MIRACLES FORBIDDEN

  JOTIKKHA, the son of Subhadda, was a householder living in Rajagaha.

Having received a precious bowl of sandalwood decorated with jewels,

he erected a long pole before his house and put the bowl on its top

with this legend: "Should a samana take this bowl down without using a

ladder or a stick with a hook, or without climbing the pole, but by

magic power, he shall receive as reward whatever he desires."

  The people came to the Blessed One, full of wonder and their

mouths overflowing with praise, saying: "Great is the Tathagata. His

disciples perform miracles. Kassapa, the disciple of the Buddha, saw

the bowl on Jotikkha's pole, and, stretching out his hand, he took

it down, carrying it away in triumph to the vihara."

  When the Blessed One heard what had happened, he went to Kassapa,

and, breaking the bowl to pieces, forbade his disciples to perform

miracles of any kind.

  Soon after this it happened that in one of the rainy seasons many

bhikkhus were staying in the Vajji territory during a famine. And

one of the bhikkhus proposed to his brethren that they should praise

one another to the householders of the village, saying: "This

bhikkhu is a saint; he has seen celestial visions; and that bhikkhu

possesses supernatural gifts; he can work miracles." And the villagers

said: "It is lucky, very lucky for us, that such saints are spending

the rainy season with us." And they gave willingly and abundantly, and

the bhikkhus prospered and did not suffer from the famine.

  When the Blessed One heard it, he told Ananda to call the bhikkhus

together, and he asked them: "Tell me, O bhikkhus, when does a bhikkhu

cease to be a bhikkhu?"

  And Sariputta replied: "An ordained disciple must not commit any

unchaste act. The disciple who commits an unchaste act is no longer

a disciple of the Sakyamuni. Again, an ordained disciple must not take

except what has been given him. disciple who takes, be it so little as

a penny's worth, is no longer a disciple of the Sakyamuni. And lastly,

an ordained disciple must not knowingly and malignantly deprive any

harmless creature of life, not even an earthworm or an ant. The

disciple who knowingly and malignantly deprives any harmless

creature of its life is no longer a disciple of the Sakyamuni. These

are the three great prohibitions."

  And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus and said: "There is

another great prohibition which I declare to you: An ordained disciple

must not boast of any superhuman perfection. The disciple who with

evil intent and from covetousness boasts of a superhuman perfection,

be it celestial visions or miracles, is no longer a disciple of the

Sakyamuni. I forbid you, O bhikkhus, to employ any spells or

supplications, for they are useless, since the law of karma governs

all things. He who attempts to perform miracles has not understood the

doctrine of the Tathagata."