Relinquishment With Confession 4

The 4th training precept: Washing an old robe for an unrelated bhikkhu.

Np4 is technically classified as a shared rule, and therefore outside the scope of my translation project. But it’s not actually shared. It’s a very curious case of a rule being “mirrored”, and therefore I decided to include it. The bhikkhu rule prohibits having a bhikkhunī wash, dye, or beat one’s robe. If this rule was shared, the bhikkhunī rule should prohibit having a bhikkhu wash, dye, or beat one’s robe. However, it actually prohibits the bhikkhunī from washing, dyeing, or beating the bhikkhu’s robe. The same action thus leads to a nissaggiya pācittiya for both the bhikkhu and the bhikkhunī. This is the only vinaya as far as I know that includes “rule-mirroring” like this.*

(This rule begins with a long story that has nothing to do with bhikkhunīs and has therefore been left out. Then the backstory of Udāyī and Guttā is given which is also too long to include, but which I summarize here:

Ven. Udāyī promises his former wife Guttā to ordain her, but on the eve of the ordination, he has second thoughts and runs away to Rājagaha. Guttā is distraught, but gets ordained by the bhikkhunīs instead. Udāyī eventually feels remorse, hears from a traveling bhikkhu that she was ordained, and goes back to Sāvatthī. A bhikkhunī finds out that he’s back and recommends to Ven. Guttā that she take him as her teacher. She goes to see him, and he criticizes her for taking ordination without him, but eventually teaches her the dhamma. He starts to reminisce about old times and lust arises. Guttā sees it and leaves, but he chases after her, and has an erection. Then his lust vanishes. Guttā returns and tells him she left to preserve both their statuses as monastics. She offers to wash his lower robe which is stained with semen. She sees it and lust arises.)

Translation of the rule:

Origin Story

Then because Guttā’s mind was disturbed by lust, she took a drop of the semen and put it into her mouth. She also took another drop and inserted it into her vagina. The power of karma of living beings is unfathomable. Then in the intermediate state, aggregates took their final rebirth, came and settled in her. Guttā went to the monastery and washed the robe. The bhikkhunīs saw her and asked, and Guttā fully answered about the incident. The bhikkhunīs said: “We thought that you went to the venerable seeking the superior dhamma. Who would’ve known that you still would do this evil thing?” Guttā replied: “That venerable is keeping precepts, and since I’ve gone forth, no part of my body has ever again touched him.” The bhikkhunīs replied: “If no part of your body has touched him, but this incident still happened, if he had touched you, what would you’ve wanted?” When the bhikkhunīs knew about this matter, they went and told the bhikkhus, and the bhikkhus told the Buddha. The Buddha said to the bhikkhus: “That bhikkhunī hasn’t committed a pārājika. If she’s pregnant, you should put her into a secluded room, give her food, and provide for her with nothing lacking. Later she’ll give birth to a son who’ll be named Kumārakassapa. He’ll go forth in my dhamma, cut off the taints, and become an arahant. Among my disciples who are skilled in eloquence and capable of teaching, he’ll be the foremost.” At that time, the World-honored One also thought: “If a bhikkhunī washes an old robe for an unrelated bhikkhu, there’s this fault.” The World-honored One gathered the sangha for this reason as before, asked if it was true, and criticized her, as explained in detail, down to: “I’ll lay down another training precept. You should recite it like this:

Final Ruling

‘If a bhikkhunī washes, dyes, or beats the old robe of an unrelated bhikkhu, it’s a nissaggiya pācittiya.’”

Explanations

“A bhikkhunī” means Guttā, or any other bhikkhunī.

“Related” means seven previous generations on both the father’s and the mother’s side all are relations. Further back aren’t.

“A bhikkhu” means Udāyī.

“An old robe” means one among the seven kinds of robes. Which seven? 1) Wool. 2) Bhaṅga Hemp.* (It doesn’t exist here.) 3) Sāṇa Coarse hemp.* (It doesn’t exist here.) 4) Kappāsika (white cotton.) 5) Dukūla (ramie cloth.) 6) Superior kambala (a superior woolen cloth in bright colors. It doesn’t exist here.) 7) Aparāntaka (This is the name of a place in the north. In that place, they have this robe. It’s also said that this is a kind of coarse silk.)

“Washing” means immersing in water.

“Dyeing” means even dipping it in color once.

“Beating” means even just beating it once with the hand.

“A nissaggiya pācittiya” is as explained in detail before.

Herein, what are the factors for committing this offense? If a bhikkhunī knows that this is an unrelated bhikkhu, and perceives him to be unrelated, and applies herself to washing his old robe, she commits a nissaggiya pācittiya. The same for dyeing and beating. Among these three things, she might do all three, or two, or one. No matter which of the three she does first for an unrelated bhikkhu, in all cases she incurs the offense. If she has doubts whether the bhikkhu is unrelated, it’s also a nissaggiya pācittiya. If he’s related, but she perceives him as unrelated, she incurs a dukkaṭa. If he’s related and she has doubts, she incurs a dukkaṭa offense.