Comments

Comm. KT: “Monks, one shouldn’t ...”: The Blessed One is himself the master of the Dhamma1. So, laying down a training rule, he said this for the monks not to do (such an action) in the future. 1. Here is a case where the Buddha knew when to ordain a famous criminal, but didn’t trust the Saṅgha to do so. As in the case of displaying psychic powers, the Buddha was able to do certain things, to good effect, that he didn’t allow his disciples to do. That means that in interpreting the Vinaya, one cannot take the Buddha’s example as evidence that a given action is or should be allowable.

пали	Atha kho te bhikkhū bhagavato etamatthaṃ ārocesuṃ - pe - na, bhikkhave, dhajabandho coro pabbājetabbo.
Khematto Bhikkhu	Then the monks reported the matter to the Blessed One. “Monks, a criminal who is ‘wrapped in a flag’ should not be given the Going-forth.