brāhma/n/as, and there are even some old Brāhma/n/as, all are bound by thy opinion, and others also that are considered disputants.

8.
'This subtle and pleasant Dhamma that has been well proclaimed by thee, O Bhagavat, and which we all long to hear, do thou, O thou best of Buddhas, speak to us when asked.

9.
'Let all these Bhikkhus and also Upāsakas that have sat down to listen, hear the Dhamma learnt (anubuddha) by the stainless (Buddha), as the gods (hear) the well-spoken (words) of Vāsava.'

10.
Bhagavat: 'Listen to me, O Bhikkhus, I will teach you the Dhamma that destroys sin, do ye keep it, all of you; let him who looks for what is salutary, the thoughtful, cultivate the mode of life suitable for Pabba/g/itas.

11.
'Let not the Bhikkhu walk about at a wrong time, let him go to the village for alms at the right time; for ties ensnare the one that goes at a wrong time, therefore Buddhas do not go at a wrong time.

12.
'Form, sound, taste, smell, and touch which intoxicate creatures, having subdued the desire for (all) these things (dhammas), let him in due time go in for his breakfast.

13.
'And let the Bhikkhu, after having obtained his food at the right time and returned, sit down alone and privately; reflecting within himself let him not turn his mind to outward things, (but be) self-collected.

14.
'If he speak with a Sāvaka or with anybody else, or with a Bhikkhu, let him talk about the excellent Dhamma, (but let him) not (utter) slander, nor blaming words against others.

15.
'For some utter language contradicting others; those narrow-minded ones we do not praise. Ties from here and there ensnare them, and they send their mind far away in that (dispute).

Continued...

16.
'Let a Sāvaka of him with the excellent understanding (Buddha), after hearing the Dhamma taught by Sugata, discriminately seek for food, a monastery, a bed and a chair, and water for taking away the dirt of his clothes.

17.
'But without clinging to these things, to food, to bed and chair, to water for taking away the dirt of his clothes, let a Bhikkhu be like a waterdrop on a lotus.

18.
'A householder's work I will also tell you, how a Sāvaka is to act to be a good one; for that complete Bhikkhu-dhamma cannot be carried out by one who is taken up by (worldly) occupations.

19.
'Let him not kill, nor cause to be killed any living being, nor let him approve of others killing, after having refrained from hurting all creatures, both those that are strong and those that tremble in the world.

20.
'Then let the Sāvaka abstain from (taking) anything in any place that has not been given (to him), knowing (it to belong to another), let him not cause any one to take, nor approve of those that take, let him avoid all (sort of) theft.

21.
' Let the wise man avoid an unchaste life as a burning heap of coals; not being able to live a life of chastity, let him not transgress with another man's wife.

22.
'Let no one speak falsely to another in the hall of justice or in the hall of the assembly, let him not cause (any one) to speak (falsely), nor approve of those that speak (falsely), let him avoid all (sort of) untruth.

23.
'Let the householder who approves of this Dhamma, not give himself to intoxicating drinks; let him not cause others to drink, nor approve of those that drink, knowing it to end in madness.

24.
'For through intoxication the stupid commit sins and make other people intoxicated; let him avoid this seat of sin, this madness, this folly, delightful to the stupid.

25.
'Let him not kill any living being, let him not take what has not been given (to him), let him not speak falsely, and let him not drink intoxicating drinks, let him refrain from unchaste sexual intercourse, and let him not at night eat untimely food.

26.
'Let him not wear wreaths nor use perfumes, let him lie on a couch spread on the earth:--this they call the eightfold abstinence (uposatha), proclaimed by Buddha, who has overcome pain.

27.
'Then having with a believing mind kept abstinence (uposatha) on the fourteenth, fifteenth, and the eighth days of the half-month, and (having kept) the complete Pā/t/ihārakapakkha consisting of eight parts,

28.
'And then in the morning, after having kept abstinence, let a wise man with a believing mind, gladdening the assembly of Bhikkhus with food and drink, make distributions according to his ability.

29.
'Let him dutifully maintain his parents, and practise an honourable trade; the householder who observes this strenuously goes to the gods by name, Sayampabhas.'

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