Expulsion 7

Origin Story

At that time, the World-honored One was in Sāvatthī in Jeta’s grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s park. Then Thullanandā bhikkhunī’s younger sister called Tissanandā committed a pārājika offense. When Thullanandā bhikkhunī found out, she thought: “Tissanandā is my younger sister. Now she has committed a pārājika offense. I rightly want to tell others, but I fear that she’ll get a bad reputation. If she gets a bad reputation, it’ll also be bad for me.” Thus she remained silent, and didn’t tell anyone. At a later time, Tissā bhikkhunī disrobed. When the bhikkhunīs saw this, they said to Thullanandā: “Did you see that your younger sister has disrobed?” She answered: “She did what was to be done, not what wasn’t to be done.” The bhikkhunīs asked: “Why was it to be done?” Thullanandā answered: “I previously already knew that she did such-and-such a thing.” The bhikkhunīs said: “If you previously knew, why did you not tell us?” Thullanandā answered: “Tissā is my younger sister. When she committed the pārājika offense, I wanted to tell people, but I feared that she’d get a bad reputation. If she got a bad reputation, it’d also have been bad for me. Therefore, I didn’t tell others.”

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 criticized Thullanandā bhikkhunī: “Why did you cover up Tissā’s heavy offense?” Then the bhikkhunīs 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 Thullanandā: “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, Thullanandā bhikkhunī, did you cover up Tissā bhikkhunī’s heavy offense?” Then, when the World-honored One had criticized Thullanandā bhikkhunī in countless ways, he said to the bhikkhus: “Thullanandā 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: ‘If a bhikkhunī knows that another (bhikkhunī) has committed a pārājika, and neither charges her herself, nor informs the sangha, nor tells others, but if at a later time after that bhikkhunī has either disrobed, or been permanently expelled, or been barred by the sangha, or has joined a non-Buddhist group, she should say: “I previously already knew that she had committed such-and-such an offense,” that bhikkhunī is pārājika, and doesn’t live in community, because she concealed a heavy offense.’”

In this way, the World-honored One laid down the precept for the bhikkhunīs. Some commited a pārājika in a city and went to a village, some committed a pārājika in a village and came to the city. Then the bhikkhunīs didn’t know if they had committed a pārājika or not, and they only found out later that they had committed a pārājika. Some said that they had committed a pārājika. Some had doubts. The Buddha said: “If you don’t know, there’s no offense. From now on, you should recite the precept like this:

Final Ruling

‘If a bhikkhunī knows that another bhikkhunī has committed a pārājika, and neither discloses it herself, nor tells members of the assembly, nor informs the great assembly, but if at a later time after that bhikkhunī has either passed away, or been charged in the midst of the assembly, or disrobed, or joined a non-Buddhist group, she should say: “I previously already knew that she had such-and-such an offense,” that bhikkhunī is pārājika, and doesn’t live in community, because she concealed a heavy offense.’”

Explanation

The meaning of “bhikkhunī” is as above.

“Knowing” means “I know that she has committed such-and-such an offense.”

“Sangha” means those who are united in formal acts, and united in the precept recitation.

“The great assembly” means four persons or more.

“Disrobing” means leaving this dhamma.

“Permanently expelling” means that the sangha carries out a formal act with a motion as fourth, and sends her away.

“Barring” means that when the sangha deliberates about the offense, they bar her and don’t allow her to enter the assembly.

“Joining non-Buddhists” means accepting non-Buddhist doctrines.

“A heavy offense” means the eight pārājikas; committing any offense among these eight rules.

If that bhikkhunī, who knows that another bhikkhunī has committed a pārājika, learns about it before the meal time, and tells about it after the meal time, it’s a thullaccaya. If she learns about it after the meal time, and tells about it at the beginning of the night, it’s a thullaccaya. If she learns about it at the beginning of the night, and tells about it in the middle of the night, it’s a thullaccaya. If she learns about it in the middle of the night, and tells about it at the end of the night, it’s a thullaccaya. If she learns about it at the end of the night, and hasn’t told about it at dawn, it’s a pārājika. If she hides another offense except for the eight pārājika rules, and doesn’t tell about it, it’s (to be dealt with) according to what has been committed. If she hides her own heavy offense, it’s a thullaccaya. Except for bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs, if she hides other people’s offenses, it’s a dukkaṭa.

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

“Not committed” means if she doesn’t know, if she tells others, if there’s nobody whom she could tell, if she intends to tell but hasn’t told it yet at dawn, and if, when she tells it, her life is in danger or her celibacy is in danger, she needn’t tell and 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 seventh rule.)