Lzh Dg Bi Vb Pc 172Asking Questions

– FOUR-PART VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA

RULE 172

A. ORIGIN STORY

At one time, the Bhagavā was dwelling in the garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the Jeta Grove, at the city of Śrāvastī. At that time, the bhikkhunī Anyin, being of great wisdom, questioned the bhikkhus on points of meaning. The bhikkhus who were questioned were unable to answer and felt ashamed.

The bhikkhunīs heard of this, and among them were those of few desires and contentment, who practiced the dhutaṅga disciplines, were fond of training in the precepts, and knew a sense of shame and remorse. They reproached the bhikkhunī Anyin: "Why do you, relying on your great wisdom, question the bhikkhus on points of meaning, causing them to be unable to answer and thus feel ashamed?"

The bhikkhunīs reported the matter to the bhikkhus. The bhikkhus went and reported it to the Blessed One. The Blessed One, on account of this matter, assembled the community of bhikkhus and rebuked the bhikkhunī Anyin:

"What you have done is wrong, unbecoming, not in accordance with the conduct of a renunciant, not pure conduct, not fitting behavior — it is an action that ought not to have been done. Why, relying on your great wisdom, did you question the bhikkhus on points of meaning, causing them to be unable to answer and thus feel ashamed?"

Having rebuked her with countless expedient means, the Buddha said to the bhikkhus:

"This bhikkhunī is a field for planting many seeds of the āsravas, and she is the first to transgress this rule. From this day forward, I shall lay down a precept for the bhikkhunīs, comprising ten principles of meaning, up to and including the phrase 'for the long endurance of the true Dharma.'"

The precept should be stated as follows:

Whatever bhikkhunī questions bhikkhus on points of meaning in the scriptures — pācittiya.

The Blessed One thus laid down this precept for the bhikkhunīs. However, when the bhikkhunīs came to the day of instruction, they did not know to whom they should go to request instruction; they were uncertain and did not know where they might go to ask about points of meaning. The Buddha instructed:

"From this day forward, if one wishes to ask about points of meaning, one must first seek permission, and only then ask."

From now on, the precept should be stated as follows:

Whatever bhikkhunī, wishing to ask a bhikkhu about points of meaning, asks without first seeking permission — pācittiya.

B. ANALYSIS OF THE RULE

Bhikkhunī: as explained above.

Whatever bhikkhunī asks a bhikkhu about points of meaning without seeking permission before asking — if spoken clearly, pācittiya. If spoken indistinctly, dukkaṭa.

For a bhikkhu, dukkaṭa. For a śikṣamāṇā, a śrāmaṇera, or a śrāmaṇerī, dukkaṭa. This is called an offense.

Non-offense: if one seeks permission first and then asks; or if one has been asking regularly; or if one is on familiar terms; or if an intimate person says, "You may ask — I will seek permission on your behalf"; or if the other party is receiving instruction from this one; or if both parties are going to receive instruction from another; or if the other person asks and this one answers; or if both are reciting together; or if one speaks in jest, speaks hastily, speaks in a secluded place, speaks in a dream, or intending to say one thing, mistakenly says another. None of these constitute an offense.

Those who do not commit an offense: one who transgresses for the first time before the rule has been laid down; one who is deranged, of disturbed mind, or afflicted with pain.

Vietnamese translation: Bhikkhu Thích Đỗng Minh and Thích Đức Thắng. FOUR-PART VINAYA, PART ONE

Chinese translation: Tripiṭaka masters Buddhayaśas and Zhu Fonian.

Revised and annotated by: Bhikkhu Thích Nguyên Chứng

(Chinese translation, fascicles 1–21; Vietnamese translation, fascicles 1 and 2)

Buddhist Studies Editorial Board, 2002