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ISSN:1076–9005
A Buddhist View of Women: A Comparative Study of the Rules for Bhik.su.niis and Bhik.sus Based on the Chinese Praatimok.sa
By In Young Chung
Abstract
A generalized view of women in Buddhism is imposed by almost one hundred additional rules and the "Eight Rules" upon nuns. Some scholars, writers, and practitioners have asserted that the rules in the Praatimok.sa subordinate nuns to monks. However, I argue that the additional paaraajikas for nuns treat sexual matters seriously because of the fertility of females. Some sa.mghaava"se.sas for nuns provide safeguards against falling victim to lustful men. Some ni.hsargika-paayantikas for monks forbid them from taking advantage of nuns. Two aniyatas for monks show a landmark in trust in women. Furthermore, seven adhikara.na"samathas provide evidence of the equality of men and women. Many of the additional paayantikas for nuns originated because of nuns' living situations and social conditions in ancient India. Finally, the totally different tone and discrepancies in penalties for the same offenses between the paayantikas and the "Eight Rules" suggest that the "Eight Rules" were appended later.
INTRODUCTION
I will make known the course of training for monks, founded on ten reasons: for the excellence of the Order, for the comfort of the Order, for the restraint of evil-minded men, for the ease of well-behaved monks, for the restraint of the cankers belonging to the here and now, for the combating of the cankers belonging to other worlds, for the benefit of non-believers, for the increase in the number of believers, for establishing dhamma indeed, for following the rules of restraint. Thus, monks, this course of training should be set forth.(1)
Vinaya-Pi.taka
There is a generalized view of women in Buddhism implied in the Buddhist monastic rules for bhik.su.niis(2) and bhik.sus(3) in the vinaya.(4) Referring to the monastic rules for bhik.su.niis, most Buddhist scholars, writers and practitioners agree that the rules in the vinaya subordinated the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha(5) to the Bhik.su Sa"ngha.(6) Many people are also potentially misled into thinking that the rules in the vinaya are unfairly more harsh for bhik.su.niis because of the larger number of rules, including the "Eight Rules,"(7) which are only for bhik.su.niis. In addition, many bhik.sus and even bhik.su.niis believe that bhik.su.niis must be subordinated to bhik.sus because of the prescriptions set forth in the Eight Rules. As a result, some Buddhist scholars, writers, and practitioners claim that bhik.su.niis as women have been discriminated against in the monastic rules. For example, Kate Wheeler asserts:
He [Gautama Buddha] required nuns to submit to Eight Special Rules(8) explicitly subjugating them to monks . . . and later added at least 84 additional precepts for nuns on top of the monks' 227, often stipulating worse penalties for similar infractions.(9)
Diana Y. Paul explains the vinaya:
The first text translated below describes the subordination of the nun's community to that of the monks, indicating the lack of autonomy among the women's community and their subsequent deprivation of the power to define their religious obligations along norms that they themselves established. Unlike the Christian organizational structure of nuns which was separate from that of monks, the Buddhist nuns in ancient Indian society were accountable to the monks, and their organizational structure was subordinate to that of the monks. They were directly governed by the monks at joint meetings of both orders.(10)
Rita M. Gross also describes the vinaya rules as:
. . . placing all nuns lower in the hierarchy than any monks . . . .(11)
Nancy Schuster Barnes explains the rules:
However, by imposing rules on nuns which would place them in a permanently inferior position in all their interactions with monks, the monks reserved for themselves the control and leadership of the entire sa"ngha.(12)
Richard H. Robinson and Willard L. Johnson say:
The Blessed One [Gautama Buddha] conceded that women are able to attain arhant-ship but laid eight special regulations on the nuns, subordinating them strictly to the Order of Monks.(13)
Susan Murcott mentions:
The nun's sa"ngha modeled itself after the monks' sa"ngha, only the nuns' rules and regulations were stricter. The purpose of these stricter rules was to keep women's supposedly more wayward nature under control and to keep final authority in the hands of the monks.(14)
Richard Gombrich contends:
. . . [T]here were two social hierarchies he [Gautama Buddha] never questioned: age and sex.(15)
Uma Chakravarti comments:
A wide range of restrictions were placed on bhik.su.niis, who were even required to offer their alms to the monks if they ran into them.(16)
Audrey Mck. Fernandez mentions:
However, even today there are a couple of hundred more rules for women than men, which has rankled women and has kept who knows how many from leaving lay life.(17)
Although most Buddhist scholars and writers contend that bhik.su.niis were subordinated to bhik.sus by having so many additional rules and the Eight Rules imposed upon them, I disagree. Rather, a close and comparative examination of the Buddhist monastic rules for both bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus reveals a compassionate and practical regulation of the daily monastic life of both men and women, based on the realities of life at the time the rules were formulated. This is seen in the meticulous care and compassionate understanding of women's "alms life"(18) in the vinaya. It is perhaps a mistake to depend solely on the existence of the additional monastic rules for bhik.su.niis, without examining their origin or social context, to form a generalized Buddhist view of women.
Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to examine the rules for bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus in the Praatimok.sa.(19) I believe that the guidelines for discipline set down in the rules in the Bhik.su.nii and the Bhik.su Praatimok.sas allow us to infer a Buddhist attitude toward women. This paper, by comparing the rules for both bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus, presents a different interpretation of the rules.
The text used in this paper is primarily from the Chinese Ssu fen lu, the vinaya of the Dharmaguptaka School.(20) However, because no English translation of the Chinese Ssu fen lu is available, when the rules are the same in both the Chinese and the Paali Vinayas,(21) I prefer to use an English translation of the Paali vinaya because this text is easily accessible to Westerners. According to W. Pachow,
The Dharmaguptaka [vinaya] follows very closely the Paali texts in most cases, not merely in numbering the series but also in contents, except the VII section in which, it adds 26 prohibitory rules regarding the Stuupa.(22) And that is unique among all the available texts.(23)
E. Frauwallner also says that the Dharmaguptaka vinaya is one of the most complete and well preserved of the vinayas. Its numbers and contents are very close to those of the Paali vinaya.(24) Sukumar Dutt says:
The most complete body of the monastic laws, however, is to be found in the Vinayapi.taka of the Theravaada Paali canon.(25)
Chatsumarn Kabilsingh also explains that although there is no definite proof that the Paali vinaya is the oldest and the only original text, through a comparative study of the rules in six vinaya schools,(26) she suggests that the Paali vinaya did not have any rules added to it later as did the other vinayas, and that its contents are very old because the rules in the Paali vinaya are always shared with either one or more of the other schools.(27) The Paali vinaya has been transmitted by the Theravaada School and is observed by Theravaadin bhik.sus today. The translations of the Paali vinaya available in English are: Hermann Oldenberg's translation,(28) T. W. Rhys David's and H. Oldenberg's(29) and I. B. Horner's.(30)
On the other hand, the Dharmaguptaka vinaya was translated into the Chinese as the Ssu fen lu tsung or Caturvaga vinaya by Buddhayasas with Chu Fo-nien, possibly between 410 and 412 C. E. in the capital of China, Ch'ang-an.(31) The Chinese Ssu fen lu (vinaya of the Four Divisions) consists of four parts: Bhik.su-vibha"nga,(32) Bhik.su.nii-vibha"nga,(33) Skandhaka,(34) and the appendices. The Ssu fen lu has been very influential and widely used in East Asian Buddhist countries.
The Praatimok.sa of Dharmaguptaka was used in all convents of China as the disciplinary code. Beside, the vinaya school (Ssu-fen-Lu tsung), founded in China by Tao-hsuan, also accepted the disciplinary rules of the Dharmaguptaka as the most authoritative work.(35)
The rules contained in the Ssu fen lu are still observed by the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese bhik.sus and bhik.su.niis today. Even though the only Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha existing in the world is in the tradition of the Dharmaguptaka vinaya, so far as I have been able to discover the Chinese Ssu fen lu is not available in English, particularly the rules for bhik.su.niis. In her book A Comparative Study of Bhikkhunii Paa.timokkha, Kabilsingh says that she used the Chinese Dharmagutaka vinaya which had been translated into Thai.(36) In the following, I give the meanings of the rules, rather than translating word for word. In order to understand the rules more easily, I have included comparative tables of the rules for bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus side by side in each category of the Praatimok.sas.
The Praatimok.sa is a collection of monastic rules contained in the vinaya Pi.taka(37) (Basket of Discipline), one of the three large collections of the Buddhist canon known as the Tripi.taka. In addition to the vinaya Pi.taka, the Tripi.taka includes the Suutra Pi.taka (Basket of Discourses), and the Abhidharma Pi.taka (Basket of the Special Teaching). Many scholars have explained the possible meaning of the Sanskrit word Praatimok.sa(Paali: Paa.timokkha), but these explains remain speculative. Sukumar Dutt and Gokuldas De, who represent the majority opinion, say:
Paa.timokkha . . . can be equated to Skt. Praatimok.sa, which from its etymological parts lends itself to interpretation as something serving for a bond, the prefix praati meaning "against" and the root mok.sa meaning "scattering," though I have not been able to discover any instance of the use of the word precisely in this sense in Sanskrit.(38)
The term 'Paa.timokkha' is best derived from the word 'mok.sa' meaning freedom with the prefix 'prat' which reverses its meaning when joined to it (cf. pratisrota, pratigaami, pratikula, etc.). Praatimok.sa, an adjective, meaning 'opposed to freedom,' 'bound down,' when changed to a noun becomes Praatimok.sa which in Paali takes the form 'paa.timokkha' meaning that which is 'binding upon' and it is exactly in this sense that the code 'Paa.timokkha' is used.(39)
The Praatimok.sa contains the Bhik.su Praatimok.sa and the Bhik.su.nii Praatimok.sa because it concerns both bhik.sus and bhik.su.niis. The Dharmaguptaka vinaya, the Ssu fen lu, also contains the monastic rules for bhik.sus and bhik.su.niis in the sections known as the Bhik.su Ssu fen lu and the Bhik.su.nii Ssu fen lu. The Bhik.su.nii Ssu fen lu has seven categories of rules, while the Bhik.su Ssu fen lu contains eight categories, adding the aniyata dharmas(undetermined rules).(40) In order to make a complete comparative analysis of the rules in each category in the Praatimok.sa, I will cover each category of the rules chapter by chapter in turn: paaraajika dharmas(defeat), sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas(formal meeting), aniyata dharmas(undetermined), ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas(forfeiture), paayantika dharmas(expiation), pratide"saniiya dharmas(confession), "saik.sa dharmas(training), and adhikara.na-"samatha dharmas (legal questions).(41) Finally, I will explore the interpolation of the Eight Rules which are mandated for bhik.su.niis only, by comparing the Eight Rules and the Bhik.su.nii paayantika Rules.
PART I
Paaraajika Dharma(Defeat)
The categories of rules in the Ssu fen lu and the Paali vinaya are arranged in order of the severity of the offenses. The most serious offenses against monastic life are the paaraajika dharmas(Paali: paaraajika) for both bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus. I. B. Horner explains the term paaraajika as follows:
Burnouf's idea (adopted by Childers and others) is that paaraajika is derived from para + aj, meaning a crime which involves the expulsion or exclusion of the guilty party. Para + aj may be a better source, grammatically speaking, for paaraajika then is para-ji. Yet, that the sense intended is "defeat," seems to me rather less doubtful than that it is expulsion, and aj, though a Vedic root, meaning "to drive away," is unknown as a root in Paali.(42)
E. J. Thomas says that "Buddhaghosa interprets paaraajika as suffering defeat, and the Muulasarvaastivaadins appear to do the same, but the earliest commentary in the vinaya gives no suggestion of this meaning."(43)
In explaining the term paaraajika dharmas(Chinese: po luo yi fa) the Ssu fen lu says that if a bhik.su [or bhik.su.nii] commits a paaraajika offense, he [she] is compared with "a person whose head is cut off." The offender totally loses his [her] monastic status and is no longer in association with the pure bhik.su.niis or bhik.sus.(44) In this category, we see that bhik.su.niis have four additional rules concerning sexual behaviors. If a bhik.su is involved in a sexual offense in this category, the bhik.su is required to leave the Bhik.su sa"ngha. In the same way, if a bhik.su.nii has committed a sexual offense in this category, she is also required to leave the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha. However, the result of the bhik.su.nii's sexual offense may lead to pregnancy because bhik.su.niis are potentially fertile. For this reason, the four additional rules in this category are restricted rules to bhik.su.niis. The paaraajika dharmas are as follows.
TABLE NO. 1
Paaraajika dharmas (Defeat) (Emphasizing Rules for bhik.su.niis)
| Order of Rules for Bhik.su.niis |
Order of Same Rules for Bhik.sus(45) |
Summary of Rules for Bhik.su.niis(46) |
| 1 |
1 |
Not to have sexual intercourse |
| 2 |
2 |
Not to steal |
| 3 |
3 |
Not to kill a human or one who has human form of life |
| 4 |
4 |
Not to falsely claim to have attained superhuman perfection |
| 5 |
|
Not to touch and rub a man who is filled with sexual desire(47) |
| 6 |
|
Not to involve in the special eight actions(48) with a man who is filled with desire |
| 7 |
|
Not to condone or conceal another bhik.su.nii's paaraajika offense |
| 8 |
|
Not to follow a bhik.su who is suspended by the sa"ngha in spite of being admonished a third time(49) |
As table number one shows, bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus share the first four paaraajika dharmas. There are four additional rules (#5, 6, 7, 8) for bhik.su.niis. Violation of any one of the paaraajika dharmas has no possibility of rehabilitation and entails permanent expulsion from the sa"ngha.(50) Two rules (#5, 6) of the additional rules for bhik.su.niis deal with sexual offenses, number seven with concealing another bhik.su.nii's paaraajika offense, and number eight with a bhik.su who is suspended by the sa"ngha. Without having sufficient knowledge of the Buddhist view of women, some may think that the four more rules were added because of women's unrestrained sexual desires. For example, a Korean (male) Buddhist scholar, Jung-shup Han, comments on the Bhik.su.nii Paaraajika additional rules:
We should understand the reasons why Gautama Buddha refused to found the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha and laid down four additional rules for bhik.su.niis than for bhik.sus in this category. Because bhik.su.niis' sexual desires were lustful and uncontrollable, they had sexual relations with Buddhist lay people, non-Buddhists or even bhik.sus. Thus they created serious problems in the Buddhist community and caused the fall of the pure dharma during the time of the Buddha.(51)
However, Richard F. Gombrich points out:
. . . [I]t is noteworthy that the Buddha did not hold the view, so widespread in traditional India and elsewhere, that sexual desire is the women's fault and sexual intercourse the result of female temptation of the male . . . . More substantial is his sermon which describes sexual desire of men for women and of women for men in identical terms.(52)
Gross also mentions:
Interestingly, though many modern commentators feel that one of the major concerns of the monastic rules was to separate the monks and the nuns to protect celibacy, neither monks or nuns are tempted by each other, with very few exceptions. The real struggle is between monastics and lay people.(53)
Nagata Mizu additionally claims a practical reason for the two additional rules (#5, 6) concerning sexual prohibition for bhik.su.niis. He notes that these rules prohibit bhik.su.niis from physical contact with men at any time and in any situation because of the bhik.su.niis' potential fertility, childbearing being contrary to monastic life.(54)
The Ssu fen lu does not elaborate on how the seventh paaraajika dharma for bhik.su.niis came to be formulated.(55) However, the Paali vinaya gives an historical account of how the rule was formed. The bhik.su.nii Sundariinandaa was involved in sexual relations with the layman Saa.lha, Migaara's grandson, and became pregnant. She was forced to leave the sa"ngha after she could no longer conceal her condition. Her sister, Thullanandaa, concealed Sundariinandaa's offense even though she knew that Sundariinandaa had committed a paaraajika offense. So even though rule number seven of the paaraajika dharmas at first glance seems to deal with the concealment of an offense, it also indicates a concern with sexual matters between men and women.(56)
Although Gautama Buddha laid down the rules that bhik.su.niis should learn the dharma from bhik.sus who were authorized by the Bhik.su sa"ngha,(57) he also established rule number eight to protect bhik.su.niis from abuse by a man who was no longer a bhik.su. This rule may be a relic of the early period of the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha when some bhik.su.niis were used by a bhik.su who had been expelled by the sa"ngha.(58) The additional rules for bhik.su.niis in the paaraajika dharmas look varied, but the case histories establish them as generally concerning sexual offenses. Rule number eight is one of the most important rules of the monastic life for bhik.su.niis; however, violation of the rule is not an offense until the third admonition. Chatsuman Kabilsingh comments on rule number eight:
It is interesting to note that the structure of paaraajika 8 stands out from the rest. A bhik.su.nii is defeated only after the third admonition, the form resembles that of sa.mghaava"se.sa more than paaraajika. Could it be possible that it has been shifted from sa.mghaava"se.sa? If that was the case, then it must have occurred at a very early period before the separation of the various sects, for all of them share this rule.(59)
Nagata Mizu contends that if a bhik.su.nii is involved in sexual relations, she is required to leave the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha. Additionally, the result of the offense can cause her pregnancy, and this can result in a serious external problem for the Buddhist community as well as the individual. In contrast, if a bhik.su is involved in sexual relations, the punishment of the offense could be inwardly limited only to the bhik.su.(60)
From a close examination of the comparative study of the paaraajika dharmas for bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus, we see that the four additional paaraajika dharmas for bhik.su.niis actually deal with sexual matters. It seems that Gautama Buddha put great emphasis on providing stronger guards for the life of chastity for bhik.su.niis than for bhik.sus, and strong guards against sexual behavior for bhik.su.niis because of their potential fertility. As Nagata Mizu asserts, the results of sexual offenses of bhik.su.niis can be greatly different from those of bhik.sus. The result of the sexual offense of a bhik.su.nii is not simply settled by only leaving the sa"ngha herself, because of her motherhood and childbearing.
PART II
Sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas (Formal Meeting)
The second most serious group of monastic rules in the Praatimok.sa are the sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas(Paali: sa"nghadisesa). The meaning of the term sa.mghaava"se.sa is also controversial among scholars. Kabilsingh explains that "[i]n some of the Sanskrit texts the word occurs in the form sa.mghaava"se.sa, sa"nghadise.sa would thus be an old Maghadhi form of sa"nghavasesa, a later Sanskrit rendering of the original sa"ghadisesa."(61) Horner notes:
Like the meaning of paaraajika, the meaning of sa"nghadisesa [Skt. sa.mghaava"se.sa] is controversial. Again B. C. Law and I follow vinaya Texts in rendering sa"nghadisesa as offenses (or rules or matters) which require a formal meeting of the Order [sa"ngha].(62)
Sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas translates into the Chinese as seng ts'an fa, which means "remaining in the sa"ngha."(63) The Chinese Shih sung lu explains the term sa.mghaava"se.sa as the offenses despite which one could still remain in the sa"ngha. When a bhik.su [or bhik.su.nii] confesses to the sa"ngha his [or her] offense, he [or she] can be expiated from the wrongdoing.(64) In this category, we see that bhik.su.niis have four more rules than bhik.sus. Even though there are four additional rules for bhik.su.niis in this category, the punishment for violation of them shows a compassionate way for bhik.su.niis because it requires three admonitions. As a result, the four additional rules for bhik.su.niis provide more opportunities for bhik.su.niis for self-training in their alms life. Sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas are as follows.
TABLE NO. 2
Sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas (Formal Meeting) (Emphasizing Rules for bhik.su.niis)
| Order of Rules for Bhik.su.niis |
Order of Same Rules for Bhik.sus(65) |
Summary of Rules for Bhik.su.niis(66) |
| 1 |
5 |
Not to undertake an act of a go-between for a man and a woman |
| 2 |
8 |
Not to accuse an innocent bhik.su.nii of a groundless paaraajika offense |
| 3 |
9 |
Not to accuse an innocent bhik.su.nii of a groundless paaraajika offense out of anger or hostility toward her |
| 4 |
|
Not to sue as an accuser for damages |
| 5 |
|
Not to ordain a thief |
| 6 |
|
Not to restore a suspended bhik.su.nii to the sa"ngha |
| 7 |
|
Not to go to villages alone, cross to the other side of a river alone, go away for a night alone, or stay behind a group of bhik.su.niis alone |
| 8 |
|
Not to accept food or clothes from a man who is filled with desire |
| 9 |
|
Not to persuade other bhik.su.niis to accept food from a man who is filled with desire |
| 10 |
10 |
Not to cause a schism in a harmonious sa"ngha in spite of being admonished a third time |
| 11 |
11 |
Not to support a schismatic bhik.su.nii in spite of being admonished a third time |
| 12 |
12 |
Not to ignore a third admonition to leave a village after bringing corruption to a family or village |
| 13 |
13 |
Not to break the regulations of the sa"ngha or ignore a third admonition due to malice |
| 14 |
|
Not to get along with a bhik.su.nii who has committed offenses and conceal each other's offense in spite of being admonished a third time |
| 15 |
|
Not to encourage other bhik.su.niis to get along with a bhik.su.nii who has committed an offense and conceal one another's offenses in spite of being admonished a third time |
| 16 |
|
Not to say that you will repudiate the Buddha, Dharma and the sa"ngha out of anger or displeasure in spite of being admonished a third time |
| 17 |
|
Not to fight with a bhik.su.nii and bear malice to the bhik.su.nii in spite of being admonished a third time |
TABLE NO. 3
Sa.mghaava"se.sa Dharmas for bhik.sus (Emphasizing Rules for bhik.sus)
| Order of Rules for Bhik.sus |
Summary of Rules for Bhik.sus(67) |
| 1 |
Not to intentionally emit semen |
| 2 |
Not to engage with a woman in bodily contact or take her hand, take her arm, touch her hair, touch one or another of her limbs |
| 3 |
Not to speak to a woman with wicked words concerned with unlawful sexual intercourse |
| 4 |
Not to speak in front of women, in praise of sexual service of the body with regard to himself |
| 6 |
Not to build a dwelling place in excessive measurements(68) without a donor |
| 7 |
Not to build a large residence with a donor on a site entailing harm (to creatures) or with surroundings which are not conducive to roaming |
The seventeen rules for bhik.su.niis and thirteen rules for bhik.sus in this category represent the second severe breach of the monastic discipline. Seven rules (#1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13 for bhik.su.niis, #5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 for bhik.sus) are common to bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus. Of the ten sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas which are different for bhik.su.niis and for bhik.sus, rule number four for bhik.su.niis deals with behavior with lay people; rule five with false ordination; rule six with restoring a suspended bhik.su.nii without permission from the sa"ngha; rule seven is about those who go alone into the village or cross the bank of the river, and spend a night alone; rules eight and nine are related to safeguarding bhik.su.niis from the dangers of lustful men; rules fourteen and fifteen forbid bhik.su.niis from concealing the offenses of others; rule sixteen concerns the bhik.su.nii who shows disrespect to the Buddha, Dharma and the sa"ngha; and rule seventeen deals with a quarrelsome bhik.su.nii.
Just as bhik.su.niis have rules which apply only to them in this category, bhik.sus likewise have rules specific to their situations (Table No. 3). The six different rules for bhik.sus in this category cover such matters: four rules (#1, 2, 3, 4) are related to sex; and two (#6, 7) are concerned with the construction of a hut or a large dwelling place. These rules, which are only for bhik.sus, also provide glimpses into the lives of bhik.su.niis. For example, with regard to the two rules about building dwelling place, Kabilsingh claims that, because these rules "are not shared by the bhik.su.niis, it might be understood that usually the nuns are not themselves in charge of construction."(69)
The first nine of the sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas for bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus become offenses at once when a bhik.su.nii or a bhik.su transgresses any of these rules, whereas the final seven (#10-17) for bhik.su.niis and final four (#10-13) for bhik.sus do not become offenses until a third admonition of bhik.su.niis or bhik.sus is necessary. The offenses of the four additional rules (#14, 15, 16, 17) for bhik.su.niis in this category require three admonitions of the bhik.su.nii involved.(70)
When a bhik.su commits any one of the sa.mghaava"se.sa offenses, he is subjected to a period of parivaasa(71) [Paali: parivaasa] for as many days as the offense is concealed. If a bhik.su informs another bhik.su at once about his offense of the sa.mghaava"se.sa dharma, he is required to undergo only a period of the six nights of the maanatva(72) [Paali: maanatta] in the Bhik.su sa"ngha. However, if a bhik.su conceals his offense, first he must go through a period of the parivaasa for as many days as it is concealed, and then a further period called maanatva must also be spent in the Bhik.su sa"ngha.(73)
In contrast, when a bhik.su.nii has violated one of the sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas, she is required to undergo only the period of maanatva for a half month in both Bhik.su and Bhik.su.nii Sa"nghas, no matter whether she has concealed her offense for some period or not.(74) bhik.su.niis are not required to do the parivaasa. However, bhik.su.niis are subjected to a period of the maanatva in both sa"nghas for half a month. She has to approach both Bhik.su and Bhik.su.nii Sa"nghas, and beg for the period of the maanatva.(75) The Paali Bhik.su.nii vinaya states that:
A nun having fallen into one or other of these shall spend a fortnight in maanatta [Skt. maanatva] discipline before both Orders. If, when the nun has performed the maanatta discipline, the Order of nuns should number twenty, then that nun may be rehabilitated. But if the Order of nuns, numbering less than twenty even by one, should rehabilitate that nun, that nun is not rehabilitated, and those nuns are blameworthy; this is the proper course there.(76)
On the other hand, the Bhik.su.nii Ssu fen lu requires a larger sa"ngha members stating that:
If a bhik.su.nii violates any one of the sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas, she must perform a period of the maanatva for one half month in both sa"nghas. When the bhik.su.nii has performed the maanatva discipline, she must ask for expiation of her offense in the presence of both sa"nghas of the twenty bhik.sus and twenty bhik.su.niis. If there is less than forty even by one, she cannot be rehabilitated, and those bhik.sus and bhik.su.niis (in both sa"nghas) are blameworthy (for not having a required number to rehabilitate her).(77)
In comparing the two versions above, we note that they disagree in the required numbers for bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus. The Paali vinaya requires only twenty bhik.su.niis as a sufficient number for rehabilitation, but it does not specifically give the number required for bhik.sus. However, the Chinese Ssu fen lu requires twenty bhik.sus and twenty bhik.su.niis in each sa"ngha as a sufficient number for the rehabilitation.(78) Perhaps during the long history of translation of the vinaya, the additional sufficient numbers may have been added to the Chinese Bhik.su.nii Ssu fen lu.
Taking a look at "performing the maanatva discipline before both sa"nghas for bhik.su.niis," it might be thought that the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha subordinated its position to the Bhik.su sa"ngha and that bhik.su.niis are subjected to a heavier penalty than bhik.sus for an offense of the sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas. However, Ian Astley argues:
Actually, although many parts of the vinaya reflect a very petty-minded way of thinking which may be regarded as holding almost anything from monkeys to women in an unfavorable light, the basic considerations behind this difference in the relative status of the two orders should not be misconstrued. In those days (and this still applies to much of present Indian society) a woman who had left the life of the household would otherwise have been regarded more or less as a harlot and subjected to the appropriate harassment. By being formally associated with the monks, the nuns were able to enjoy the benefits of leaving the household life without incurring immediate harm. Whilst it is one thing to abhor - as any civilized person must do - the attitudes and behavior towards women which underlie the necessity for such protection, it is surely misplaced to criticize the Buddha and his community for adopting this particular policy.(79)
I fully agree with Astley that the formal acts required for bhik.su.niis before both sa"nghas, and some of the additional rules, were generated because of the specific social and cultural context during the time of Gautama Buddha. In the vinaya there are several examples of Brahmins who spoke of bhik.su.niis as "harlots or whores." These stories provide a glimpse of bhik.su.niis in the midst of the Brahmin social milieu during the time of Gautama Buddha. For example:
Now at that time several nuns, going to Saavatthii through the Kosalan districts, having arrived at a certain village in the evening, having approached a certain Brahmin family, asked for accommodation. Then that Brahmin woman spoke thus to these nuns:
"Wait, ladies, until the Brahmin comes." . . .
Then that Brahmin having come during the night, spoke thus to that Brahmin women: "Who are these?"
"They are nuns, master."
Saying: "Throw out these shaven-headed strumpets," he threw them out from the house.(80)
* * *
. . . . Then that man, defeated, looked down upon, criticized, spread it about, saying:
"These shaven-headed (women) are not (true) recluses, they are strumpets. How can they have the store-room taken away from us?"(81)
* * *
. . . . Then that Brahmin . . . spread it about, saying:
"These shaven-headed strumpets are not true recluses. How can they let a pot fall on my head? I will set fire to their dwelling," and having taken up a fire-brand, he entered the dwelling.(82)
Within these social conditions, Gautama Buddha opened up new horizons for women by founding the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha. This social and spiritual advancement for women was ahead of the times and, therefore, drew many objections from men, including bhik.sus. He was probably well aware of the controversy that would be caused by the harassment of his female disciples. In Buddhist history, the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha was founded five years later than the Bhik.su sa"ngha.(83) In the early stage of the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha, bhik.su.niis learned all forms of disciplinary acts and various aspects of knowledge from bhik.sus. The Paali Cullavagga (The Less or Lesser Division of the vinaya)(84) shows how the Bhik.su sa"ngha was modeled on the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha.
Now at that time the Paa.timokkha was not recited to nuns. They told this matter to the Lord. He said:
"I allow you, monks, to recite the Paa.timokkha to the nuns." . . .(85)
* * *
The nuns did not know to recite the Paa.timokkha. They told this matter to the Lord. He said:
"I allow you, monks, to explain to the nuns through monks, saying:
'The Paa.timokkha should be recited thus.' "(86)
* * *
The nuns did not know how to confess offenses. They told this matter to the Lord. He said:
"I allow you, monks, to explain to the nuns through monks, saying:
'An offense should be confessed thus.' "(87)
* * *
The nuns did not know how to acknowledge offenses. They told this matter to the Lord. He said:
"I allow you, monks, to explain to the nuns through monks, saying:
'An offense should be acknowledged thus.' "(88)
* * *
Nuns did not know (formal) acts should be carried out. They told this matter to the Lord. He said:
"I allow you, monks, to explain to the nuns through monks, saying:
'A (formal) act should be carried out thus.' "(89)
As I have discussed, the performance of the formal acts for bhik.su.niis before both sa"nghas provided a close tie between the two sa"nghas. By legitimately associating with the Bhik.su sa"ngha, the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha had benefits and protection from outside harm in ancient India. When we especially consider the cultural context of ancient India, the formal acts before both sa"nghas might have been necessary for the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha. As I have already mentioned, the four additional rules for bhik.su.niis (#14, 15, 16, 17) in this category belong to the last eight rules which require three admonitions before punishment. This requirement of three admonitions for the offenses of the four additional rules for bhik.su.niis, I believe, provides more opportunities for bhik.su.niis to develop their religious lives without overly strict punishment. These also encourage bhik.su.niis to expand their self-cultivation with the three admonitions, adding a compassionately accommodating limit to behavior.
PART III
Aniyata dharmas (Undetermined)
The third category of the rules for bhik.sus is the aniyata dharmas(Paali: aniyataa) which do not exist in the Bhik.su.nii Praatimok.sa. Aniyata has been defined as "[s]ince the nature of the offense is uncertain, this section of the Paa.timokkha is called aniyata dharma, that is, 'to be decided.' "(90) Charles S. Prebish says that "[t]his category of offenses is referred to as "undetermined offenses."(91) Aniyata dharmas translates into Chinese as pu ting fa,(92) which means indefinite or undetermined. In this category, the two rules for bhik.sus show an astonishing degree of trust in women to testify against a bhik.su who has committed one of the aniyata dharmas. Aniyata dharmas are as follows.
TABLE NO. 4
Aniyata Dharmas for only bhik.sus (Undetermined)
| Order of Rules for Bhik.sus |
Summary of Rules(93) |
| 1 |
Not to sit down with a woman in a secret place, a concealed seat suitable for having sexual relations with her |
| 2 |
Not to sit down with a woman in an open place or on a concealed seat unsuitable for having sexual relations |
My discussion of these two rules for bhik.sus may seem irrelevant. However, they contain a Buddhist view of women. As Prebish points out, "[t]he two [aniyata] offenses in this category reflect an outstanding and somewhat surprising degree of trust in the female lay follower."(94) If a bhik.su has taken a seat together with a woman in a secret place which is convenient for sexual relations or in an open place unsuitable for lustful desires, he may be charged with one of the offenses of the paaraajika, sa.mghaava"se.sa or paayantika dharmas. The punishment may vary from the paaraajika to the paayantika according to the eyewitness testimony of a female lay follower, based on her personal word.(95) It is noteworthy that the word of a woman was held in such high regard, and certainly unusual given the general low status of women at the time the rules were formulated. In the penalties for the offenses of the aniyata dharmas for bhik.sus, these two rules put a considerable trust in women, even though the aniyata dharmas are not applicable to bhik.su.niis. Horner notes:
These two Aniyata rules indicate the respect and deference that was, at that time, paid to women. They were not scornfully brushed aside as idle gossips and frivolous chatter-boxes, but their words were taken seriously.(96)
PART IV
Ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas (Forfeiture)
The ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas(Paali: nissaggiya paacittiya) are particularly concerned with conduct concerning material possessions. They follow the sa.mghaava"se.sa dharmas in the Bhik.su.nii Praatimok.sa, while they follow the aniyata dharmas as the fourth category in the Bhik.su Praatimok.sa.
From internal evidence, paacittiya [Skt. paayantika ] is a (minor) offense to be confessed, aapatti desetabbaa[Skt. aapatti desayitavya], a statement common to all the Nissaggiyas. But etymologically the word paacittiya has nothing to do with confession. I have therefore kept to the more literal translation, and have rendered it "offense of expiation" throughout, and the two words nissaggiya paacittiya as "offense of expiation involving forfeiture."(97)
The term ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas translates into the Chinese as she to fa.(98) In the Chinese she means to abandon, while the Chinese to means to fall. The Sanskrit term paayantika in the Chinese refers to roasting, boiling and falling. If a bhik.su [or bhik.su.nii] commits an offense of the ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas, it is believed that he [or she] will fall into hell and suffer by being boiled and roasted.(99) Even though there are the same numbers of the rules both for bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus in this category, some rules for bhik.sus do not allow them to demand from bhik.su.niis feminine tasks which would interfere with the bhik.su.niis' own religious pursuits. The ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas are as follows.
TABLE NO. 5
Ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas (Forfeiture) (Emphasizing Rules for bhik.su.niis)
| Order of Rules for Bhik.su.niis |
Order of Same or Similar Rules for Bhik.sus(100) |
Summary of Rules for Bhik.su.niis(101) |
| 1 |
1 |
Not to lay aside an extra robe more than ten days |
| 2 |
2 |
Not to spend over a night without the five robes(102) |
| 3 |
3 |
Not to lay aside robe material for more than one month |
| 4 |
6 |
Not to ask for a robe from an unrelated householder except at the right time(103) |
| 5 |
7 |
Not to accept extra robes when the robes have been lost, stolen, burned or washed away |
| 6 |
8 |
Not to ask for a better robe from a householder out of desire for a fine robe |
| 7 |
9 |
Not to ask for one fine robe instead of two robes offered by two householders |
| 8 |
10 |
Not to request from a steward more than six times in order to obtain a robe |
| 9 |
18 |
Not to accept or cause to be picked up gold and silver for bhik.su.niis own use |
| 10 |
19 |
Not to engage in buying and selling |
| 11 |
20 |
Not to engage in activities in various kinds of buying and selling |
| 12 |
22 |
Not to get a new bowl when an old bowl has been repaired in less than five places |
| 13 |
23 |
Not to beg yarn to make a robe woven by an unrelated weaver |
| 14 |
24 |
Not to ask a weaver to make a well-woven robe |
| 15 |
25 |
Not to take back or cause to snatch away a robe given to another out of anger, malice, or ill-temper |
| 16 |
26 |
Not to lay aside medicine for more than seven days |
| 17 |
28 |
Not to accept a special robe ten days before the ka.thina(104) full moon |
| 18 |
30 |
Not to appropriate to yourself benefits belonging to the sa"ngha |
| 19 |
|
Not to ask for this, and then ask for that |
| 20 |
|
Not to spend the observance hall fund on another fund |
| 21 |
|
Not to spend the food fund on the robe fund |
| 22 |
|
Not to spend the bed fund on the robe fund |
| 23 |
|
Not to spend the housing fund of the sa"ngha on the robe fund |
| 24 |
21 |
Not to store extra bowls |
| 25 |
|
Not to store fine appliances |
| 26 |
|
Not to break a promise to lend periodical cloth to another bhik.su.nii |
| 27 |
|
Not to accept robe material at the wrong time for making of the robe at the right time |
| 28 |
|
Not to take back a robe already exchanged for another, out of anger |
| 29 |
|
Not to ask for an expensive heavy robe(105) |
| 30 |
|
Not to ask for an expensive light and thin robe |
The ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas contain thirty rules for both bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus. However, the contents of some rules differ. Nineteen rules for bhik.su.niis have been taken from the rules for bhik.sus, while the remaining eleven rules for bhik.su.niis are different from those for bhik.sus. The ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas for bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus cover such topics as robes, bowls, medicine, money, funds, etc. Violation of any of the ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas requires a bhik.su.nii or a bhik.su to abandon those robes or bowls, etc., and then to formally confess the offense in the presence of the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha or the Bhik.su sa"ngha, providing that the sa"ngha not be less than five members.(106) Therefore, the transgression of the ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas does not require any punishment, per se, only confession.(107)
The ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas for bhik.su.niis are comprised of seventeen rules (#1-8, 13-15, 17, 26-30) dealing with robes; three (#9, 10, 11) with gold and silver, and buying and selling; three (#12, 24, 25) with bowls; one (#16) with medicine; two (#18, 19) with appropriating sa"ngha property and asking for food; and four (#20, 21, 22, 23) with misuse of funds. In contrast, the ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas for bhik.sus which are different from those for bhik.su.niis number eleven, as follows.
TABLE NO. 6
Ni.hsargika-paayantika Dharmas for bhik.sus (Emphasizing Rules for bhik.sus)
| Order of Rules for Bhik.sus |
Summary of Rules for Bhik.sus(108) |
| 4 |
Not to accept a robe from an unrelated bhik.su.nii unless it is in exchange |
| 5 |
Not to call upon an unrelated bhik.su.nii for an old robe to be washed, dyed, or beaten |
| 11 |
Not to have a new rug made of silk |
| 12 |
Not to have a new rug made of pure black sheep's wool |
| 13 |
Not to have a new rug made of pure white sheep's wool |
| 14 |
Not to have another new rug within six years |
| 15 |
Not to make a new sitting rug without using pieces from the old sitting rug to disfigure the new rug on all sides |
| 16 |
Not to carry sheep's wool on the road more than three yojanas(109) |
| 17 |
Not to call upon an unrelated bhik.su.nii for sheep's wool to be washed, dyed, or combed |
| 27 |
Not to get a rain-cloth robe earlier than a month (from the hot season), or wear it earlier than half a month (from the hot season) |
| 29 |
Bhik.sus may stay away one or another robe of the three robes for six nights at the most in fearful, dangerous, or doubtful situations |
Six of the rules for bhik.sus above (#11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) deal with the use and making of various types of rugs; two of the rules (#27, 29) deal with robes. Three rules (#4, 5, 17) actually prevent bhik.sus from taking advantage of bhik.su.niis. This is clearly shown in rule number seventeen for bhik.sus, which is illustrated in the following story given in the Bhik.su-vibha.ngha:
At that time the group of six monks had sheep's wool washed and dyed and combed by nuns. The nuns, through washing, dyeing, combing the sheep's wool, neglected the exposition, the interrogation, the higher morality, the higher thought, the higher insight. . . .
"Gotamii, I hope that the nuns are zealous, ardent,(with) a self that is striving?"
"Where, lord, is there zeal in the nuns? The masters, the group of six monks, have sheep's wool washed and dyed and combed by nuns. The nuns . . . neglect the exposition, the interrogation, the higher morality, the higher thought, the higher insight." . . .
"Foolish men, those who are not relations do not know what is suitable or what is unsuitable, or what is pleasant or what is unpleasant to those who are not relations. Thus you, foolish men, will have sheep's wool washed and dyed and combed by nuns who are not relations? It is not, foolish men, for pleasing those who are not (yet) pleased. . . . And thus, monks, this rule of training should be set forth."(110)
Horner also points out:
Besides the giving of robes, the washing of robes also became subject to various regulations. It was said that robes were not to be washed (by the almswomen [bhik.su.niis] for the almsmen [bhik.sus]) unless they were related; old garments were not to be washed, dyed or beaten by the almswomen for the almsmen, unless they were related.(111)
In comparing the ni.hsargika-paayantika dharmas for bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus, we see that some rules for bhik.sus forbid them from taking advantage of bhik.su.niis. Thus freed from abuse, bhik.su.niis can put more attention into their spiritual practice. Gross notes:
Furthermore, the monastic code protected nuns from demanding monks who might ask nuns to do housework for the monks or to give them food and clothing - feminine tasks in the renounced world. Such rulings are remarkably considerate and recognize that women renounce the world for their own religious pursuits, which should not be undermined by the demands of men used to female service.(112)
PART V
Paayantika dharmas (Expiation)
The paayantika or patayantika dharmas translates into the Chinese tan t'i fa,(113) or tan to fa.(114) They are even less severe than the previous categories for bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus, and cover a wide a range of topics. There are one hundred seventy-eight rules for bhik.su.niis and ninety rules for bhik.sus in this particular category. Horner explains:
A curious feature of the Paacittiyas is that the Old Commentary on the rules nowhere explains what is meant by paacittiya, the offense which gives its name to this whole section. It is from the phrase aapatti desetabbaa, occurring in the Vibha"nga on each Nissaggiya, that we infer that paacittiya is an offense to be confessed; and even as forfeiture and confession are to be made to an Order or to a group or to an individual, so we may conclude that the same holds good when the offense is one whose penalty is merely that of expiation, of confession unaccompanied by forfeiture.(115)
While paayantika [Paali: paacittiya] is a transgression which causes the breaking down of ku"sala-karma (good acts), nevertheless, it is an aapatti (offense), which one merely needs to be mindful of.(116) This category includes a great difference in the number of rules for bhik.su.niis from those for bhik.sus. The purpose of these rules, which is mainly based on the historical realities of the daily life of bhik.su.niis, is to encourage bhik.su.niis to be mindful of speech, behavior, and the regulations of the sa"ngha, etc. Wijayaratna points out "[t]he paacittiyas [Skt. paayantikas] deal with offenses requiring only confession."(117) When a bhik.su.nii or a bhik.su violates one of the paayantika dharmas, the offender is required to confess to another bhik.su.nii or bhik.su, or a group or the sa"ngha.(118) paayantika dharmas are as follows.
TABLE NO. 7
Paayantika dharmas (Expiation) (Emphasizing Rules for bhik.su.niis)
| Order of Rules for Bhik.su.niis |
Order of Same Or Similar Rules for Bhik.sus(119) |
Summary of Rules for Bhik.su.niis(120) |
| 1 |
1 |
Not to speak a conscious lie |
| 2 |
2 |
Not to use insulting speech |
| 3 |
3 |
Not to alienate members of the sa"ngha |
| 4 |
4 |
Not to stay with a man in a room for a night |
| 5 |
5 |
Not to stay with a woman in a room for more than two or three nights |
| 6 |
6 |
Not to recite the suutras with one who is not ordained(121) |
| 7 |
7 |
Not to speak of a grave offense of a bhik.su.nii to an unordained person |
| 8 |
8 |
Not to lie about her superhuman faculties to an unordained person in begging for alms food |
| 9 |
9 |
Not to teach more than five or six sentences of Dharma to a man unless there is a wise woman also present |
| 10 |
10 |
Not to dig the ground |
| 11 |
11 |
Not to cut down trees |
| 12 |
12 |
Not to vex or abuse the sa"ngha |
| 13 |
13 |
Not to slander or rebuke a bhik.su.nii who is assigned to a particular job in the sa"ngha |
| 14 |
14 |
Not to spread out a cushion, a couch, a chair or a pillow in an open place belonging to the sa"ngha |
| 15 |
15 |
Not to spread out a cushion, a couch, a chair or a pillow in a private place belonging to the sa"ngha |
| 16 |
16 |
Not to lie down in a sleeping place or dwelling place belonging to a bhik.su.nii |
| 17 |
17 |
Not to throw out or cause a bhik.su.nii to be thrown out of a dwelling place in the sa"ngha |
| 18 |
18 |
Not to sit down or lie down on a couch or a chair with weak legs |
| 19 |
19 |
Not to use water that might have living things in it |
| 20 |
20 |
Not to cover the roof of a large dwelling place with more than two or three layers |
| 21 |
31 |
Not to eat alms food at a public rest house more than once, except in case of illness |
| 22 |
33 |
Not to eat a group meal, except at a right time(122) |
| 23 |
34 |
Not to accept more than three bowls of alms food |
| 24 |
37 |
Not to eat a meal at the wrong time(123) |
| 25 |
38 |
Not to eat a meal that has been laid aside |
| 26 |
39 |
Not to put food that is not given into the mouth, except for water or a tooth pick |
| 27 |
42 |
Not to break a promise of food to one who is asking for alms food |
| 28 |
43 |
Not to sit down in a lay person's house with a wife and husband after alms food |
| 29 |
44 |
Not to sit down in a private place with a couple |
| 30 |
45 |
Not to sit down in a private place with a man |
| 31 |
46 |
Not to break a promise to share alms (food) with a bhik.su.nii who accompanies one an alms tour |
| 32 |
47 |
Not to accept medicines for longer than four months |
| 33 |
48 |
Not to go to see an army fighting unless there is sufficient reason for it |
| 34 |
49 |
Not to stay with the army for more than three nights |
| 35 |
50 |
Not to stay amongst an army to enjoy the battle |
| 36 |
51 |
Not to drink alcohol |
| 37 |
52 |
Not to play in the water |
| 38 |
53 |
Not to make a bhik.su.nii laugh by tickling with the fingers |
| 39 |
54 |
Not to ignore another bhik.su.nii's admonition |
| 40 |
55 |
Not to frighten or cause a bhik.su.nii to be frightened |
| 41 |
56 |
Not to bathe more than half monthly, except at a right time(124) |
| 42 |
57 |
Not to make a fire in an open place |
| 43 |
58 |
Not to hide or cause to be hidden a bowl or a robe belonging to a bhik.su.nii, even for fun |
| 44 |
59 |
Not to take back a robe given to a bhik.su.nii without asking her for permission |
| 45 |
60 |
Not to wear a new robe with its original color unless the new robe is discolored with a mixture of the three colors: blue, black and dark purple(125) |
| 46 |
61 |
Not to intentionally deprive any living thing of life |
| 47 |
62 |
Not to intentionally drink water which contains living things |
| 48 |
63 |
Not to intentionally give a cause for remorse to a bhik.su.nii, even for a moment |
| 49 |
65 |
Not to intentionally conceal a grave offense committed habitually by a bhik.su.nii |
| 50 |
66 |
Not to cause quarreling, bickering, or fighting |
| 51 |
67 |
Not to intentionally go with a thief along the same road |
| 52 |
68 |
Not to ignore the admonition of a bhik.su.nii because of her own wrong view |
| 53 |
69 |
Not to eat, talk, or lie down with a bhik.su.nii who is suspended by the sa"ngha |
| 54 |
70 |
Not to protect a "siik.samaa.na(126) (probationer) who is suspended by the sa"ngha |
| 55 |
71 |
Not to ignore an experienced bhik.su.nii's advice about learning the rules for training |
| 56 |
72 |
Not to disparage the rules for training |
| 57 |
73 |
Listen carefully to the recitation of the Praatimok.sa |
| 58 |
74 |
Not to engage in criticism after consenting to a legitimate act |
| 59 |
75 |
Not to leave the seat without asking a competent bhik.su.nii for permission when the sa"ngha is engaged in pious philosophical discussion |
| 60 |
76 |
Not to criticize another's decision after granting someone the power to make a decision |
| 61 |
77 |
Not to overhear while bhik.su.niis are quarreling, disputing, or engaging in contention |
| 62 |
78 |
Not to hit a bhik.su.nii because of anger or displeasure |
| 63 |
79 |
Not to raise a hand at a bhik.su.nii because of anger or displeasure |
| 64 |
80 |
Not to accuse a bhik.su.nii of a groundless sa.mghaava"se.sa offense |
| 65 |
81 |
Not to cross the threshold, or vicinity of the threshold, of the palace in the early morning without permission of a competent bhik.su.nii |
| 66 |
82 |
Not to pick up a jewel with the bhik.su.nii's own hands, or even ask others to do it |
| 67 |
83 |
Not to enter a village at the wrong time without asking a competent bhik.su.nii for permission, except for sufficient reasons |
| 68 |
84 |
Not to make the legs of a chair larger than the eight finger breadth |
| 69 |
85 |
Not to sit down or lie down on a chair or couch covered with cotton |
| 70 |
|
Not to eat garlic |
| 71 |
|
Not to cut the hair of the private parts of the body |
| 72 |
|
Not to put a finger into the vagina more than the length of two finger joints when you take a douche |
| 73 |
|
Not to make a male sexual organ out of any material |
| 74 |
|
Not to slap each other on the private parts |
| 75 |
|
Not to wait on a bhik.su with drinking water or a fan while he is eating a meal |
| 76 |
|
Not to ask lay people for grains |
| 77 |
|
Not to throw out excrement or urine on the living grass |
| 78 |
|
Not to throw out excrement or urine over a wall or a fence |
| 79 |
|
Not to go to see dancing, singing, or playing music |
| 80 |
|
Not to stand or talk with a man in a secluded place |
| 81 |
|
Not to enter into a secluded place with a man |
| 82 |
|
Not to whisper into a man's ear in a secluded place |
| 83 |
|
Not to leave a lay person's house without asking the owner for permission |
| 84 |
|
Not to sit down in a lay person's house without asking the owner for permission |
| 85 |
|
Not to lie down on a seat in a lay person's house without asking the owner for permission |
| 86 |
|
Not to enter into a dark room with a man |
| 87 |
|
Not to deliver the teacher's message misleadingly |
| 88 |
|
Not to curse herself or others |
| 89 |
|
Not to beat the chest while weeping after quarreling |
| 90 |
|
Not to share a bed with anybody, except in case of illness |
| 91 |
|
Not to share a blanket |
| 92 |
|
Not to intentionally cause discomfort to a bhik.su.nii by asking a tricky question |
| 93 |
|
Not to neglect a sick bhik.su.nii who has been living together |
| 94 |
|
Not to drive out a bhik.su.nii because of anger or displeasure |
| 95 |
|
Not to walk on alms tour during the rainy season retreat(127) |
| 96 |
|
Not to stay at the place of retreat after having the rainy season retreat |
| 97 |
|
Not to walk on borderlines which are dangerous and frightening |
| 98 |
|
Not to walk in dangerous and frightening regions even within the borderline |
| 99 |
|
Not to take company in lay people or their sons |
| 100 |
|
Not to go to see a king's pleasure house, an art gallery, a park, or a lotus pond |
| 101 |
|
Not to bathe naked at the river or lake |
| 102 |
similar to 89 |
Not to make bathing clothes that are not of a proper measure(128) |
| 103 |
|
Not to break a promise to sew a bhik.su.nii's robe, or at least make an effort to do it |
| 104 |
|
Not to let five days pass without looking after the outer robe |
| 105 |
|
Not to individually appropriate benefits which belong to the sa"ngha |
| 106 |
|
Not to put on a bhik.su.nii's robe without asking her for permission |
| 107 |
|
Not to give the bhik.su.nii's robes to a lay person, a wanderer, or a female wanderer |
| 108 |
|
Not to hold back the sa"ngha from making a division of robe materials when it is legally allowed to do so |
| 109 |
|
Not to hold back a legally valid removal of the ka.thina from the sa"ngha |
| 110 |
|
Not to hold back a legally valid removal of the ka.thina from a bhik.su.nii |
| 111 |
|
Promote peace between two fighting bhik.su.niis |
| 112 |
|
Not to give food to a lay person or a wanderer with bhik.su.niis own hands |
| 113 |
|
Not to work for lay people like a house wife |
| 114 |
|
Not to spin yarn |
| 115 |
|
Not to sit down or lie down on lay people's seats |
| 116 |
|
Not to leave a lay person's house without asking the owner for permission after staying over a night |
| 117 |
|
Not to learn and recite an incantation to householders |
| 118 |
|
Not to teach an incantation to householders |
| 119 |
|
Not to ordain a pregnant woman |
| 120 |
|
Not to ordain a woman who has left her baby at home |
| 121 |
65 |
Not to ordain a woman who is not twenty years old |
| 122 |
|
Not to ordain a "siik.samaa.na who has not trained for two years even if she is twenty years old |
| 123 |
|
Not to ordain a "siik.samaa.na who has not trained for two years in the six rules(129) even if she is twenty years old |
| 124 |
|
Not to ordain a "siik.samaa.na who has trained for two years in the six rules, but who is not agreed upon by the sa"ngha |
| 125 |
|
Not to ordain a married woman who is less than twelve years old |
| 126 |
|
Not to ordain a "siik.samaa.na married for full twelve years and who has trained for two years in the six rules, but who is not agreed upon by the sa"ngha |
| 127 |
|
Not to ordain a lewd woman |
| 128 |
|
Be responsible for the disciples for two years as a preceptor while they are training |
| 129 |
|
Learn from the preceptor for two years as an ordained bhik.su.nii |
| 130 |
|
Not to become a preceptor without authorization by the sa"ngha |
| 131 |
|
Not to become a preceptor if she has not been a bhik.su.nii for twelve years |
| 132 |
|
Not to become a preceptor, even if she has been a bhik.su.nii for twelve years, if she is not approved by the sa"ngha |
| 133 |
|
Not to complain when she is not approved by the sa"ngha to become a preceptor |
| 134 |
|
Not to ordain a "siik.samaa.na without the consent of her parents and husband |
| 135 |
|
Not to ordain a "siik.samaa.na who is grieving over love |
| 136 |
|
Not to break the promise to ordain a "siik.samaa.na after training her to be ordained |
| 137 |
|
Not to promise to ordain a "siik.samaa.na after accepting fabric for a robe |
| 138 |
|
Not to ordain two "siik.samaa.nas in the same year as a preceptor |
| 139 |
|
Not to let a day pass to be approved by the Bhik.su Sa"ngha after ordination of bhik.su.niis |
| 140 |
|
Not to miss the exhortation or the preaching of Dharma from the Bhik.su Sa"ngha except in case of illness |
| 141 |
|
Not to miss Observance Day(130) and exhortation in every half month |
| 142 |
|
After the rainy season retreat, bhik.su.niis should participate in the special meeting of both sa"nghas to discuss these three matters: what was seen, heard, or suspected |
| 143 |
|
Not to spend the rainy season retreat at a residence where there are no signs of bhik.sus |
| 144 |
|
Not to enter a bhik.su monastery without asking bhik.sus for permission |
| 145 |
|
Not to revile or abuse a bhik.su |
| 146 |
|
Not to revile a bhik.su.nii because of anger or displeasure |
| 147 |
|
Not to let a man squeeze an ulcer |
| 148 |
|
Not to eat again after eating |
| 149 |
|
Not to be jealous of lay followers |
| 150 |
|
Not to spray perfume on the body |
| 151 |
|
Not to rub with perilla oil |
| 152 |
|
Not to be rubbed or massaged by a bhik.su.nii with perilla oil |
| 153 |
|
Not to let the body be rubbed or massaged by a "siik.samaa.na |
| 154 |
|
Not to let the body be rubbed or massaged by a "sraama.nerii(131) (female novice) |
| 155 |
|
Not to let the body be rubbed or massaged by a woman |
| 156 |
|
Not to wear a petticoat |
| 157 |
|
Not to have women's ornaments |
| 158 |
|
Not to wear a sunshade or sandals, except in case of illness |
| 159 |
|
Not to go in a vehicle, except in case of illness |
| 160 |
|
Not to enter a village without wearing a vest |
| 161 |
|
Not to enter a lay person's house without invitation |
| 162 |
|
Not to leave the monastery after sunset, leaving the door open wide without telling a bhik.su.nii |
| 163 |
|
Not to leave the monastery after sunset, leaving the door open wide without telling anyone |
| 164 |
|
Observe the rainy season retreats which come twice a year, except in case of illness |
| 165 |
|
Not to ordain an idiot(132) |
| 166 |
|
Not to ordain a hermaphrodite |
| 167 |
|
Not to ordain a woman who does not have two distinct exits for bodily waste |
| 168 |
|
Not to ordain a woman who is a debtor or has serious illness |
| 169 |
|
Not to live with worldly knowledge |
| 170 |
|
Not to teach worldly knowledge to lay people |
| 171 |
|
Not to stay at the monastery after getting driven out by the sa"ngha |
| 172 |
|
Not to suddenly ask a question to a bhik.su without his permission |
| 173 |
|
Not to disturb a bhik.su.nii who has lived at the monastery previously |
| 174 |
|
Not to build a bhik.su.nii's pagoda at the bhik.su monastery |
| 175 |
|
Greet respectfully and do proper homage to a bhik.su ordained that very day even though a bhik.su.nii has been ordained for a hundred years |
| 176 |
|
Not to prance around with a haughty attitude |
| 177 |
|
Not to wear ornaments like a lady |
| 178 |
|
Not to let a female wanderer rub or spray the body with perfume |
As we see in the table number seven, seventy-one rules for bhik.su.niis are shared with bhik.sus. The rules in this category are extremely divergent in their contents and may appear somewhat arbitrary; however; an examination of the contents of the rules yields several major groups. In order to closely examine the wide range of the rules embracing various aspects of bhik.su.niis' lives, the paayantika dharmas for bhik.su.niis may roughly be classified as pertaining to the following groups:
TABLE NO. 8
An Overview of the Paayantika Dharmas(133)
| Classification of Offense |
Numbers of Rules Concerning this
Category of Offense |
Total of Rules Concerning this Category |
Rules for Bhik.suniis Only |
| Ordination |
119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,
127,134,135,165,166,167, 168 |
15 |
14 |
| Clothes |
44,45,102,103,104,105,
106,107, 108,109,110,114, 156,160 |
14 |
12 |
| Ornament and skin care |
71,150,151,152,153,154,
155,157,158,177,178 |
11 |
11 |
| Qualifications and responsibilities of a preceptor |
128,130,131,132,133,136,137,138 |
9 |
9 |
| Actions around men |
9,30,80,81,82,86,147 |
7 |
6 |
| Playful conduct |
37,38,43,48,73,74,77,78,79 |
9 |
6 |
| Public conduct |
83,84,85,99,161,176 |
6 |
6 |
| Exhortation on Observance Day and the rainy season retreat |
140,141,142,143,164 |
5 |
5 |
| Travel |
51,67,95,96,97,98,159 |
7 |
5 |
| Etiquette with bhik.sus |
75,144,145,172 |
4 |
4 |
| Food |
21,22,23,24,25,26,
27,31,76,112,148 |
11 |
3 |
| Passionate quarreling |
17,40,61,62,63,64,94,146 |
8 |
2 |
| Cursing |
88,89 |
2 |
2 |
| Sharing a bed or blanket |
90,91 |
2 |
| Bathing |
41,72,101 |
3 |
| Incantation |
117,118 |
2 |
| Worldly knowledge |
169,170 |
2 |
| Closing the gate of the monastery |
162,163 |
2 |
| Dispute or discord |
1,2,3,7,12,13,39,50,111 |
9 |
| Sleeping in the same room with lay people |
4,5,116 |
3 |
| Dwelling place and lodging |
10,11,16,19,20,173 |
6 |
| Etiquette in home of married couple |
28,29,161 |
3 |
| Etiquette for asking questions |
92 |
1 |
| Mindful conveying of messages |
87 |
1 |
| Caring for a sick bhik.su.nii |
93 |
1 |
| Transgression of the regulations of the community |
59,60,171 |
3 |
| Visiting the palace |
65,100 |
2 |
| Garlic |
70 |
1 |
| Working for lay people |
113 |
1 |
| Envy |
149 |
1 |
| Education by the preceptor |
129 |
1 |
| Usage of a bed or a chair |
14,15,115 |
3 |
| Usage of a couch or a mattress |
18,68,69 |
3 |
| Visiting armed forces |
33,34,35 |
3 |
| Alcohol consumption |
36 |
1 |
| Fire building |
42 |
1 |
| Harming of any organisms |
46,47 |
2 |
| Concealing of another's offense |
49 |
1 |
| False opinion |
52,53,54,55,56,57,58 |
7 |
| Handling of jewelry |
66 |
1 |
| Making false claims |
8 |
1 |
| Recitation of suutras with lay people |
6 |
1 |
| Medicine |
32 |
1 |
(I did not include in the above classification rules 139, 174 and 175 because they will be discussed in detail later.)
An overview of the paayantika dharmas reveals that the additional rules for bhik.su.niis concern ordination, clothes, ornament and skin care, the qualifications and responsibilities of a preceptor, actions around men, playfulness and public conduct, exhortation on Observance Day and the rainy season retreat, traveling and etiquette with bhik.sus, etc. Nagata Mizu notes that many of the additional rules for bhik.su.niis in this category are historically related to bhik.su.niis' dwelling places during the time of Gautama Buddha. At that time, bhik.su.niis lived mainly in towns or villages, while bhik.sus could live either in towns or forests.(134) After a young bhik.su.nii was seduced by a man, in the Paali Cullavagga (The Less or Lesser Division of the vinaya), Gautama Buddha forbade bhik.su.niis to live in forests:
Now at that time nuns were staying in a forest; men of abandoned life seduced them. They told this matter to the Lord. He said:
"Monks, nuns should not stay in a forest. Whoever should stay (in one) there is an offense of wrongdoing."(135)
Susan Murcott tells another story:
One of the many men who desired Uppalavanna was a cousin of hers, a young man Ananda.(He should not be confused with Gautama's cousin and attendant by the same name.) Ananda did not want Uppalavanna to renounce the world. Sometime during the first years following Uppalavanna's ordination, Ananda found out that she lived alone in a hut in Andhavana. One day while she was out, Ananda hid himself under her bed. When she returned and lay down on her bed, he suddenly jumped out and raped her. . . . Because of this incident, Buddhist nuns from that time to the present have been forbidden to go out alone or to live as hermits in the woods.(136)
* * *
Later, rules prohibiting nuns' independent wandering were formulated. However, it was more usual for nuns (and, for that matter, monks) to form into communities in or on the outskirts of villages.(137)
* * *
The stories given in the Bhik.su.nii-vibha"nga show how these bhik.su.niis were ill-treated and became objects of violence. They, therefore, were prohibited to stay in the forest or to spend the rain-retreat alone where there was no Bhikkhu sa"ngha.(138)
There are several stories about men who seduced or raped bhik.su.niis in the vinaya. Stories about male violence against bhik.su.niis happened during the time of Gautama Buddha.
. . . . Now at that time several monks and nuns came to be going along the high-road from Saaketa to Saavatthii. Then these nuns spoke thus to these monks:
"We will go along with the masters."
"Sisters, it is not allowable, having arranged together with a nun, to go along the same high-road. Either you go first, or we will go (first)."
"Honored sirs, the masters are the highest men, so let the masters go first." Then as those nuns were going last thieves robbed them on the way and assaulted [raped] them.(139)
* * *
. . . . Then as those nuns were crossing over last thieves robbed them and assaulted [raped] them.(140)
* * *
. . . . Then these nuns, having approached a boatman, spoke thus:
"Please, sir, take us across."
Saying, "I am not able, ladies, to take both across at once."
He made one cross alone with him; one who was across seduced the one who was across, one who was not across seduced the one who was not across.(141)
* * *
At that time several nuns were going along high-road to Saavatthii through the country of Kosala. A certain nun there, wanting to relieve herself, having stayed behind alone, went on afterwards. People, having seen that nun, seduced her.(142)
Gross explains:
Fears that women renunciates would be vulnerable to male violence were realistic. Stories about male violence against nuns do occur, as do regulations designed to prevent it. These regulations usually restrict women from more solitary travel and practices, just as today we often counter male violence against women by encouraging women not to be in dangerous places at unseemly hours.(143)
By settling the community of bhik.su.niis in towns or villages, bhik.su.niis might be exposed to people who could find fault with them. According to the vinaya, lay people and non-Buddhists were always free to criticize bad conduct of bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus. Accusations and gossip of people towards bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus abound in the vinaya. As I showed in some examples above, harsher opprobrium was directed toward bhik.su.niis than toward bhik.sus. When a bhik.su.nii did something wrong, people frequently reproved bhik.su.niis as "shaven-headed strumpets or whores." In contrast, when a bhik.su did something wrong, people never spoke in derogatory terms of him as "shaven-headed . . . ," so far as I have been able to discover. In the Chinese Bhik.su.nii Ssu fen lu many times people insulted bhik.su.niis as "prostitutes or thieves."(144) Comparison of the criticisms of bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus suggests that people in ancient Indian society were more wrathful toward the wrongdoings of bhik.su.niis than those of bhik.sus. It also suggests that this was a reason to generate more rules for bhik.su.niis than bhik.sus in this category. People in society were reluctant to allow women to break away from household life and free them to go into alms life. Many rules for bhik.su.niis in this category were generated because of bhik.su.niis living in this kind of situation.
Classification of the Bhik.su.nii paayantika dharmas(Table No. 8) shows that there are an outstanding numbers of rules about the ordination of women. No other topic is given as much attention in the Bhik.su.nii-vibha"nga. Horner notes:
A great number of women are traditionally held to have flocked to the Order of nuns. It is conceivable that they were generally regarded as of poorer quality than the monks, and that therefore there had to be a severer testing in order to weed out those who had entered without having a real vocation.(145)
In the rules concerning the ordination of women, rules 122 and 123 particularly require women to train for two years(146) under six rules. Nagata Mizu says that since a "siik.samaa.na (probationer) is required to train for two years under the six rules and there are stricter rules for the ordination of women, it suggests that bhik.su.niis had more difficulty in alms life than bhik.sus.(147) However, Horner explains:
One of the benefits of the two years' training was that it precluded the admission of women who came seeking the shelter of the Order simply as a refuge from the pressure of disagreeable circumstances; perhaps seeking it in a spasm of provocation or fear. It would often have been by coincidence only that they were ascetics by nature: in many cases they might have been quite unfitted to lead a monastic life.(148)
I also personally have lived the bhik.su.nii's life and think that the requirement of training for two years under the six rules for a "siik.samaa.na is related to the special circumstances and education of women. For example, when a woman enters a temple to became a probationer, she may not know whether she is pregnant. She may give birth almost a year after entering a temple. This happened during the time of Gautama Buddha, as related in the Cullavagga:
Now at that time a certain woman had gone forth among the nuns when she was already pregnant, and after she had gone forth she was delivered of a child.(149)
Rules 119 and 120 of the Bhik.su.nii paayantika Dharmas tell how difficult is to lead the alms life as a bhik.su.nii with her child:
Now at that time nuns ordained a pregnant woman. She walked for alms. People spoke thus:
"Give alms (food) to the lady, the lady is heavy with child."(150)
* * *
Now at that time nuns ordained a woman giving suck [to her baby]. She walked for alms. People spoke thus:
"Give alms (food) to the lady, the lady has a companion."(151)
Lekshe Tsomo explains the training of a "siik.samaa.na for two years under the six rules:
We should understand the history and reasoning behind this "siik.samaa.na ordination. At the time of the Buddha, some young nuns left the household life to enter monastic life and immediately took bhik.su.nii precepts. It happened that some of them were pregnant before they took bhik.su.nii precepts. Although their conduct was pure after they entered the nun's life, they became noticeably pregnant after taking vows. This led to misunderstandings by the lay community, as it certainly was not appropriate for a celibate bhik.su.nii to be pregnant. Therefore, the Buddha prescribed an ample two-year waiting period for nuns to avoid such misunderstandings. Instituting the "siik.samaa.na ordination was not a discriminatory move but simply a matter of practicality.(152)
Ji-kwan Lee explicitly insists that the purpose of training for two years under the six rules for a "siik.samaa.na is to test the possibility of pregnancy and the ability for being a bhik.su.nii. It is also possible that Gautama Buddha's main purpose in training of a "siik.samaa.na for two years under the six rules was to raise the status of women through intensive education before ordination. We also should consider that in the social environment of ancient India women received little or no education. For example, the Bhik.su.nii paacittiya [Skt. paayantika] LXVI in the Paali vinaya shows:
Now at that time nuns ordained a girl married for full twelve years (but) who had not trained for two years in the six rules. These were ignorant, inexperienced, they did not know what was allowable or what was not allowable. . . .
Whatever nun should ordain a girl married for full twelve years (but) who has not trained for two years in the six rules, there is an offense of expiation.(153)
When we consider the lower status and the poorer education of women in those days, it was a practical way for female novices to spend two years in a novitiate leading to full ordination.
The second largest grouping of rules in the Bhik.su.nii paayantika Dharmas concerns such topics as clothes, ornaments and skin care. The rules in these groups mostly deal with specific matters of female concern and perhaps this is why the same rules did not have to be instituted for bhik.sus. Some of the rules in these groups proscribe minor matters special to women, for example, spinning yarn, or wearing a petticoat or a vest.
A third large group of additional rules for bhik.su.niis concerns the qualifications and duties of the preceptor, who must take full responsibility for her disciples. Traditionally, in the Buddhist sa"ngha, every novice and probationer depends on the preceptor for her or his education. Therefore, the preceptor's personal qualifications and responsibilities are extremely important in the ordination of women and men. The preceptor-disciple relationship is that the preceptor should teach her or his disciple every aspect of what she needs to know. These responsibilities and duties of a preceptor are equally necessary for bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus.
. . . [T]he almswomen [bhik.su.niis] seeking initiation should come to an instructor [preceptor]; secondly, that the instructor should not be unlearned or incompetent, but someone who had been properly appointed. The notion underlying these rulings appears to have been twofold. First, that a probationer might receive useful help from a well-qualified women during her year's noviciateship.(154)
The additional rules for bhik.su.niis dealing with the qualifications and responsibilities of a woman preceptor might be an outcome of educational enterprise for women. Some rules in this group, for example, state:
Now at that time nuns for two years did not wait upon an ordained woman instructor [preceptor]. These were ignorant, inexperienced, they did not know what were allowable or what was not allowable. . . . . Whatever nun for two years should not wait upon an ordained woman instructor, there is an offense of expiation.(155)
* * *
Now at that time nuns ordained while they were less than twelve years (of standing) [of standing as a bhik.su.nii]. They were ignorant, inexperienced, they did not know what was allowable or what was not allowable; moreover, the women who shared their cells were ignorant, inexperienced, they did not know what was allowable or what was not allowable. . . .
Whatever nun should ordain while she is less than twelve years (of standing) there is an offense of expiation.(156)
These rules also imply that Gautama Buddha was trying to raise the status of women through education, and to bring them to a realization of their abilities in the midst of a society which oppressed them.
The fourth major group of additional rules for bhik.su.niis prescribes correct actions around men, proper public conduct and playfulness. As I have mentioned earlier, these rules are essentially concerned with people's awareness of bhik.su.niis' daily lives. Because of bhik.su.niis' living situations, they had to be aware of people's concerns and were required to be more mindful than bhik.sus of such concerns in everyday life. In other words, the bhik.su.niis were subject to more scrutiny by people.
The fifth largest group of additional rules for bhik.su.niis is related to exhortations regarding Observance Day and the rainy season retreat. Two rules (#140, 141) deal with the admonition of Observance Day. Three (#142, 143, 164) deal with the rainy season retreat. Three rules (#141, 142, 143) are the same as the rules (#6, 7, 8) of the Eight Rules in the Chinese Ssu fen lu.(157) Four rules in particular (#140, 141, 142, 143) have caused many people to think that the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha was subordinated to the Bhik.su sa"ngha. However, Kabilsingh explains:
When the Bhik.su.nii sa"ngha grew into a large body, it was not possible for them to receive exhortation directly from the Buddha alone. So it was allowed that the bhik.su.niis should receive exhortation from the bhik.sus, but not all the bhik.sus proved worth while for such a job, thus paacittiya [paayantika] 21 result. The vinaya further explains that a bhik.su who may give exhortation to the bhik.su.niis must be agreed upon by the sa"ngha, must have at least 20 years standing (as a bhik.su). Then he must have the 8 qualities.(158)
Horner also notes:
Exhortation must not be held by an almsman [bhik.su] not properly deputed. Eight requisites for exhorting the almswomen [bhik.su.niis] should be found in him. . . . Thus it appears that he was to be a man of good reputation with a high diploma of conduct in life; and the idea that just anyone would do was here put out of court. This rule reflects great credit, and is an instance of Gautama's deep concern where the interests of the women were involved.(159)
When we also look at the contents of rules 140, 141 and 142 for bhik.su.niis, we see the bhik.su's position as a teacher or advisor for bhik.su.niis. In fact, rules twenty-one and twenty-two of the Bhik.su paayantika Dharmas specifically prescribe the qualification of bhik.sus as teachers or advisors. On the contrary, rule number 172 of the Bhik.su.nii paayantika Dharmas shows how a bhik.su teacher who was not authorized by the Bhik.su sa"ngha was ridiculed and felt ashamed when he could not give correct answers to questions from a learned bhik.su.nii. Nancy Auer Falk generally describes the rules for bhik.sus and bhik.su.niis:
In most respects the rule approached monks and nuns with admirable equity. Before the monastic settlements were established, monks and nuns led the same wandering life, free of the domestic ties and labor that left neither men nor women in ancient India much chance for serious pursuit of spiritual discipline. Both monks and nuns went on the daily begging rounds: both held the important biweekly assembly in which the rule's provisions were recited. Monks and nuns even looked alike; both shaved their heads bare, and both wore the same patchcloth robes dyed to earth color and draped identically over the left sho |
