At one time the Buddha was staying at Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrel sanctuary. At that time the Buddha had not yet laid down the rainy-season residence for the monks. And so the monks were wandering about in the winter, in the summer, and also during the rainy season.

People complained and criticized them, “How can the Sakyan monastics go wandering in the winter, in the summer, and even during the rainy season? They’re trampling down the green grass, oppressing one-sensed life, and destroying many small creatures. Even the monastics of other religions, with their flawed teachings, settle down for the rainy season. Even birds make a nest in the top of a tree and settle down for the rainy-season. But not so the Sakyan monastics.”