Confession 97

The 97th training precept: Just staying overnight without asking the owner.

Origin Story

Location as before. Then the bhikkhunīs were wandering among the people, came to a village and asked for a place to stay overnight. A weaver wasn’t home but his wife, without his authorization, allowed the bhikkhunīs to stay together with her in one room. At night, the weaver came and lay down with his wife, wanting to have sex. He touched his wife with the hand, and the wife sighed. The bhikkhunīs heard it and laughed. The husband asked the wife: “Who is laughing?” She answered: “They’re renunciates.” The husband then angrily expelled the bhikkhunīs and made them leave. The bhikkhunīs told the bhikkhus, and the bhikkhus told the Buddha. The Buddha asked and criticized, as explained in detail, down to: “I’ll lay down another training precept. You should recite it like this:

Final Ruling

‘If a bhikkhunī just stays overnight in a lay house without asking the owner, it’s a pācittiya.’” The pātimokkha says: If a bhikkhunī just sits down in a lay house without asking the owner, it’s a pācittiya.*

Explanations

“A bhikkhunī” is as above.

“Without asking the owner” means without consulting the owner of the house.

“Just staying overnight” means lying or sitting inside.

The explanations of the rule factors etc. are as explained in detail before.

There’s no offense if the woman has no husband and is the owner of the house herself.

Mūlasarvāstivāda bhikkhunī vinaya, fascicle 17.