Bhesajjakkhandhaka

The Bhesajjakkhandhaka, “the Chapter on medicines”, concerns allowable medicines and medical treatment. The rules laid down here include prohibitions against various kinds of meat and against cooking by monastics. The chapter contains the remarkable story of the monk Pilindavaccha and his supernormal powers. It also features the stories of the courtesan Ambapālī offering her mango grove to the Sangha, the conversion of general Sīha, and the exceptional layman Meṇḍaka, after whom the Meṇḍaka allowance is named. This allowance enables lay supporters to deposit a fund with a steward, who is to be approached by a designated monastic in need of requisites. The chapter concludes with four general standards to help monastics decide what is and what is not allowable.