Lzh Dg Bi Vb Pc 75Attending a Monk

– DHARMAGUPTAKA VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA

RULE 75

A. ORIGIN STORY

At one time the Bhagavān was dwelling in the garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the Jeta Grove, at the country of Śrāvastī. At that time, a householder and his wife had both gone forth and become monastics. At the meal time, he entered the village to collect alms, and having obtained food, he brought it to the nuns' monastery and sat down to eat. His former wife, now a bhikkhunī, brought water and stood before him, fanning him with a fan. The bhikkhu said:

"Please step aside a little; I am embarrassed before others. Do not stand in front of me!"

The bhikkhunī said:

"Venerable sir, why should you be embarrassed before me?"

The bhikkhu said again:

"Why do you not quickly step aside? I am embarrassed before the bhikkhunī."

The bhikkhunī said:

"You say you are embarrassed because I stand before you. But in the past, when you did such things, why were you not embarrassed then?"

Having said this, the former wife, the bhikkhunī, became angry, struck the bhikkhu with the handle of the fan, poured water over his head, and then turned and went into her room.

The bhikkhunīs heard of this, and among them were those of few wishes and contentment, who practiced the austere practices, who were fond of training in the precepts, who were possessed of shame and remorse; they criticized this bhikkhunī: "How could you, in anger, strike a bhikkhu?"

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

"What you have done is wrong, not in accordance with proper conduct, not in accordance with the Dharma of a śramaṇa, not in accordance with pure practice, not in accordance with proper behavior — you have done what should not be done. How could a bhikkhunī strike a bhikkhu?"

The Blessed One, having rebuked this bhikkhunī with countless skillful means, said to the bhikkhus:

"This bhikkhunī is a field that has planted many seeds of the āsavas; she is the first to commit this offense. From this day forward, I shall lay down a precept for the bhikkhunīs, comprising ten bases of meaning, up to and including the phrase 'for the long abiding of the true Dharma.'"

The precept should be proclaimed as follows:

Whatever bhikkhunī, while a bhikkhu is eating, provides water and fans him with a fan — pācittiya.

The Blessed One thus laid down this precept for the bhikkhunīs. Certain bhikkhunīs, having doubts, did not dare to attend to sick bhikkhus, did not provide water, and did not dare to ask. The Buddha instructed:

"I permit bhikkhunīs to attend to sick bhikkhus; if there is no one providing water, they are permitted to ask."

From now forward the precept should be proclaimed as follows:

Whatever bhikkhunī, when a bhikkhu who is not ill is eating, provides water, stands before him, and fans him with a fan — pācittiya.

B. ANALYSIS OF THE PRECEPT

Bhikkhunī: as explained above.

Whatever bhikkhunī — when a bhikkhu who is not ill is eating — provides water, stands before him, and fans him with a fan, commits a pācittiya.

A bhikkhu: dukkaṭa. A sikkhāmānā, a sāmaṇera, a sāmaṇerī: dukkaṭa. These are called offenses.

Non-offense: attending to a sick bhikkhu; when there is no one providing water and she asks — no offense.

Those not at fault: the first offender before the rule was established; one who is insane, mentally disturbed, or overcome with pain and distress.

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

Chinese translation: Tripiṭaka Buddhayaśas and Zhu Fonian.

Edited and annotated: Bhikkhu Thích Nguyên Chứng

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

Buddhist Publications Committee, 2002