Relinquishment With Confession 23

Origin Stories

At that time, Thullanandā bhikkhunī often went in and out of the palace of king Pasenadi. The king said: “Venerable, if you need anything, just take it from me.” Then she said: “I need a heavy robe.” The king said: “Just take one from the inner palace.” She said again: “I want to obtain the woolen robe that the king wears.” The king then gave it to her. The high officials criticized her: “This bhikkhunī hasn’t gone forth in the dhamma. She wears a patchwork robe of stained colors, so why does she now asks for what the king wears? Even though the king isn’t stingy, the recipient should know the right measure herself. These people always say that they’ve few wishes and know moderation, but now she has no limit. This isn’t the practice of renunciates. She has broken the rules of renunciates.”

Then Kālī, the Licchavi bhikkhunī, was respected and supported by the Licchavis of Vesālī. If people had legal issues, she could resolve them, and there was nobody who wasn’t happy and said: “We received the venerable’s compassion, and managed to avoid transgressions and disaster. Now if there’s anything you need, we’ll respectfully offer it to you.” Then she said: “I need a heavy robe.” They said again: “You need a heavy robe worth how much?” She answered: “I need a robe worth 1,000 coins.” Then the people were upset and said: “In our legal issues, even if we spents five or six times more, it still wouldn’t reach this price! These people always say that they’ve few wishes and know moderation, but now she has no limit.”

When the senior bhikkhunīs heard it, they criticized her in all kinds of ways, … “I now lay down a precept for the bhikkhunīs, as explained above. From now on, this precept should be recited thus:

Final Ruling

‘If a bhikkhunī asks for a heavy robe, she should take a cheap one worth four large coins. If she accepts a more expensive robe, it’s a nissaggiya pācittiya.’”

Explanations

“A heavy robe” means a winter robe.

For a sikkhamānā and a sāmaṇerī, it’s a dukkaṭa.