The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - Bhikkhu Nanamoli [303]
9. “Suppose, Udāyin, my disciples honoured, respected, revered, and venerated me, and lived in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me, with the thought: ‘The recluse Gotama eats little and commends eating little.’ Now there are disciples of mine who live on a cupful or half a cupful of food, a bilva fruit’s or half a bilva fruit’s quantity of food, [7] while I sometimes eat the full contents of my almsbowl or even more. So if my disciples honoured me…with the thought: ‘The recluse Gotama eats little and commends eating little,’ then those disciples of mine who live on a cupful of food…should not honour, respect, revere, and venerate me for this quality, nor should they live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me.
“Suppose, Udāyin, my disciples honoured, respected, revered, and venerated me, and lived in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me, with the thought: ‘The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of robe and commends contentment with any kind of robe.’ Now there are disciples of mine who are refuse-rag wearers, wearers of coarse robes; they collect rags from the charnel ground, rubbish heaps, or shops, make them into patched robes, and wear them. But I sometimes wear robes given by householders, robes so fine that pumpkin hair is coarse in comparison. So if my disciples honoured me…with the thought: ‘The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of robe and commends contentment with any kind of robe,’ then those disciples of mine who are refuse-rag wearers, wearers of coarse robes…should not honour, respect, revere, and venerate me for this quality, nor should they live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me.
“Suppose, Udāyin, my disciples honoured, respected, revered, and venerated me, and lived in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me, with the thought: ‘The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of almsfood and commends contentment with any kind of almsfood.’ Now there are disciples of mine who are almsfood eaters, who go on unbroken almsround from house to house, who delight in gathering their food; when they have entered among the houses they will not consent even when invited to sit down. But I sometimes eat on invitation meals of choice rice [8] and many sauces and curries. So if my disciples honoured me…with the thought: ‘The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of almsfood and commends contentment with any kind of almsfood,’ then those disciples of mine who are almsfood eaters…should not honour, respect, revere, and venerate me for this quality, nor should they live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me.
“Suppose, Udāyin, my disciples honoured, respected, revered, and venerated me, and lived in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me, with the thought: ‘The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of resting place and commends contentment with any kind of resting place.’ Now there are disciples of mine who are tree-root dwellers and open-air dwellers, who do not use a roof for eight months [of the year], while I sometimes live in gabled mansions plastered within and without, protected against the wind, secured by door bolts, with shuttered windows. So if my disciples honoured me…with the thought: ‘The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of resting