..續本文上一頁saya pabbajja, ”The life gone forth is supported by means of almsfood” -- instructions we received on the day of our ordination. Don”t be lazy. Don”t forget yourself because of whatever other gifts of food you may receive. Whoever may present them, see them as extraneous. They”re not more necessary than the food we get by going for alms with the strength of our own legs -- which is our duty as monks who do their work properly. This is the really appropriate way to gain food in line with the pindiyalopa-bhojanam in the instructions we receive during our ordination. Listen! It”s fitting, appropriate, which is why the Buddha taught us to go for alms, something of first-place importance in our pure work as monks.

　　The Buddha went for alms throughout his career. The few times he didn”t were when he was staying in a place where it wasn”t appropriate -- as when he was living in the Prileyya Forest, and the elephants looked after him because there were no people around. So there were only a few times when the Buddha made exceptions to this practice. Pubbanhe pindapatanca -- in the five duties of the Buddha -- ”In the morning he would go for alms for the sake of the beings of the world.” Listen to that!

　　Sayanhe dhamma-desanam: At four in the afternoon he would give instructions to his lay following: kings, generals, financiers, landowners, merchants, and ordinary people in general.

　　Padose bhikkhu-ovadam: After dark he would exhort the monks. This is the second of his duties as a Buddha.

　　Addharatte deva-panhanam: After midnight he would answer the questions posed by the various levels of the heavenly beings -- from the lowest up to the highest -- and give them instructions. This is the third of his duties.

　　Bhabbabhabbe vilokanam: In the last watch of the night he would survey the beings of the world, using his superior intuition to see what beings might be caught in the net of his knowledge whom he should go to teach first -- whoever might be prepared to receive the teaching and whose lives might be in danger, so that he shouldn”t wait long before going to teach them. This is the fourth duty.

　　Pubbanhe pindapatanca: The following morning he would then go out for alms on a regular basis. These are the five duties of the Buddha that he normally wouldn”t abandon. He”d abandon them only on special occasions. For example, going for alms: When he was staying in the Prileyya Forest, he couldn”t go for alms, so he put that duty aside. But otherwise he viewed going for alms as a necessary duty, which is why we have to teach monks to view going for alms as a right activity, as extremely appropriate work. For monks, there is no work in searching for their livelihood more appropriate than going for alms. No matter who might have the faith to bring gifts of food, no matter how much, we should view it as extraneous gains, a luxury, and not as more necessary than the food gained by going for alms. This is so that we don”t forget ourselves and become entangled in that sort of thing.

　　The Buddha teaches monks not to forget themselves, not to be lazy, because the defilement of laziness is important, and to forget ourselves is no mean vice -- for we tend to become haughty when there are many people respecting us, and especially when they are people of high status. When we have a large following, we tend to throw out our chest and put on airs. Even though we don”t have stripes, it”s as if we paint them on to be a royal tiger showing off his rank. Since when were they ever a small matter, the defilements of monks

　　 This is why the Buddha taught us to stamp out these ugly defilements in the society of Buddhists and monks by not forgetting ourselves. However many people come to respect us, that”s their business. Our business is not to forget our duties.…

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