Confession 129

Origin Story

At that time, the bhikkhunīs went to the house of their aquaintances, and just sat down on their seats. The lay people criticized them: “We don’t like to see these inauspicious things. They don’t know where to sit and where not to sit. They’ve no manners.” When the senior bhikkhunīs heard 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 doesn’t speak with the owner and just sits down on their seat, it’s a pācittiya.’”

Explanations

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

If the owner asks her to sit down, the offense isn’t committed.