Confession 114

Origin Story

At that time, the Blessed One was in Sāvatthī in Jeta’s grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s park.

Then the group-of-six bhikkhunīs spun thread with their own hands. When the householders saw them, they all laughed at them and said: “They spin thread like our wives. These bhikkhunīs also do this.” Then pride arose in the minds of the householders, and they didn’t have respect in their minds anymore.

When the bhikkhunīs heard this, there were among them those with few wishes, who knew moderation, who practised the austerities, who were keen on training in the precepts, and who knew shame. They rebuked the group-of-six bhikkhunīs: “Why did you spin thread with your own hands?” They went and told the bhikkhus, and the bhikkhus told the Buddha. The Buddha for this reason gathered the bhikkhu sangha and criticized the group-of-six bhikkhunīs: “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 did you spin thread with your own hands? Are you no different from lay people?” When he had criticized them in countless ways, he said to the bhikkhus: “These bhikkhunīs have all kinds of taints, and are 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 spins thread with her own hands, it’s a pācittiya.’”

Explanation

The meaning of “bhikkhunī” is as above.

“Thread” means there are 10 kinds, as above.

If a bhikkhunī spins thread with her own hands, each twist is a pācittiya.

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 herself asks for thread and combines threads, or if she’s held by force, 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 114th rule.)