Confession 146

Origin Story

At that time, the Blessed One was in Kosambī.

Then Kālī bhikkhunī delighted in quarreling and held on to a dispute without remembering correctly. Later she angrily rebuked the bhikkhunī sangha.

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 Kālī bhikkhunī: “Why did you delight in a quarrel that had already been settled, and still harboring hatred when the night had passed, abuse the bhikkhunī sangha?” Then they told the bhikkhus, and the bhikkhus went and told the World-honored One. The World-honored One for this reason gathered the bhikkhu sangha and criticized Kālī: “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 delight in a quarrel that had already been settled, and still harboring hatred when the night had passed, make plans to scold the bhikkhunī sangha?” When he had criticized her in countless ways, he said to the bhikkhus: “This 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 delights in quarreling, holds on to a dispute without remembering correctly, and later, angry and dissatisfied, abuses the bhikkhunī sangha, it’s a pācittiya.’”

Explanation

The meaning of “bhikkhunī” is as above.

There are four kinds of quarrels, as above.

“Sangha” means four people or more than four.

If a bhikkhunī delights in quarreling and when a night has passed, abuses the bhikkhunī sangha, and if she speaks and others understand, it’s a pācittiya. If others don’t understand, 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 says it jokingly, if she speaks quickly, if she speaks when she’s alone, if she speaks in a dream, or if she wants to say one thing but by mistake says something else, 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 146th rule.)