The Vows of Personal Liberation 115 (4) Improving the weave means to engage a weaver to make finer and more valuable cloth for one’s robes without the consent of the patron who has already agreed to give one a particular quality of robe and has already paid for that (5) Taking back gifts is to take back an article [such as a robe, begging bowl, etc.] one has given to a fellow monk (6) Using rainy season retreat offerings means to use the offerings donated by a patron [to be distributed at the conclusion of the retreat] before the retreat ends (7) To be separated from the robes while in seclusion means to be apart from one’s robes for more than seven days when one is living in seclusion (8) Keeping the large rain cloak for too long is to request and to keep the large rain cloak for more than one month before entering the rainy season retreat or for more than half a month after the conclusion [of that retreat] (9) To redirect dedicated offerings is to take possession of any article that [a donor] has already intended to donate to the monastic community or another monk (10) Storing is to keep any of the three foods and medicines143 beyond the prescribed time These are referred to as the “thirty downfalls that require forfeiture” because one day before the formal confession of the downfall, the article that is the basis for downfall must be relinquished144 along with any other requisite articles one has acquired subsequently Requisite articles acquired subsequently must also be relinquished because a downfall with respect to the latter articles is accrued by vitiation by the former Downfalls That Require Confession Alone [b"] This class of downfalls consists of nine sets of ten The First Set of Ten [i"] Lying, criticizing, slandering, reviving quarrels, teaching a woman, Reciting the scriptures, revealing lapses, telling the truth, accusing a steward, reviling the discipline 116 Buddhist Ethics (1) Lying means to consciously tell a lie of a type that would not be classified as a defeat, partial defeat, serious violation, or minor infraction.145 (2) Criticizing means to speak of the faults of a fellow monk such as his being from a bad family lineage or not having all his faculties intact (3) Slandering is to calumniate [two or more] fellow monks with the intention to cause discord among them (4) Reviving quarrels is to rekindle a dispute among monks that had already been settled (5) Teaching a woman is to teach more than five or six words of the doctrine [from scriptures or commentaries] to a laywoman in private (6) Reciting the scriptures means to chant verses from the scriptures out of vanity and in a variety of melodies, with someone who is not a monk (7) Revealing lapses in discipline is to divulge to [a layperson and others] who are not fully ordained that a fellow monk has committed a defeating or partially defeating offense, when one has not been appointed to bring forth the allegation [in the appropriate ceremony] (8) Telling the truth about one’s level of spiritual attainment is to declare that one has developed superhuman powers to someone who is not a monk, without a specific necessity (9) Accusing a steward of favoritism means to falsely accuse of favoritism a monk steward because one is jealous that he has given a worthy monk an article that was the common property of the community (10) Reviling is to scorn [the monastic discipline] by [saying to a fellow monk, for instance]: “What is the use of these minor rules of discipline?” The Second Set of Ten [ii"] destroying vegetation, censuring the caretaker, Refusing to comply, leaving the bed outside or grass under the mat, driving out or harassing a monk, poking holes, casting water, laying bricks The Vows of Personal Liberation 117 (1) Destroying vegetation is to cut grass or trees, or to ruin any kind of seed [by touching them] with fire or in other ways, unless they are consecrated.146 (2) Censuring the caretaker means to censure directly or indirectly through devious slander an honest caretaker of the community (3) Refusing to comply is to deny the allegation of a downfall that has been presented by a fellow monk so that one can amend it, but to [attempt to] dissuade [one’s fellow monks] in various ways (4) Leaving the bed outside is to leave the communal bedding or seats that one has used where sun, wind, rain, etc can spoil them (5) Grass under the mat is to leave the temple without clearing up the grass and leaves that one has spread under the mat (6) Driving out is to evict another monk from the residence of the community out of anger (7) Harassment by a new monk means to physically or verbally injure a fellow monk who had taken up residence in the monastery earlier than oneself or to impose upon his space [lit “crush him under” or “press on him physically”] (8) Poking holes or making a dent means to make holes or dents on the soft roof of the monastery by sitting down heavily upon a chair with pointed legs (9) Casting water means to use water, grass, etc., or to throw water on grass or vice versa, etc., [even] in the interest of others, knowing that they contain living beings (10) Laying bricks is to lay more than three layers of [unbaked] bricks in one day [when constructing] a monastic building on unstable foundations or without taking precautions to prevent damage in the rainy season The Third Set of Ten [iii"] Teaching a nun doctrine when not appointed, or after sunset; accusing of teaching for gain; giving to, or making a robe for a nun; Walking with or going in a boat with a nun, sitting or standing with a woman, persuading someone to prepare food 118 Buddhist Ethics (1) Teaching the doctrine to a nun is to instruct a nun when one has not been appointed as a nuns’ teacher by the community.147 (2) Teaching the doctrine after sunset is to instruct a nun after sunset in a frightening place, even if one [has been appointed] a nuns’ teacher (3) Accusing a monk of teaching to get a little food means, in a jealous frame of mind, to defame a monk who has been appointed to instruct a nun by insinuating that he teaches for the sake of gaining food, drink, etc (4) Giving a robe means to give a robe to a nun who is not a relative (5) Making robes is to have a robe made for a nun who is not a relative (6) Walking together on the road is to accompany one nun [or more] on the road for more than an earshot (7) Going with a nun in a boat means to go with a nun in a boat for more than an earshot upstream or downstream (8) Sitting in a secluded and sheltered place means to sit in a secluded and sheltered place together with an [unaccompanied] woman who is not a relative (9) Standing in a secluded and sheltered place means to stand in a secluded and sheltered place with a woman who is not a relative.148 (10) Persuading someone to prepare food means to induce a householder to prepare one’s food and beverage through the intermediary of a nun who is not one’s relative The Fourth Set of Ten [iv"] Eating consecutively, or while staying with non-Buddhists, taking excess, resuming eating, giving leftover food to a monk, Gathering to eat, eating at inappropriate times, eating stored foods, foods not given, and good foods (1) Eating consecutively means to accept alms of food (to be eaten before noon) two or three times in one day from householders who are not one’s relatives (2) Eating [while staying with non-Buddhists] means to stay more than one day at the home of a householder [who is not a relative and who hosts] non-Buddhist renunciates and [on the second day] to accept food from him The Vows of Personal Liberation 119 (3) Taking excess is to receive more than three [small] begging bowls [of food] at the home of a layperson who is not a relative.149 (4) Resuming eating is to resume eating an offered and accepted meal after thinking and saying, “I have finished,” unless the leftover food has been made permissible [through a ritual].150 Standing up after having started, which means to stand up before the end of the meal [and then to eat the leftovers later], is also comprised by this downfall.151 (5) Giving food to a monk who has finished eating means to invite a monk who has finished eating to partake of food, saying that the food is “leftover” [i.e., made permissible through a ritual] when in fact it is not In this case, the downfall is accrued by the monk who gives the food (6) Gathering to eat is to partake of a meal with [three or more] fellow monks within the same boundary but in a place other than [the communal dining hall], when this action is due to disharmony (7) Eating at inappropriate times means to partake in the afternoon of foods that are permissible only from dawn to noon (8) Partaking of what has been stored is to eat any of the three [types of] foods and medicines that remain from previous use or after storing them beyond the permitted time (9) Eating what has not been offered and accepted is to consume any of the four types of foods and medicines that have not been offered and accepted.152 (10) Asking for good food means to ask a householder who is not a relative for good foods153 and to enjoy them freely without the host’s invitation to so, motivated by greed The Fifth Set of Ten [v"] Using water that contains life, sitting or standing at a place of sexual intercourse, serving food to a naked ascetic, Watching, or staying in an army camp, inciting preparations, striking, threatening to strike, concealing a lapse (1) Using water that contains life means to use (wash in, drink, etc.) for one’s own purposes water, grass, or wood containing living beings.154 ... monks] in various ways (4) Leaving the bed outside is to leave the communal bedding or seats that one has used where sun, wind, rain, etc can spoil them (5) Grass under the mat is to leave the temple... temple without clearing up the grass and leaves that one has spread under the mat (6) Driving out is to evict another monk from the residence of the community out of anger (7) Harassment by a... beverage through the intermediary of a nun who is not one’s relative The Fourth Set of Ten [iv"] Eating consecutively, or while staying with non-Buddhists, taking excess, resuming eating, giving