Confession 172

Origin Story

At that time, when the bhikkhunīs had carried out a formal act of expulsion according to dhamma, the expelled bhikkhunī refused to leave. The senior bhikkhunīs criticized her in all kinds of ways: “Imposing a formal act of expulsion, or not imposing a formal act of expulsion, what’s the difference?” … “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 leave when a formal act of expulsion was imposed on her, it’s a pācittiya.’”

Explanations

“A formal act of expulsion” means a formal act with a motion as fourth.

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

If she’s sick, if the eight difficulties arise, or if it was a formal act against dhamma, in all cases the offense isn’t committed.