Confession 124

Origin Story

The Buddha was in Sāvatthī. At that time, in Sāvatthī, there was a householder whose a wife didn’t follow her husband’s instructions. He beat and kicked her with his hands and feet, and threw her out of his house. There was a bhikkhunī who often went in and out of that house, and the wife went to the bhikkhunī. The householder went to another village and thought: “My wife might have nowhere to go.” He returned to the house and looked for her, but didn’t find her. The householder thought: “My wife must have gone to the bhikkhunī monastery.” He also thought: “Being there will make her more submissive. I’ll fetch her later.” When the wife had stayed there for five or six days, she said to her bhikkhunī acquaintance: “Good woman, why don’t you ordain me?” She answered: “Your husband is still around. How could I ordain you?” The wife said: “My husband has no use for me. If he needed me, he would’ve come himself or sent a messenger.” Then the bhikkhunī gave her the going forth. The householder heard that his wife had gone forth, and he angrily said to his wife’s teacher: “You evil bhikkhunī, you criminal bhikkhunī, you’ve broken my family.” “Why have I broken your family?” He answered: “You’ve snatchend away my wife and made her a bhikkhunī.” The bhikkhunī said: “This is your wife. Just take her away.” The householders criticized her: “These bhikkhunīs say of themselves: ‘We’re virtuous and have merit’, but they just ordain wives when the guardians haven’t allowed it, like queens and wives of high officials.”

Among the bhikkhunīs were those of few wishes, who knew moderation and practised the austerities. When they heard of this matter, their minds weren’t pleased, and they criticized her with all kinds of reasons: “How can you be called a bhikkhunī when you just ordain a wife whose guardian hasn’t allowed it?” Having criticized her with all kinds of reasons, they explained it to the Buddha in detail. The Buddha gathered both sanghas because of this matter. He knew, and intentionally asked that bhikkhunī: “Did you really do this?” She answered: “I really did this, World-honored One.” The Buddha criticized her with all kinds of reasons: “How can you be called a bhikkhunī when you just take someone on as your student whose guardian hasn’t allowed it?” Having criticized her with all kinds of reasons, he said to the bhikkhus: “For 10 benefits, I’ll lay down a precept for the bhikkhunīs. From now on, this precept should be recited thus:

Final Ruling

‘If a bhikkhunī takes on a woman as her student whose guardian hasn’t allowed it, it’s a pācittiya.’”

“The guardian hasn’t allowed it” means: There are three kinds: If the woman isn’t married yet, and her parents haven’t allowed it; or if she’s married but hasn’t gone to her husband’s home yet, and both sides haven’t allowed it; or if she has already gone to her husband’s home, and the husband hasn’t allowed it, it’s a pācittiya.

Explanations

“Pācittiya” means burn, cook, cover, obstruct. If she doesn’t confess the offense, it can obstruct the path.

Herein, this is an offense: If a bhikkhunī just ordains someone whose husband hasn’t allowed it, it’s a pācittiya. Whenever she ordains someone who hasn’t been allowed, she incurs a pācittiya. (End of rule 124.)

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