Chapter 22 Section 3 Eighteen Things

As we mentioned earlier, the necessary daily necessities for monks are gradually increasing. It is recorded in Volume 7 of "The Law of Good Seeing Vipasha" (translated by Xiao Qi and Sangha Bhadhara): Those who are good at coming to the bhikkhu: come to visit the Buddha's place with white clothes, and want to become a monk.The Tathagata observes its roots: those who have sufficient karma and conditions should be saved.Then he called out: "Bhikkhu who is good at coming!" The beard hair fell down and became a bhikkhu.The caller, the Tathagata, stretched out his right hand—golden hand—in the robe, and called out with a Sanskrit voice: "Be kind! You can practice the Brahma, and you will end the source of suffering." Before the Buddha's words were finished, he became a bhikkhu and received full precepts.The three robes and the earthen bowl are worn on the left shoulder, the color of the bowl is like a green jade boluo flower, and the cassock is as bright as a red lotus flower.Needle, thread, axe, and water bag are all fully equipped.These eight objects are commonly used by monks.

Let me say a few words first: "Root" is the free translation of the Sanskrit word Indriya, which refers to human organs and their functions and various abilities displayed.Later, Sinicized Buddhism was commonly called "root vessel".An excellent person, that is, a person who can comprehend the Dharma, is a person with roots. The specialized term "root device" was later developed to be used in Taoism and martial arts novels. This is also an example of the contribution of Buddhist translation to Chinese vocabulary. The above expands the six things into eight things.However, this provision did not prevail later.In the "Baizhang Qinggui" volume 5 "handling props" formulated in the Yuan Dynasty of China, it said: "When entering the jungle, first make props." Listed below are: three clothes, seats, side shirts, skirts, straight skirts, bowls, tin sticks , main rod, whisk, counting beads, clean bottle, water filter bag, and Jie knifeThere are 15 kinds in total.This is the requirement for essential supplies for monks in the monasteries that roughly belonged to Zen in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

According to Buddhist scriptures, when Mahayana monks travel around, they carry 18 kinds of essential items for life and practice, which are called "eighteen things". "The Buddhist Net Sutra" (translated by Kumarajiva in the Later Qin Dynasty) Volume 10 contains: If you are a disciple of the Buddha, you should always sit in meditation in winter and summer at two o'clock, and live in peace in summer. Commonly used poplar branches, bath beans, three clothes, bottles, bowls, seats, tin sticks, incense burners, water bags, towels, knives, flints, tweezers, rope beds, scriptures, laws, Buddha statues, and Bodhisattva images.

And when bodhisattvas walk in Thutuo and wander around, they travel hundreds of miles and thousands of miles, and these eighteen kinds of things always accompany them. For Thutuo, from the 15th day of the first lunar month to the 15th day of the third month, and from the 15th day of the eighth month to the 15th day of the tenth month, during the two hours, these eighteen kinds of objects always accompany the body, like two wings of a bird. The "commonly used" items mentioned above add up to 18 kinds, which are the "eighteen things".Among them, the three garments, bowls, seats, pewter rods, and incense burners have already been discussed elsewhere; the water bag has just been discussed; the scriptures, Vinaya, Buddha images, and Bodhisattva images are not bothering to talk about again.The remaining ones are: poplar branches, bath beans, bottles, towels, knives, flints, tweezers, and rope beds.Huosui is a kind of fire tool, which is used by monks and laymen, and has been replaced by lighters and matches; the rope bed is a modern "maza" type of stool, which is also used by everyone; bath beans are also used by all walks of life. has been replaced by soap.We will not talk about them.The remaining five types generally belong to sanitary appliances, which will be described one by one below.Regarding the specialized reference materials on the eighteen objects, there are "Pictures of Eighteen Objects of Mahayana Bhikkhus", "Pictures of Eighteen Objects Biancopied", etc., most of which are drawn by Japanese monks by comparing the materials passed down from China. .Interested readers are invited to watch it by themselves.