Lzh Dg Bi Vb Pc 83Departing Without Taking Leave

– FOUR-PART VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA

RULE 83

A. ORIGIN STORY

At one time, the Blessed One was dwelling in the garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the Jeta Grove, in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time, a bhikkhunī, at the proper hour, put on her robe, took her bowl, and went to the home of a householder. The householder's wife set out a single bed, invited the bhikkhunī to sit, and then went into the inner part of the house.

The bhikkhunī sat for a short while, then, without informing the mistress of the house, rose and departed. Just as she was leaving through the door, a young brahmin student arrived. He entered the house, looked around, and seeing no one there, thought: "This seat would be of use to me." Having thought so, the young brahmin took the bed and carried it away.

Afterward, the householder's wife returned and, finding neither the bhikkhunī nor the single bed, sent a trusted person to ask the bhikkhunī: "Where is the single bed?"

The bhikkhunī replied:

"I do not know. Just as I was leaving, a young brahmin entered the mistress's house. He may have taken it. You should search for him and look."

After searching, the single bed was recovered. The householders criticized: "This bhikkhunī has no sense of shame. Outwardly she claims to know the true Dharma. What sort of Dharma is this? She sits upon the householder's seat, then gets up and leaves without a word — no different from a woman of loose morals or a thieving woman!"

The bhikkhunīs heard of this, and among them those who were of few desires, contented, austere, fond of training in the precepts, and possessed of a sense of shame, rebuked this bhikkhunī: "Why did you sit upon the householder's seat and leave without saying a word?"

The bhikkhunīs then 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 Saṅgha of bhikkhus and rebuked this bhikkhunī:

"What you have done is wrong — it is not proper conduct, not the practice of a śramaṇa, not pure conduct, not befitting behavior; it is something that should not be done. Why did you sit upon another person's seat and depart without informing them?"

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

"This bhikkhunī is a field in which many defiled seeds are sown; 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 phrase 'for the long abiding of the true Dharma.'"

The rule should be stated as follows:

Whatever bhikkhunī enters and sits in the home of a layperson, and departs without informing the mistress of the house, commits a pācittiya.

B. ANALYSIS OF THE RULE

Bhikkhunī: the meaning is as above.

If a bhikkhunī enters and sits in the home of a layperson and departs without informing the mistress of the house, upon passing through the gate she commits a pācittiya. If one foot is inside the gate and one foot is outside the gate, or if she intends to depart but does not, or if she has made an arrangement to leave but does not leave, in all such cases she commits a duṣkṛta.

A bhikkhu: duṣkṛta. A śikṣamāṇā, a śrāmaṇera, or a śrāmaṇerikā: duṣkṛta. These are called offenses.

Non-offense: if she informs the mistress of the house before departing; or if there is another person sitting together on that seat; or if she has informed a person sitting nearby before departing; or if the person sitting nearby says, "Go ahead — it does not matter"; or if she is seated on stone, on a wooden bed, on a wall, on spread grass, or on an earthen platform; or if the house is about to collapse or is on fire; or if there are venomous snakes, dangerous animals, robbers or bandits; or if she is seized by force, or bound, or if there is danger to her life or danger to her pure conduct — in all such cases, departing without informing the mistress of the house is not an offense.

Those free from offense: one who commits the offense for the first time before the rule has been established; one who is insane, mentally deranged, or overwhelmed by acute pain and distress.

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 Publication Committee, 2002