________________
BOOK II, LECTURE 3, LESSON I.
the rain (he might injure) living beings, mildew, seeds, grass, water, mud. Hence it has been said to the mendicant that one whose road lies through such a forest, &c. (all as in the last paragraph); then he may circumspectly wander from village to village. (12)
A monk or a nun on the pilgrimage, on whose way there is some watercourse which must be crossed by a boat, should not ascend such a boat which plies up or down or across (the river), neither for one yogana's or half a yogana's distance, neither for a shorter nor a longer voyage, if they know that the householder1 will buy or purloin the boat, or doing the work necessary to put the boat in order, pull it ashore out of the water, or push it from the shore into the water, or bale it, if it is filled (with water), or cause a sinking boat to float. (13)
A monk or a nun, knowing that a boat will cross the river, should, after having received the owner's permission, step apart, examine their outfit, put aside their provender, wipe their body from head to heels, reject the householder's food, and putting one foot in the water and the other in the air2, they should circumspectly enter the boat. (14)
139
A monk or a nun in entering the boat should not choose for that purpose the stern or the prow or the middle of the boat; nor should they look at it holding up their arms, pointing at it with their finger, bowing up and down. (15)
If, on board, the boatman should say to the monk, 'O long-lived Sramana! pull the boat forward or back
1 By householder is here intended the host of the mendicant. Thale=sthale. The commentator explains it by âkâse.
