Suspension 4

First Origin Story

At that time, the Sakyans had made this promise to each other: “We won’t inter-marry with the other clans. If someone commits this crime, we’ll give them a heavy punishment.” Then among the Sakyans, the husband of the Licchavi woman Kālī passed away, and the husband’s younger brother wanted to take her as his wife. The woman didn’t agree. He proposed three times, but she didn’t give him the marriage vows. Then he thought: “That woman must have the intention to have an affair. I’ll kill her.” Then on the pretext of holding a (memorial) service on behalf of his older brother, he said: “I’m holding a service for your husband. Come to burn incense!” When the woman had arrived there, (he made her) drink alcohol to make her drunk, and they engaged in sexual intercourse together. Then he scratched her flesh with his nails and injured her, and told the government official: “Kālī the Licchavi woman is my wife. Now she has an affair with another person.” The official then sent out someone to arrest her. When the woman soberec up, she saw that her body was injured and wounded everywhere and thought: “This man must want to see me killed.” Then she fled to Sāvatthī, went to the bhikkhunīs and went forth to train in the path. When the offical was unable to arrest her, he got to know that she was in Sāvatthī. Then he sent a letter to king Pasenadi and said: “A woman in my country has committed a crime and should die. She has fled to your country. Please send her back to me. If a criminal flees to my country, I’ll also send them back.”

Then king Pasenadi asked his ministers: “Has this woman entered my country?” They answered: “Yes. The bhikkhunīs have ordained her into the path.” The king had previously decreed: “If there’s a criminal bhikkhu or bhikkhunī in my country, I’ll give a heavy punishment.” Now that she had gone forth, he didn’t dare to take action against her. The king then sent a letter back and said: “It’s true that this woman has entered my country. Now she has gone forth and I can’t prosecute her for the crime. If you have another issue, respectfully bring it to the Tathāgata’s attention.” The Sakyans then criticized it: “We won’t be able to punish anyone who commits this crime anymore. It’ll really disturb our country. The bhikkhunīs don’t even (know) I follow the parallel passage in pācittiya 116 for my translation: 諸比丘尼不知可度、不可度, which includes 知, “know”. Otherwise, this sentence is hard to make sense of.* who is ordainable and who isn’t. What kind of path could they have? This isn’t the practice of renunciates. They’ve broken the rules of renunciates.” When the senior bhikkhunīs heard it, they criticized them in all kinds of ways, and told the Buddha of this matter. The Buddha gathered both sanghas because of this matter and asked the bhikkhunīs: “Did you really do this?” They answered: “We really did this, World-honored One.” When the Buddha had criticized them in all kinds of ways, he told the bhikkhus: “I now lay down a precept for the bhikkhunīs. From now on, this precept should be recited thus:

First Preliminary Ruling

‘If a bhikkhunī knows that a woman has committed a crime and ordains her as a bhikkhunī, that bhikkhunī commits an immediate saṅghādisesa, from which one can repent.’”

Second Origin Story

There were also female criminals, female thieves, and women who should die, and the householders said: “If you’re able to go forth, we’ll spare your lives.” Then they asked for the going forth, and told the bhikkhunīs: “Please see to our ordination to save us.” The bhikkhunīs said: “The Buddha hasn’t yet allowed us to ordain people such as you.” They told the Buddha of this matter. The Buddha gathered both sanghas because of this matter and told the bhikkhus: “If the ruler allows it, I allow the bhikkhunīs to ordain them. From now on, this precept should be recited thus:

Second Preliminary Ruling

‘If a bhikkhunī knows that a woman has committed a crime, and that the ruler doesn’t allow it, but ordains her, that bhikkhunī commits an immediate saṅghādisesa, from which one can repent.’”

Third Origin Story

There were also women who had committed a crime and who didn’t obtain the going forth in the Buddha’s dhamma. Then they entered a non-Buddhist sect. When the householders later saw them, some said: “These are our women who have committed a crime. We’ll snatch their non-Buddhist robes.” Some said: “Having gone forth in a non-Buddhist sect is a heavy punishment. Let them go.” Then they released them. These women later came to the bhikkhunīs seeking refuge and said: “Sisters, it’s not because we originally didn’t have respect and faith in the Buddha’s dhamma, that we’ve gone forth in a non-Buddhist sect. The sisters refused to see to our ordination. Under the thread of being captured, we entered a non-Buddhist sect. Out of fear, we’ve now seen to it to be allowed to go forth. Please see to our ordination out of compassion.” The bhikkhunīs didn’t know what to do. They told the Buddha of this. The Buddha gathered both sanghas because of this matter and told the bhikkhus: “If there are women who have committed a crime and have earlier already gone forth, I allow to ordain them. From now on, this precept should be recited thus:

Final Ruling

‘If a bhikkhunī knows that a woman has committed a crime and that the ruler doesn’t allow it, and ordains her into the path, unless she has gone forth before, that bhikkhunī commits an immediate saṅghādisesa, from which one can repent.’”

Explanations

“Having committed a crime” means she has committed adultery or a theft. This is called “having committed a crime”.

“A ruler” means the one who allows to take her life. This is called “the ruler”.

If a bhikkhunī thinks about ordaining that woman, if she plans it, up to when she gathers the sangha, if the three announcements aren’t yet finished, each is a dukkaṭa. When the three announcements are finished, it’s a saṅghādisesa for the preceptor. For the other bhikkhunī teachers and the sangha, it’s a thullaccaya each.