Lzh Dg Bi Vb Pc 85Laying Bedding Without Permission

– DHARMAGUPTAKA VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA

RULE 85

A. ORIGIN STORY

At one time, the Blessed One was dwelling in the garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the Jeta Grove, at the city of Śrāvastī. At that time, a number of bhikkhunīs were traveling on the road to the land of Kosala. Upon arriving at a village where there was no lodging, without speaking to the owner, they spread out their sitting mats and slept there on their own accord.

The householders saw this and asked:

"Who arranged for these bhikkhunīs to rest here?"

The bhikkhunīs said:

"No one arranged it. We simply arranged the resting place ourselves."

The householders were indignant: "These bhikkhunīs have no sense of shame. They outwardly claim to know the true Dharma—yet where is the Dharma in this? Why did the bhikkhunīs not speak to the owner before entering someone's home to rest? How are they any different from women of loose conduct or women of ill repute?"

The bhikkhunīs heard this. Among them were those of few desires and contentment, who practiced the austere dhūtaṅga practices, delighted in training in the precepts, and had a sense of shame. They criticized those bhikkhunīs: "Why did the bhikkhunīs not speak to the owner before entering someone's home to sit and lie down?"

The bhikkhunīs went and reported this to the bhikkhus. The bhikkhus went and reported it to the Blessed One. The Blessed One, on account of this matter, convened the assembly of bhikkhus and rebuked those bhikkhunīs:

"What you have done is wrong, unbefitting of proper conduct, contrary to the conduct of a samaṇa, contrary to pure practice, contrary to harmonious conduct—this should not have been done. Why did the bhikkhunīs enter someone's home and sit and lie down to rest without speaking to the owner of the house?"

Having rebuked those bhikkhunīs with countless skillful means, the Blessed One then said to the bhikkhus:

"These bhikkhunīs are a field that cultivates many seeds of the āsavas, and they are the first to transgress this rule. From this day forward, I shall lay down a training rule for the bhikkhunīs, consisting of ten principles, up to and including the phrase 'for the lasting endurance of the true Dharma.'"

The rule should be stated as follows:

Whatever bhikkhunī, upon entering the home of a layperson, without asking the owner, on her own accord spreads out a seat to rest—pācittiya.

B. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OFFENSE

Bhikkhunī: as explained above.

Spreading out a seat: spreading it with grass or with leaves, or even with felt.

Whatever bhikkhunī, upon entering the home of a layperson, without asking the owner, on her own accord spreads out bedding to sleep, and her back touches the ground—each time she turns over, she incurs one pācittiya.

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

Non-offense: if one speaks to the owner before resting; or if the dwelling is uninhabited; or if it is a public rest house; or if an acquaintance or relative says, "You may rest here; I will speak to the owner on your behalf;" or if one is seized by force, or bound, or faces a threat to life, or a threat to one's celibate life—in all these cases there is no offense.

Those who do not commit an offense: the one who first transgressed before the rule was established; one who is mentally deranged, one whose mind is disturbed, one who is afflicted with pain and overwhelmed by it.

Vietnamese translation: Bhikkhu Thích Đỗng Minh and Thích Đức Thắng. DHARMAGUPTAKA 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 Publication Committee, 2002