But in this world with its gods, lords of death, and supreme beings, in this society with its monastics and brahmins, its gods and humans, this is the most notorious gangster of all: one who claims to have a non-existent superhuman quality. Why is that? Monks, you’ve eaten the country’s almsfood by theft.” “Whoever should declare himself To be other than he truly is, Has eaten this by theft, Like a cheater who has deceived. Many ocher-necks of bad qualities, Uncontrolled and wicked—By their wicked deeds, They are reborn in hell. It’s better to eat an iron ball, As hot as a licking flame, Than for the immoral and uncontrolled To eat the country’s alms.” After rebuking the monks from the banks of the Vaggumudā in many ways for being difficult to maintain, difficult to support … “And, monks, this training rule should be recited like this:

Preliminary ruling ‘If a monk falsely claims for himself a superhuman quality, a knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones, saying, “This I know, this I see,”

but after some time—whether he is questioned or not, but having committed the offense and seeking purification—should say: “Not knowing I said that I know, not seeing that I see; what I said was empty and false,” he too is expelled and excluded from the community.’” In this way the Buddha laid down this training rule for the monks.

Second substory