Lzh Dg Bi Pm Pc 123Ordaining Untrained Candidate
Pāli / Sanskrit:Asikkhita-sikkhamānā
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Sutta on Tonsuring an Untrained Candidate
(Asikkhita-sikkhamānā Pātimokkha)
Background
In the early period of the Buddhist Sangha, regulations concerning the recruitment and training of bhikkhunīs became an essential matter. This sutta appears in the Vinaya-piṭaka, specifically in the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha, when the Buddha and the elders in the Sangha saw the need for clear standards to protect the purity and discipline of the bhikkhunī community.
The term "Asikkhita-sikkhamānā" means "an untrained candidate" or "a candidate without knowledge." In the Vinaya context, such candidates are women who wish to go forth but have not completed the necessary preparatory training or have not yet been guided by senior bhikkhunīs. This sutta regulates the situation in which such a candidate is tonsured, that is, enters upon the going forth through cutting the hair and receiving the ochre robes, without having the required preparation.
Main Content
According to the Theravāda tradition, tonsuring an untrained candidate is a serious violation of the Vinaya rules. This regulation is meant to protect the integrity of the Sangha by ensuring that those who seek the going forth have a basic understanding of the Buddha-Dharma, the ability to observe the fundamental precepts, and firmness in their resolve.
The sutta states that a candidate is considered trained when she has completed the necessary instruction, including study of the basic moral rules (sīla), a clear understanding of the purpose of the religious life, and recognition by senior nuns that she is capable of maintaining the life of practice. A preceptor or administrative group of the Sangha may not tonsure anyone who has not completed this preparatory stage.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.