1. Now the venerable Upâli 1 went up to the Blessed One, and bowed down before him, and took his seat on one side. And when he was so seated, the venerable Upâli said to the Blessed One:
'When a Bhikkhu, Lord, intends to take upon himself the conduct (of any matter that has to be
decided) 1, under what conditions should he take the conduct thereof upon himself 2?'
'A Bhikkhu, Upâli, who intends to take upon himself the conduct of any matter, should take such conduct upon himself under five conditions.
'(In the first place.) A Bhikkhu, Upâli, who intends to take the conduct of any matter upon himself, should thus consider: "The conduct of this matter which I intend to take upon myself; is it now the right time for the taking charge of the conduct thereof, or is it not?" If that Bhikkhu, Upâli, so considering, come to the conclusion that it is not the right time, he should not, Upâli, take charge of it.
'(Secondly.) If that Bhikkhu, Upâli, so considering, come to the conclusion that it is the right time, he should, Upâli, further consider thus: "The conduct of this matter which I intend to take upon myself, is it just, or is it not?" If that Bhikkhu, Upâli, so considering, come to the conclusion that it would not be just, he should not take charge of it.
'(Thirdly.) If that Bhikkhu, Upâli, so considering, come to the conclusion that it would be just, he should, Upâli, further consider thus: "The conduct of this matter which I intend to take upon myself; would it tend to advantage, or would it not?" If that Bhikkhu, Upâli, so considering, come to the conclusion that it would not tend to advantage, he should not, Upâli, take charge of it.
'(Fourthly.) If that Bhikkhu, Upâli, so considering, come to the conclusion that it would tend to
profit, he should, Upâli, further consider thus: "While I am taking the conduct of this matter upon myself, shall I find that the Bhikkhus who are my intimates and associates are on my side in accordance with the Dhamma and the Vinaya, or shall I not?" If that Bhikkhu, Upâli, so considering, come to the conclusion that he will not, he should not, Upâli, take charge of it.
(Fifthly.) If that Bhikkhu, Upâli, so considering, come to the conclusion that he will find them so, he should further, Upâli, consider thus: "Whilst I am taking the conduct of this matter upon myself, will the Samgha, as a result thereof, fall into strife, quarrel, contention, or dispute, or will there arise a split in the Samgha, disunion in the Samgha, diversity of position in the Samgha, diversity of action in the Samgha 1?" If that Bhikkhu, Upâli, so considering, come to the conclusion that that will happen, he should not take charge of it. But if that Bhikkhu, Upâli, thus considering, should come to the conclusion that that will not happen, he should take charge of it. The taking charge of a matter, Upâli, subject to these five conditions, will not give cause to subsequent remorse.'
313:1 No doubt in his rôle of a chief of the Vinaya-dharas, as in Mahâvagga IX, 6, &c.
314:1 As, for instance, in the last chapter (§§ 4 and following) the Bhikkhu who lays the matter before the Samgha.
314:2 Attâdânam âdîyati, in our explanation of which we follow Buddhaghosa.
315:1 This list has occurred above, Mahâvagga X, 1, 6; X, 5, 13; Kullavagga VII, 5, 1.