Confession 78

Origin Story

At that time, the Blessed One was in Rājagaha on Vulture’s peak.

Then there was a group-of-six bhikkhunī who defecated and urinated into a chamber pot at night, and threw it over a wall without looking at dawn. Then there was a high official without joyous faith, who drove in his carriage at dawn, wanting to greet king Bimbisāra. The road passed by the bikkhunī monastery. The excrements and urine thrown out by the bhikkhunī fell on this high official’s head and soiled his body and clothes. Then the high official thought: “I’ll tell the judge about this matter.” Then there was a brahmin with deep faith who was skilled in signs and who said: “Where do you want to go?” The high official answered: “A bhikkhunī has soiled and disgraced me with excrement and urine. I want to speak with the judge.” The brahmin skilled in signs admonished him: “Stop it. Don’t speak with the judge about this matter. You might not be successful, and might still incur his punishment.”

Then this high official followed the advice and turned back. That brahmin skilled in signs then went to the bhikkhunī monastery and asked: “What kind of bhikkhunī defecates and urinates into a chamber pot at night, and throws it over a wall without looking?” The bhikkhunīs answered: “We don’t know.” They said: “Why do you ask about this?” Then the brahmin for this reason fully explained the situation to the bhikkhunīs: “I’ve already criticized and admonished this high official to make him stop. From now on, don’t do it again.” The bhikkhunīs then interrogated each other who had done this. They found out that one of the group-of-six bhikkhunīs had done it. Then the bhikkhunīs criticized the group-of-six bhikkhunī: “Why did you defecate and urinate into a chamber pot at night, and throw it over a wall without looking at dawn?”

Then the bhikkhunīs went and told the bhikkhus, and the bhikkhus went and told the World-honored One. The World-honored One then for this reason gathered the bhikkhu sangha, and criticized the group-of-six bhikkhunī: What you did is wrong, is improper conduct, against the rules of renunciates, an impure practice, a practice not to be followed, shouldn’t be done. Why, group-of-six bhikkhunī, did you defecate and urinate into a chamber pot at night, and throw it over a wall without looking?” Then, when the World-honored One had criticized the group-of-six bhikkhunī in countless ways, he said to the bhikkhus: “This group-of-six bhikkhunī has all kinds of taints, and is the first to break this precept. From now on, I’ll lay down a precept for the bhikkhunīs, and state the 10 principles: … So that the true dhamma may last long. Someone wishing to recite the precept should recite like this:

Final Ruling

‘If a bhikkhunī defecates and urinates into a chamber pot at night, and throws it over a wall without looking during the day, it’s a pācittiya.’”

Explanation

The meaning of “bhikkhunī” is as above.

If a bhikkhunī defecates and urinates into a chamber pot at night, she should look over the wall and then throw it away during the day. If she gets up at night, she has to snap her fingers and clear her throat. If a bhikkhunī defecates and urinates into a chamber pot at night, and throws it over a wall without looking during the day, it’s a pācittiya. If she doesn’t clear her throat and snap her fingers at night, and throws it away, it’s a dukkaṭa.

For a bhikkhu, it’s a dukkaṭa. For a sikkhamānā, a sāmaṇera, and a sāmaṇerī, it’s a dukkaṭa. This is called “to commit”.

“Not committed” means if she defecates and urinates into a chamber pot at night, and then looks and throws it over a wall during the day, if she snaps her fingers and clears her throat at night, if there are clay, stones, tree stumps, or brambles, and she throws it away in these unclean places, or into a pool of water, on the sides of a pit, or on a dung heap, the offense isn’t committed.

“Not committed” means if she’s the first offender when the precept hadn’t yet been laid down, if she’s mad, if she’s distracted, or if she’s overcome with pain. (End of the 78th rule.)