Relinquishment With Confession 31

The 31st training precept: Buying medicine and wrapping and unwrapping it.

Origin Story

Location as before. Then Sundarīnandā bhikkhunī’s mind was defiled with desire for a male perfume vendor. She went to his shop and bought some medicinal products. When she had wrapped them, she unwrapped them again, and when she had unwrapped them, she wrapped them again, while enjoying to talk with him. The bhikkhunīs saw them and admonished her: “Noble one, don’t do such a thing.” She didn’t accept it. The bhikkhunīs told the bhikkhus, and the bhikkhus told the Buddha. The Buddha gathered the bhikkhunīs 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 buys medicinal products, and when she has wrapped them, she unwraps them again, and when she has unwrapped them, she wraps them again, it’s a nissaggiya pācittiya.’”

Explanations

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

“Buying medicinal products … unwrapping them again” means taking goods from him with a mind defiled with desire, and wrapping and unwrapping them for enjoyment.

“A nissaggiya pācittiya” means the products should be relinquished and the pācittiya offense confessed.

Herein, the factors of the offense: Whenever she unwraps and wraps it, she incurs the pācittiya offense each time.