Confession 106

Origin Story

At that time, the bhikkhunīs gave girls who weren’t yet 18 years old the training precepts i.e. sikkhamānā ordination.*. They were ignorant and without knowledge, and couldn’t bear to train in the precepts. When the senior bhikkhunīs saw it, they criticized them 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 gives a girl who isn’t yet 18 years old the training precepts, it’s a pācittiya.’”

Explanations

“A girl” means not yet having experience with a man.

If she thinks about and plans it, up to when the formal act with a motion as second isn’t yet finished, it’s a dukkaṭa. If the formal act with a motion as second is finished, it’s a pācittiya (for the preceptor). For the other teachers and the sangha, it’s a dukkaṭa each.