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- Mahavagga VIII.26.1-8
- Kucchivikara-vatthu
- The Monk with Dysentery
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
Now at that time a certain monk was sick with dysentery. He lay fouled in his own urine
& excrement. Then the Blessed One, on an inspection tour of the lodgings with Ven. Ananda as his attendant, went to that monk's dwelling and, on
arrival, saw the monk lying fouled in his own urine & excrement. On seeing him, he
went to the monk and said, "What is your sickness, monk?"
"I have dysentery, O Blessed One."
"But do you have an attendant?"
"No, O Blessed One."
"Then why don't the monks attend to you?"
"I don't do anything for the monks, lord, which is why they don't attend to
me."
Then the Blessed One addressed Ven. Ananda: "Go fetch some water, Ananda. We will
wash this monk."
"As you say, lord," Ven. Ananda replied, and he fetched some water. The
Blessed One sprinkled water on the monk, and Ven. Ananda washed him off. Then -- with the
Blessed One taking the monk by the head, and Ven. Ananda taking him by the feet -- they
lifted him up and placed him on a bed.
Then the Blessed One, from this cause, because of this event, had the monks assembled
and asked them: "Is there a sick monk in that dwelling over there?"
"Yes, O Blessed One, there is."
"And what is his sickness?"
"He has dysentery, O Blessed One."
"But does he have an attendant?"
"No, O Blessed One."
"Then why don't the monks attend to him?"
"He doesn't do anything for the monks, lord, which is why they don't attend to
him."
"Monks, you have no mother, you have no father, who might tend to you. If you
don't tend to one another, who then will tend to you? Whoever would tend to me, should
tend to the sick.
"If one's preceptor is present, the preceptor should tend to one as long as life
lasts, and should stay until one's recovery. If one's teacher is present, the teacher
should tend to one as long as life lasts, and should stay until one's recovery. If one's
student is present, the student should tend to one as long as life lasts, and should stay
until one's recovery. If one's apprentice is present, the apprentice should tend to one as
long as life lasts, and should stay until one's recovery. If one who is a fellow student
of one's preceptor is present, the fellow student of one's preceptor should tend to one as
long as life lasts, and should stay until one's recovery. If one who is a fellow
apprentice of one's teacher is present, the fellow apprentice of one's teacher should tend
to one as long as life lasts, and should stay until one's recovery. If no preceptor,
teacher, student, apprentice, fellow student of one's preceptor, or fellow apprentice of
one's teacher is present, the sangha should tend to one. If it does not, [all the monks in
that community] incur an offense of wrong-doing.
"A sick person endowed with five qualities is hard to tend
to: he does what is not amenable to his cure; he does not know the proper amount in things
amenable to his cure; he does not take his medicine; he does not tell his symptoms, as
they actually are present, to the nurse desiring his welfare, saying that they are worse
when they are worse, improving when they are improving, or remaining the same when they
are remaining the same; and he is not the type who can endure bodily feelings that are
painful, fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent, disagreeable, life-threatening. A sick person
endowed with these five qualities is hard to tend to.
"A sick person endowed with five qualities is easy to tend to: he does what is
amenable to his cure; he knows the proper amount in things amenable to his cure; he takes
his medicine; he tells his symptoms, as they actually are present, to the nurse desiring
his welfare, saying that they are worse when they are worse, improving when they are
improving, or remaining the same when they are remaining the same; and he is the type who
can endure bodily feelings that are painful, fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent,
disagreeable, life-threatening. A sick person endowed with these five qualities is easy to
tend to.
"A nurse endowed with five qualities is not fit to tend to the
sick: He is not competent at mixing medicine; he does not know what is amenable or
unamenable to the patient's cure, bringing to the patient things that are unamenable and
taking away things that are amenable; he is motivated by material gain, not by thoughts of
good will; he gets disgusted at cleaning up excrement, urine, saliva, or vomit; and he is
not competent at instructing, urging, rousing, & encouraging the sick person at the
proper occasions with a talk on Dhamma. A nurse endowed with these five qualities is not
fit to tend to the sick.
"A nurse endowed with five qualities is fit to tend to the sick: He is competent
at mixing medicine; he knows what is amenable or unamenable to the patient's cure, taking
away things that are unamenable and bringing things that are amenable; he is motivated by
thoughts of good will, not by material gain; he does not get disgusted at cleaning up
excrement, urine, saliva, or vomit; and he is competent at instructing, urging, rousing,
& encouraging the sick person at the proper occasions with a talk on Dhamma. A nurse
endowed with these five qualities is fit to tend to the sick."