Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga - Saṅghādisesa 1: Instigating a Legal Case.
- Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Brahmali. (More copyright information)
1Venerables, these seventeen rules on suspension come up for recitation.
Origin story
2At one time the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. At that time a lay follower who had given a storehouse to the Sangha of nuns had died. He had two sons, one with and one without faith and confidence, and they divided their father’s property between them. Then the one without faith said to the other, “The storehouse is ours; let’s allocate it to one of us.” But the one with faith responded, “No, our father gave it to the Sangha of nuns.”
A second time they both said the same thing, and a third time the one without faith repeated his proposal. The one with faith then thought, “If I get it, I too would give it to the Sangha of nuns,” and he said: “Alright, let’s allocate it.”
But when they allocated it, it fell to the one without faith. He then went to the nuns and said, “Please leave, Venerables, this storehouse is mine.”
3The nun Thullanandā said to him, “No, your father gave it to the Sangha of nuns.”
Because they were unable to agree, they asked judges to decide on the matter. They said:
“Venerable, who knows that it was given to the Sangha of nuns?” Thullanandā replied:
“But Sirs, didn’t you appoint a witness who saw or heard the giving of the gift?” Saying, “It’s true what the Venerable says,” the judges made the storehouse the property of the Sangha of nuns.
The defeated man complained and criticized the nuns, “They’re not monastics these shaven-headed sluts. How could they take my storehouse?” Thullanandā told the judges of this and they punished him. That man then made a dwelling place for Ājīvaka ascetics not far from the nuns, inciting them to abuse the nuns.
4Once again Thullanandā told the judges and the judges jailed him. People then complained and criticized those nuns, “First the nuns take his storehouse, then they have him punished, and then they have him jailed. Now they’ll have him executed!”
5Nuns heard the complaints of those people, and the nuns of few desires complained and criticized her, “How could Venerable Thullanandā take legal action?”
Then those nuns told the monks …
“Is it true, monks, that the nun Thullanandā is taking legal action?”
“It’s true, Sir.”
The Buddha rebuked her …
“How could the nun Thullanandā take legal action? This will affect people’s confidence …” … “And, monks, the nuns should recite this training rule like this:
Final ruling
6‘If a nun takes legal action against a householder or a householder’s offspring or a slave or a worker or even toward a monastic or a wanderer, then that nun has committed an immediate offense entailing sending away and suspension.’”
Definitions
7A: whoever … Nun: … The nun who has been given the full ordination in unanimity by both Sanghas through a legal procedure consisting of one motion and three announcements that is irreversible and fit to stand—this sort of nun is meant in this case.
8Takes legal action: what is meant is that she is the initiator of a lawsuit.
9A householder: anyone who lives at home.
10A householder’s offspring: whoever is an offspring or a sibling.
11A slave: one born in the household, one who has been bought, one who has been brought back as a captive.
12A worker: a paid worker, a servant.
13A monastic or a wanderer: anyone who is a wanderer apart from Buddhist monks, nuns, trainee nuns, novice monks, and novice nuns.
14If, thinking, “I’ll initiate a lawsuit,” she looks for a companion or just goes there herself, she commits an offense of wrong conduct. If she tells one other person, she commits an offense of wrong conduct. If she tells a second person, she commits a serious offense. At the end of the lawsuit, she commits an offense entailing suspension.
15An immediate offense: there is an offense as soon as the misconduct is committed, and no pressing is required.
16Entailing sending away: she is sent away from the Sangha.
17Suspension: only the Sangha gives the trial period for that offense, sends back to the beginning, and rehabilitates—not several nuns, not an individual nun. Therefore it is called an offense entailing suspension. This is the name and designation of this class of offense. Therefore, too, it is called an offense entailing suspension.
Non-offenses
18There is no offense: if she goes there because people pull her; if she is asking for protection; if she tells without specifying a person; if she is insane; if she is deranged; if she is overwhelmed by pain; if she is the first offender.
19The first offense entailing suspension is finished.
1p_2V_2203Ime kho panāyyāyo sattarasa saṁghādisesā dhammā uddesaṁ āgacchanti.
2p_2V_2204, msdiv678Tena samayena buddho bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Tena kho pana samayena aññataro upāsako bhikkhunisaṁghassa udositaṁ datvā kālaṅkato hoti. Tassa dve puttā honti— eko assaddho appasanno, eko saddho pasanno. Te pettikaṁ sāpateyyaṁ vibhajiṁsu. Atha kho so assaddho appasanno taṁ saddhaṁ pasannaṁ etadavoca: “Amhākaṁ udosito, taṁ bhājemā”ti. Evaṁ vutte, so saddho pasanno taṁ assaddhaṁ appasannaṁ etadavoca: “Māyyo, evaṁ avaca. Amhākaṁ pitunā bhikkhunisaṁghassa dinno”ti.
Dutiyampi kho so assaddho appasanno taṁ saddhaṁ pasannaṁ etadavoca: “Amhākaṁ udosito, taṁ bhājemā”ti. Atha kho so saddho pasanno taṁ assaddhaṁ appasannaṁ etadavoca: “Māyyo, evaṁ avaca. Amhākaṁ pitunā bhikkhunisaṁghassa dinno”ti. Tatiyampi kho so assaddho appasanno taṁ saddhaṁ pasannaṁ etadavoca: “Amhākaṁ udosito, taṁ bhājemā”ti. Atha kho so saddho pasanno— “Sace mayhaṁ bhavissati, ahampi bhikkhunisaṁghassa dassāmī”ti— taṁ assaddhaṁ appasannaṁ etadavoca: “Bhājemā”ti.
Atha kho so udosito tehi bhājīyamāno tassa assaddhassa appasannassa pāpuṇāti. Atha kho so assaddho appasanno bhikkhuniyo upasaṅkamitvā etadavoca: “Nikkhamathāyye, amhākaṁ udosito”ti.
3p_2V_2205Evaṁ vutte thullanandā bhikkhunī taṁ purisaṁ etadavoca: “Māyyo, evaṁ avaca, tumhākaṁ pitunā bhikkhunisaṁghassa dinno”ti.
“Dinno na dinno”ti vohārike mahāmatte pucchiṁsu. Mahāmattā evamāhaṁsu—
“Ko, ayye, jānāti bhikkhunisaṁghassa dinno”ti? Evaṁ vutte, thullanandā bhikkhunī te mahāmatte etadavoca:
“Api nāyyā tumhehi diṭṭhaṁ vā sutaṁ vā sakkhiṁ ṭhapayitvā dānaṁ diyyamānan”ti? Atha kho te mahāmattā— “Saccaṁ kho ayyā āhā”ti taṁ udositaṁ bhikkhunisaṁghassa akaṁsu.
Atha kho so puriso parājito ujjhāyati khiyyati vipāceti— “assamaṇiyo imā muṇḍā bandhakiniyo. Kathañhi nāma amhākaṁ udositaṁ acchindāpessantī”ti. Thullanandā bhikkhunī mahāmattānaṁ etamatthaṁ ārocesi. Mahāmattā taṁ purisaṁ daṇḍāpesuṁ. Atha kho so puriso daṇḍito bhikkhunupassayassa avidūre ājīvakaseyyaṁ kārāpetvā ājīvake uyyojesi— “etā bhikkhuniyo accāvadathā”ti.
4p_2V_2206Thullanandā bhikkhunī mahāmattānaṁ etamatthaṁ ārocesi. Mahāmattā taṁ purisaṁ bandhāpesuṁ. Manussā ujjhāyanti khiyyanti vipācenti: “paṭhamaṁ bhikkhuniyo udositaṁ acchindāpesuṁ, dutiyaṁ daṇḍāpesuṁ, tatiyaṁ bandhāpesuṁ. Idāni ghātāpessantī”ti.
5p_2V_2207Assosuṁ kho bhikkhuniyo tesaṁ manussānaṁ ujjhāyantānaṁ khiyyantānaṁ vipācentānaṁ. Yā tā bhikkhuniyo appicchā … pe … tā ujjhāyanti khiyyanti vipācenti: “Kathañhi nāma ayyā thullanandā ussayavādikā viharissatī”ti.
Atha kho tā bhikkhuniyo bhikkhūnaṁ etamatthaṁ ārocesuṁ … pe …
“Saccaṁ kira, bhikkhave, thullanandā bhikkhunī ussayavādikā viharatī”ti.
“Saccaṁ, bhagavā”ti.
Vigarahi buddho bhagavā … pe …
Kathañhi nāma, bhikkhave, thullanandā bhikkhunī ussayavādikā viharissati. Netaṁ, bhikkhave, appasannānaṁ vā pasādāya … pe … evañca pana, bhikkhave, bhikkhuniyo imaṁ sikkhāpadaṁ uddisantu—
6p_2V_2208, msdiv679“Yā pana bhikkhunī ussayavādikā vihareyya gahapatinā vā gahapatiputtena vā dāsena vā kammakārena vā antamaso samaṇaparibbājakenāpi, ayaṁ bhikkhunī paṭhamāpattikaṁ dhammaṁ āpannā nissāraṇīyaṁ saṁghādisesan”ti. (1:9)
7p_2V_2209, msdiv680Yā panā'ti yā yādisā … pe … bhikkhunī'ti … pe … ayaṁ imasmiṁ atthe adhippetā bhikkhunīti.
8p_2V_2210Ussayavādikā nāma aḍḍakārikā vuccati.
9p_2V_2211Gahapati nāma yo koci agāraṁ ajjhāvasati.
10p_2V_2212Gahapatiputto nāma ye keci puttabhātaro.
11p_2V_2213Dāso nāma antojāto dhanakkīto karamarānīto.
12p_2V_2214Kammakāro nāma bhaṭako āhatako.
13p_2V_2215Samaṇaparibbājako nāma bhikkhuñca bhikkhuniñca sikkhamānañca sāmaṇerañca sāmaṇeriñca ṭhapetvā yo koci paribbājakasamāpanno.
14p_2V_2216Aḍḍaṁ karissāmīti dutiyaṁ vā pariyesati gacchati vā, āpatti dukkaṭassa. Ekassa āroceti, āpatti dukkaṭassa. Dutiyassa āroceti, āpatti thullaccayassa. Aḍḍapariyosāne āpatti saṁghādisesassa.
15p_2V_2217Paṭhamāpattikan'ti saha vatthujjhācārā āpajjati asamanubhāsanāya.
16p_2V_2218Nissāraṇīyan'ti saṁghamhā nissārīyati.
17p_2V_2219Saṁghādisesan'ti saṁghova tassā āpattiyā mānattaṁ deti mūlāya paṭikassati abbheti, na sambahulā na ekā bhikkhunī. Tena vuccati “saṁghādiseso”ti. Tasseva āpattinikāyassa nāmakammaṁ adhivacanaṁ. Tenapi vuccati “saṁghādiseso”ti.
18p_2V_2220, msdiv681Anāpatti— manussehi ākaḍḍhīyamānā gacchati, ārakkhaṁ yācati, anodissa ācikkhati, ummattikāya … pe … ādikammikāyāti.
19p_2V_2221Paṭhamasaṁghādisesasikkhāpadaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ.