the gifts of lay members, be they robes or food, as they may need, and let no one receive any noticeable preference over any other."6
And the venerable Upāli, having approached the Blessed One, asked concerning the re-establishment of peace in the Sangha: "Would it be right, O Lord," said he, "that the Sangha, to avoid further disputations, should declare the restoration of concord without inquiring into the matter of the quarrel?"7
And the Blessed One said:8
"If the Sangha declares the re-establishment of concord without having inquired into the matter, the declaration is neither right nor lawful.9
"There are two ways of re-establishing concord; one is in the letter, and the other one is in the spirit and in the letter.10
"If the Sangha declares the re-establishment of concord without having inquired into the matter, the peace is concluded in the letter only. But if the Sangha, having inquired into the matter and having gone to the bottom of it, decides to declare the re-establishment of concord, the peace is concluded in the spirit and also in the letter,11
"The concord re-established in the spirit and in the letter is alone right and lawful."12
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus and told them the story of Prince Dīghāvu, the Long-lived. He said:13
"In former times, there lived at Benares a powerful king whose name was Brahmadatta of Kāsi; and he went to war against Dīghīti, the Long-suffering, a king of Kosala, for he thought, 'The kingdom of Kosala is small and Dīghīti will not be able to resist my armies.'14
"And Dīghīti, seeing that resistance was impossible against the great host of the king of Kāsi, fled, leaving his little kingdom in the hands of Brahmadatta; and having
