When the Buddha eventually arrived at Kīṭāgiri, he said to a group of monks, “Go to the monks Assaji and Punabbasuka and say, ‘The Buddha is coming with a large sangha of five hundred monks, including Sāriputta and Mahāmoggallāna. Please assign dwellings to the Buddha, to the Sangha of monks, and to Sāriputta and Mahāmoggallāna.’” Saying, “Yes, sir,” they did just that. The monks Assaji and Punabbasuka replied, “There aren’t any dwellings belonging to the Sangha. We’ve shared them all out. The Buddha is welcome and he may stay wherever he likes. But Sāriputta and Mahāmoggallāna are in the grip of bad desires. We won’t assign them any dwellings.”

“So you’ve distributed the dwellings belonging to the Sangha?” “Yes.” The monks of few desires complained and criticized them, “How could they distribute the dwellings belonging to the Sangha?” They told the Buddha. Soon afterwards he had the Sangha gathered and questioned the monks: “Is it true, monks, that they did this?” “It’s true, sir.” The Buddha rebuked them, “How could those foolish men distribute the dwellings belonging to the Sangha? This will affect people’s confidence …” After rebuking them … the Buddha gave a teaching and addressed the monks: