"I gave command, Lord, to my maid-servant, saying, 'Go, and
announce to the brotherhood that the meal is ready.' And the maid
went, but when she came to the vihāra, she observed that the
bhikkhus had doffed their robes while it was raining, and she
thought: 'These are not bhikkhus, but naked ascetics letting the
rain fall on them.' So she returned to me and reported
accordingly, and I had to send her a second time. Impure, Lord,
is nakedness, and revolting. It was this circumstance, Lord, that
I had in view in desiring to provide the Sangha my life long with
special garments for use in the rainy season. 10
"As to my second wish, Lord, an incoming bhikkhu, not being able
to take the direct roads, and not knowing the places where food
can be procured, comes on his way tired out by seeking for alms.
It was this circumstance, Lord, that I had in view in desiring
to provide the Sangha my life long with food for incoming
bhikkhus. 11
"Thirdly, Lord, an outgoing bhikkhu, while seeking about for
alms, may be left behind, or may arrive too late at the place
whither he desires to go, and will set out on the road in
weariness. 12
"Fourthly, Lord, if a sick bhikkhu does not obtain suitable food,
his sickness may increase upon him, and he may die. 13
"Fifthly, Lord, a bhikkhu who is waiting upon the sick will lose
his opportunity of going out to seek food for himself. 14
"Sixthly, Lord, if a sick bhikkhu does not obtain suitable
medicines, his sickness may increase upon him, and he may die. 15
"Seventhly, Lord, I have heard that the Blessed One has praised
rice-milk, because it gives readiness of mind, dispels hunger and
thirst; it is wholesome for the healthy as nourishment, and for
the sick as a medicine. Therefore I desire to provide the Sangha
my life long with a constant supply of rice-milk. 16
"Finally, Lord, the bhikkhunīs are in the habit of bathing in the
river Achiravatī with the courtesans, at the same landing-place,
and naked. And the courtesans, Lord, ridicule the bhikkhunīs,
saying, 'What is the good, ladies, of your maintaining chastity
when you are young? When you are old, maintain chastity then;
thus will you obtain both worldly pleasure and religious
consolation.' Impure, Lord, is nakedness for a woman, disgusting,
and revolting. 17
"These are the circumstances, Lord, that I had in view." 18
The Blessed One said: "But what was the advantage you had in view
for yourself, O Visākhā, in asking the eight boons of the
Tathāgatha?" 19