Confession 143

Origin Story

At that time, there was a couple of a husband and a wife who went forth at the same time. The husband bhikkhu went on almsround, and took (the food) back to his wife’s bhikkhunī residence to eat. His bhikkhunī wife took a water jug and stood in front of him. She fanned him with a fan, gave water, and then asked him if he was cold or hot. The husband bhikkhu ate with his head lowered, didn’t look at her, and didn’t talk with her. The woman whom the bhikkhu had earlier had an affair with when he had been a lay man, had also gone forth. She lived there, and came out to see him. The bhikkhu then laughed. Jealousy arose in his bhikkhunī wife’s mind, and she then hit the water jug on the bhikkhu’s head and broke it. The bhikkhunīs criticized her: “Why does a bhikkhunī take a water jug and a fan, stands in front of a bhikkhu, offers him water, and fans him? Thereupon, she also hit his head and broke (the jug).” 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 takes a water jug or a fan, stands in front of a bhikkhu, and offers him water or fans him, it’s a pācittiya.’”

Explanations

If she wants to offer water, she should leave after giving it. She shouldn’t stand in front of him.

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