Suspension 9

The 9th training precept: Crossing a river alone.

Origin Story

Location as before. Then some bhikkhunīs were wandering among the people and reached the river Aciravatī. The ferry was on the other bank. Then there was a bhikkhunī named Kālikā, whose former husband had been a ferry man. The bhikkhunī said: “I’ll enter the river, swim there, take the boat, and come back.” Then she entered the river and swam, and when she reached the middle, she was exhausted. The bhikkhunīs said: “Kālikā, don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid! Keep on striving!” That bhikkhunī replied: “My strength is now exhausted. I nearly died crossing the river.” 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 swims across a river alone, it’s a saṅghādisesa.’”

Explanations

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

“Swimming across a river alone” means if she, alone without a companion, swims in the water of a river and crosses over, she commits a saṅghādisesa. If she ties a raft together and crosses, she incurs a dukkaṭa. If she crosses together with a sāmaṇerī, she commits a thullaccaya. If she crosses together with a sikkhamānā, she incurs a dukkaṭa.