Lzh Dg Bi Vb Pc 80Talking In the Open

– FOUR-PART VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA

RULE 80

A. ORIGIN STORY

At one time, the Bhagavā was staying in the park of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the Jeta Grove, in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time, the group of six bhikkhunīs entered a village and stood in a secluded place talking with men. Householders saw this and were contemptuous: "These bhikkhunīs have no sense of shame; they commit impure conduct. They claim to know the true Dharma, yet they enter a village and stand with men in a secluded place, talking — no different from prostitutes or wanton women. What kind of true Dharma is this?"

The bhikkhunīs heard of this, and among them were those of few desires and contentment who practiced the ascetic qualities, loved the training in the precepts, and possessed a sense of shame and remorse. They reproached the group of six bhikkhunīs: "Why do you enter a village and stand in a secluded place talking with men?"

The bhikkhunīs came and reported this to the bhikkhus. The bhikkhus came and reported it to the Blessed One. The Blessed One used this occasion to assemble the Saṅgha of bhikkhus and rebuked the group of six bhikkhunīs:

"What you have done is wrong, not in accord with proper conduct, not befitting a śramaṇa, not in accord with pure conduct, not in accord with proper behavior — it is something that should not be done. Why did you enter a village and stand with men in a secluded place talking?"

The Blessed One, having rebuked the group of six bhikkhunīs by means of countless skillful methods, then said to the bhikkhus:

"This group of six bhikkhunīs is a field for planting many seeds of the contaminated; they are the first to commit this offense. From now on, I shall lay down a rule for the bhikkhunīs, in ten principles, up to and including the phrase 'for the long endurance of the true Dharma.'"

The rule should be recited as follows:

Whatever bhikkhunī, within a village, stands with a man in a secluded place and talks with him: a pācittiya.

B. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RULE

Bhikkhunī: as defined above.

Village: a place where there are the dwellings of the white-robed laity.

Secluded place: a place where one cannot be seen and cannot be heard.

A place where one cannot be seen: obscured by smoke, clouds, dust, mist, or darkness.

A place where one cannot be heard: beyond the range at which normal speech can be heard.

If a bhikkhunī enters a village and stands with a man in a secluded place and talks with him: a pācittiya. If there is a companion who is blind but not deaf: a duṣkṛta; deaf but not blind: also a duṣkṛta. Standing without speaking is also a duṣkṛta offense.

For a bhikkhu: a duṣkṛta. For a śikṣamāṇā, a śrāmaṇera, or a śrāmaṇerī: a duṣkṛta. These are called transgressions.

Non-offenses: having two bhikkhunīs as companions; having an acquaintance as a companion; standing together with a number of women who are neither blind nor deaf; or if one is walking rather than standing; or if one is ill and faints; or if one is taken by force; or if one is bound and led away; or if there is danger to one's life or danger to one's pure conduct — in all such cases there is no offense.

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

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, volumes 1 and 2)

Buddhist Studies Editorial Board, 2002