The Buddha visited a sick bhiksu

Then Ananda, one of the Buddha’s ten great disciples, took the sick bihksu’s dirty kasaya to wash while The World’s Honoured One helped Ananda in plushing away. When the washing had been done, the former took the washed kasaya to dry it in the sun. After that, Ananda carried the sick bihksu’s body in his arms to a bedsheet and put him down there on a wasteland. Then he wiped clean the sick bhiksu’s excrement and the room, including the floor and mended the sickperson’s chair. When everything in the room was cleaned up and tidied, he put it back to its previous location.

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After having attained Buddhahood with the title The Supreme\r\nenlightenment, the World Honoured One decided to stay in Shravasti (it is\r\nSahath-Mabeth, in Uttar Pradesh nowadays) because he wanted to help the masses.\r\nAll the devas and human beings respectfully exclaimed and offered food to him -\r\nthis made his good name spread everywhere and all species considered him the\r\nmost supreme rank to be offered. He bestowed to whomever who needed happiness\r\nand virtue or brainpower. Likewise, he bestowed peace and contentment to\r\nwhomever who suffered great misery. He opened Ambrosia to the Devas and living\r\nbeings because he loved them. Thanks to this, all the 16 countries of India in\r\nthose days admired and submitted to him. Anyone who himself witnessed his\r\nestablishment understood that it was the mode of establishment of the Devas, of\r\nthe Brahmas, of those who are noted for wisdom - the most noble and intelligent\r\nmode of establishment which leads to the mind being totally free from delusion.\r\nThat’s why Tathagata stayed in Shravasti.

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Then one day the Buddha said to Ananda:

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- Shut your room and follow me. I want to pay a visit to the\r\ndwelling place of the Sangha.

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- Will this a good thing, dear Sir? asked Ananda.

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Then he shut his room and followed the Buddha. The Buddha\r\nwalked to a ragged room. There a bhiksu was lying on a front low flat platform\r\nand was not able to stand up. The Buddha asked,

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- Hey, bhiksu! How is your state of illness? Is\r\nyour spasm of pain increasing or decreasing?

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- Oh, Venerable World Honoured One! My illness is\r\nincreasing, not decreasing.

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- Can you eat something today? The Buddha asked.

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- Nothing, Sir. The sick bihksu replied.

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- Did you eat anything yesterday? The Buddha asked again.

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- No, Sir.

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- What about the day before yesterday, did you eat anything?

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- Nothing, Sir. I have not eaten anything for 7 days.

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- Is food avaiable but you cannot eat or there is not any\r\nfood for you to eat?

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- I don’t have anything to eat, Sir.

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- Is there a head monk of yours here?

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- No Sir. The sick bhiksu replied.

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- Is there any other head monk here? The Buddha asked.

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- No, Sir.

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- Where is your preceptor?

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- No, Sir. I don’t have a preceptor, replied the bhiksu.

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- Are there any other preceptors here? The Buddha asked.

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- No Sir.

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- Isn’t there any bhiksu in the next room? asked the Buddha.

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- Respectfully dear the World’s Honoured One. As I have\r\ncontracted a smelly disease, everyone has moved away from me. I feel,\r\ntherefore, very miserable and lonely.

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- Stop being grievous! I’m going to help you. Hey bhiksu,\r\ngive me your dirty sakaya. I’ll wash it for you.

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But then Ananda respectfully said to the Buddha, “Let me\r\nwash the dirty sakaya of this patient, Sir!”

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Then Ananda, one of the Buddha’s ten great disciples, took\r\nthe sick bihksu’s dirty kasaya to wash while The World’s Honoured One helped\r\nAnanda in plushing away. When the washing had been done, the former took the\r\nwashed kasaya to dry it in the sun. After that, Ananda carried the sick\r\nbihksu’s body in his arms to a bedsheet and put him down there on a wasteland.\r\nThen he wiped clean the sick bhiksu’s excrement and the room, including the\r\nfloor and mended the sickperson’s chair. When everything in the room was\r\ncleaned up and tidied, he put it back to its previous location.

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Next, Ananda bathed the sick bhiksu’s body cleanly and put\r\nhim back to the latter’s bed. Then the Buddha used his soft-skinned with golden\r\nshining hand crystalised by countless virtues achieved as a result of\r\ncultivation to rub on the sick bhiksu’s forehead and asked the latter,”Now, is\r\nyour spasm of pain increasing or decreasing?”

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- Respectfully dear Buddha! It is thanks to your hand put on\r\nmy forehead that all my miseries have been dissipated.

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Then The World Honoured One gave a timely preaching to the\r\nbhiksu and this made him joyful. The Buddha continued his preaching which gave\r\nthe bhiksu tranquility to his eyes.

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When the bhiksu recovered from his illness, the World\r\nHonoured One moved on to the group of bhiksus, sat down and reported what had\r\nhappened to the group. He then asked a bhiksu who was living in the next room.

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A bhiksu answered,”Respectfully dear Sir, it’s me.”

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- Well! It’s due to your negligence that made the patient’s\r\nconditions become worse and worse. On this occasion, the Buddha intended to\r\nremind the bhiksus that they should take interest in helping them reciprocally\r\nby telling them:

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- Hey, all the bhiksus! If you don’t help your sick\r\nfellow-travellers, that is if you don’t help one another mutually, then who\r\nwill do it? You were of different family names and didn’t share the same house\r\nbefore. But you all shared the same faith, which was to leave your house to\r\nenter monkhood and share the same family name known as THICH, and together you\r\nshare the same religious practice. So, if you don’t look after one another\r\nreciprocally, then who will care for it? Hey, all bhiksus! It is like the case\r\nof the rivers named Ganga, Alaknanda, Bhajirathi, Meghna - once they have\r\nunited to become an ocean, they have lost its own name. Likewise, you all have\r\ndropped your own family names to take the same new family name known asSakya shaman\r\nand, accordingly, if you don’t take care of one another reciprocally, then who\r\nwill do it? Let’s take the example of the social races in India - Bramani,\r\nKshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra - each of these races has its own family name and\r\nonly when they unite together to do business on the ocean, they are all called\r\nsea merchants. Likewise, bhiksus like you, you had different family names and\r\nlived in different houses before. But since the day you became monks, you have\r\ntaken just a sole family name known as Sakya. If you don’t take care of\r\nyourselves reciprocally, then who will do it when you are in need of anything?\r\nSo, from now on, if a bhiksu gets sick, then his related head monk will have to\r\ntake care of him, and when the head monk is sick, other head monks will care\r\nfor the sick head monk. If any of you refuses the care, such an emotionless\r\nperson is regarded as having committed the exceeding law. If the sick person\r\nhas a roommate, then that roommate has to take care of him. And when there is\r\nnot any roommate, the bhiksu in the next room will have to do the care. If\r\nthere is none in the next room, then the sangha will have to assign a bhiksu to\r\ndo the care. Depending on how many people to care for the sick bhiksu, then so\r\nmany wealthy bhiksus will be assigned. If not a single bhiksu is assigned to do\r\nthe care, then the sangha will be considered as having committed the exceeding\r\nlaw. Hey, bhiksus! Go back to your rooms and see whether there are some sick\r\nbhiksus to care for.

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Translated into English by Mr. Hoang Huan, layman.

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