The monks heard the complaints of those people, and the monks of few desires complained and criticized those monks, “How could the monks from the group of six go to see a battle?” … “Is it true, monks, that you did this?” “It’s true, sir.” The Buddha rebuked them … “Foolish men, how could you do this? This will affect people’s confidence …” … “And, monks, this training rule should be recited like this:

Final ruling ‘If a monk who is staying with an army for two or three nights goes to a battle, a troop review, a massing of the army, or a troop inspection, he commits an offense entailing confession.’”

Definitions If a monk who is staying with an army for two or three nights: he is staying for two or for three nights. A battle: wherever fighting is seen. A troop review: so many elephants, so many horses, so many chariots, so much infantry. A massing of the army: the elephants should set out from here; the horses should set out from here; the chariots should set out from here; the infantry should set out from here. A troop: an elephant troop, a horse troop, a chariot troop, an infantry troop. The smallest troop of elephants is three elephants; the smallest troop of horses is three horses; the smallest troop of chariots is three chariots; the smallest troop of infantry is four men with arrows in hand. If he is on his way to see it, he commits an offense of wrong conduct. Wherever he stands to see it, he commits an offense entailing confession. Every time he goes beyond the range of sight and then sees it again, he commits an offense entailing confession.

Permutations If he is on his way to see one division of a fourfold army, he commits an offense of wrong conduct. Wherever he stands to see it, he commits an offense of wrong conduct. Every time he goes beyond the range of sight and then sees it again, he commits an offense of wrong conduct.

Non-offenses