Lzh Dg Bi Vb Pc 71Pubic Hair

– FOUR-PART VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA

RULE 71

A. ORIGIN STORY

At one time, the Blessed One was residing in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time, the bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā shaved hair from three places, went to the home of a donor, and seated herself in a seat, without properly concealing her body in the presence of a woman, so that her form was exposed. The woman, seeing this, said:

"Venerable Sister, please bathe with us."

The bhikkhunī declined. The woman offered food and then again invited the bhikkhunī to bathe. The bhikkhunī still refused and would not bathe with them. Thereupon the women forcibly removed her robe. Seeing that the bhikkhunī had shaved her hair, they said:

"Venerable Sister, women of the world shave hair on account of sensual indulgence — but why does the venerable sister shave her hair?"

Sthūlanandā said:

"Since the time I was a laywoman I was accustomed to doing this; it is nothing new."

The lay women criticized her, saying:

"This bhikkhunī has no sense of shame or remorse, and is accustomed to impure conduct. She outwardly claims to know the true Dharma. What sort of true Dharma is this? How can she shave hair from three places like a woman of loose morals or a thief-woman?"

The bhikkhunīs heard of this, and among them those who were of few desires, who were content, who practiced the austere dhūta qualities, who delighted in training in the precepts, and who had a sense of shame and remorse, reproached Sthūlanandā: "How could you shave hair from three places?"

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

"What you have done is wrong, not in accordance with proper deportment, not in accordance with the Dharma of a śramaṇa, not pure conduct, not befitting conduct, and something that should not be done. Sthūlanandā, why did you shave hair from three places?"

After rebuking the bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā with countless skillful means, the Blessed One said to the bhikkhus:

"The bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā is a field that cultivates many tainted seeds, and she is the first to commit this offense. From this day forward, I shall establish a rule for the bhikkhunīs, comprising ten principles of meaning, up to and including the principle that the true Dharma may long endure."

The rule should be stated as follows:

Whatever bhikkhunī shaves hair from three places, [it is] a pācittiya.

B. ANALYSIS OF THE RULE

Bhikkhunī: as explained above.

Hair of three places: the places of defecation, urination, and the armpits.

Whatever bhikkhunī shaves hair from three places — each time the blade is moved, she commits a pācittiya. If she plucks with tweezers or burns the hair, in all such cases she commits a duṣkṛta.

A bhikkhu — thullaccaya. A śikṣamāṇā, a śrāmaṇera, a śrāmaṇerī — duṣkṛta. This is called committing an offense.

Non-offense: if she suffers from some illness; or has a sore that requires shaving in order to apply medicine; or is compelled by force — in all such cases there is no offense.

Those who do not commit an offense: the first offender at the time before the rule was established; one who is insane, of disturbed mind, or tormented by severe 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: Bhikkhu Thích Nguyên Chứng

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

Buddhist Publication Committee, 2002