The Buddha founded the bhikkhu and bhikkuniSangha to offer the optimum environment in which to pursue the highest spiritual goal, attaining Nirvana. However, from almost the very beginning some have been attracted to the Sangha for very different reasons – to escape from poverty, to have an easy life, to attain academic distinction then disrobe and get a good job being some of them. A few have even entered the Sangha for nefarious reasons – to use it as a cover for cheating the gullible and making money. The Vinaya contains several examples of this. According to one, a monk wore a ragged robe full of holes so people would offer him a new one which he would then sell. He managed to get dozens of robes using this technique.
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