16. Eḷakalomasikkhāpada
Tena samayena buddho bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Tena kho pana samayena aññatarassa bhikkhuno kosalesu janapade sāvatthiṁ gacchantassa antarāmagge eḷakalomāni uppajjiṁsu. Atha kho so bhikkhu tāni eḷakalomāni uttarāsaṅgena bhaṇḍikaṁ bandhitvā agamāsi. Manussā taṁ bhikkhuṁ passitvā uppaṇḍesuṁ— “kittakena te, bhante, kītāni? Kittako udayo bhavissatī”ti? So bhikkhu tehi manussehi uppaṇḍiyamāno maṅku ahosi. Atha kho so bhikkhu sāvatthiṁ gantvā tāni eḷakalomāni ṭhitakova āsumbhi. Bhikkhū taṁ bhikkhuṁ etadavocuṁ— “kissa tvaṁ, āvuso, imāni eḷakalomāni ṭhitakova āsumbhasī”ti? “Tathā hi panāhaṁ, āvuso, imesaṁ eḷakalomānaṁ kāraṇā manussehi uppaṇḍito”ti. “Kīva dūrato pana tvaṁ, āvuso, imāni eḷakalomāni āharī”ti? “Atirekatiyojanaṁ, āvuso”ti. Ye te bhikkhū appicchā …pe… te ujjhāyanti khiyyanti vipācenti— “kathañhi nāma bhikkhu atirekatiyojanaṁ eḷakalomāni āharissatī”ti. Atha kho te bhikkhū taṁ bhikkhuṁ anekapariyāyena vigarahitvā bhagavato etamatthaṁ ārocesuṁ …pe… “saccaṁ kira tvaṁ, bhikkhu, atirekatiyojanaṁ eḷakalomāni āharī”ti? “Saccaṁ, bhagavā”ti. Vigarahi buddho bhagavā …pe… kathañhi nāma tvaṁ, moghapurisa, atirekatiyojanaṁ eḷakalomāni āharissasi. Netaṁ moghapurisa, appasannānaṁ vā pasādāya …pe… evañca pana, bhikkhave, imaṁ sikkhāpadaṁ uddiseyyātha—
Carrying wool too far Origin story
At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery, a certain monk was given wool as he was walking through the Kosalan country on his way to Sāvatthī. He bound it into a bundle with his upper robe and carried on. People who saw him teased him, “Venerable, how much did it cost you? How much will the profit be?” As a result he was humiliated. When he arrived at Sāvatthī, he threw the wool to the ground. The monks asked him why. “People have been teasing me because of this wool.” “But how far have you carried it?” “Over 40 kilometers.” The monks of few desires complained and criticized him, “How could a monk carry wool more than 40 kilometers?” After rebuking that monk in many ways, they told the Buddha. Soon afterwards he had the Sangha gathered and questioned the monks: “Is it true, monk, that you did this?” “It’s true, sir.” The Buddha rebuked him … “Foolish man, how could you do this? This will affect people’s confidence …” … “And, monks, this training rule should be recited like this: