Suspension 5

Origin Story

At that time, Youcuo bhikkhunī often committed offenses. From getting up to going to bed, everything wasn’t according to dhamma: she ate often, she ate in a separate group, and she entered people’s houses at the wrong time. The bhikkhunī sangha expelled her for not seeing offenses. Then Thullanandā bhikkhunī knew that Youcuo’s mind hadn’t yet been corrected, that she didn’t respect and obey the sangha, and that she didn’t follow the group. She released her from the expulsion herself with her followers outside the territory. When the bhikkhunī had then obtained release from the expulsion, she was twice as conceited and didn’t respect the sangha. When the senior bhikkhunīs saw it, they criticized her in all kinds of ways, and told the Buddha of this matter. The Buddha gathered both sanghas because of this matter and asked Thullanandā: “Did you really do this?” She answered: “I really did this, World-honored One.” When the Buddha had criticized her 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:

Final Ruling

‘If a bhikkhunī knows that the sangha has expelled a bhikkhunī according to dhamma, and that that bhikkhunī’s mind hasn’t yet been corrected, and that she doesn’t follow the sangha, but she herself and her followers release her from the expulsion outside the territory, that bhikkhunī commits an immediate saṅghādisesa, from which one can repent.’”

Explanations

If she wants to release her from the expulsion and plans it, up to when the three announcements aren’t yet finished, each is a dukkaṭa. When the three announcements are finished, it’s a saṅghādisesa for the master of ceremony. For the rest of the sangha, it’s a thullaccaya each.

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