Suspension 8

The 8th training precept: Walking on a path alone.

Origin Story

Location as before. Then a traveling merchant came to Rājagaha. Thullanandā bhikkhunī followed him alone, and went alone to all the other six cities. At a later time, she returned to her former residence. Then the bhikkhunīs massaged her to release the stress and let her relax, and asked: “Up to which place did you walk alone and return?” She answered: “I went by myself to all the six cities.” The bhikkhunīs said: “While wandering alone and traveling without a companion, if you had encountered evil persons coming to encroach upon you, how could your celibacy not have been in great danger?” When she heard this, she answered: “Haven’t you heard that when that male perfume vendor wanted to come and harass me, I beat him and made him look up to me having fallen down. Then I stepped on him with my food and he coughed up warm blood from his mouth? What other person would then oppose me and transgress against me?” The bhikkhunīs replied: “Other people wouldn’t necessarily be as timid and weak as him.” 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, down to: “I’ll lay down another training precept. You should recite it like this:

Final Ruling

‘If a bhikkhunī walks on a path alone, it’s a saṅghādisesa.’”

Explanations

“A bhikkhunī” means Thullanandā, or any other person.

“Walking on a path alone” means if she walks on a path alone without a companion, she commits a saṅghādisesa. If she goes together with a sāmaṇerī, she commits a thullaccaya. If she goes together with a sikkhamānā, she incurs a dukkaṭa.