Lzh Dg Bi Vb Pc 93Not Nursing

– FOUR-PART VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA

RULE 93

A. ORIGIN

At one time, the Bhagavā was dwelling in the Anāthapiṇḍika garden, Jeta's Grove, in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time, the bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā was living together with another bhikkhunī who fell ill, and she did not nurse her. The bhikkhunīs asked, "The bhikkhunī who lives with you is sick—why do you not care for her?" Sthūlanandā still deliberately refused to nurse her. Because she was not cared for, that bhikkhunī died.

The bhikkhunīs heard of this, and among them were those of few desires and contentment, who lived the dhūta practices, were fond of training in the precepts, and knew shame; they reproached the bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā: "Why did you not nurse the sick bhikkhunī who lived with you? The bhikkhunīs admonished and advised you, yet you did not heed their words and nurse her, and so she died."

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, assembled the Sangha of bhikkhus and rebuked the bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā:

"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. Bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā, why, when the bhikkhunī living with you was ill, did you not nurse her? The bhikkhunīs admonished and advised you to nurse her, yet you did not do so, and allowed her to die."

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

"This bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā is a source of many defiled seeds and is the first to commit this offense. From this day forward, I shall lay down a rule for the bhikkhunīs, encompassing ten purposes, up to and including the purpose that the true Dharma may long endure."

The rule should be stated thus:

Whatever bhikkhunī does not nurse a bhikkhunī who lives with her and is ill, it is a pācittiya.

B. ANALYSIS OF THE RULE

Bhikkhunī: as explained above.

Living together: two bhikkhunīs who live and work together with one another.

A bhikkhunī who does not nurse a fellow bhikkhunī living with her who is ill commits a pācittiya. Excepting the case of one living together with her who is ill, if other bhikkhunīs—whether a preceptress, a teacher, a co-student, a disciple, or relatives and acquaintances—are ill and she does not nurse them, in all such cases she commits a duṣkṛta.

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

Non-offense: if the one living together who is ill is nursed; or if one is oneself ill and unable to nurse her. Or if doing so would lead to a threat to one's life or a threat to one's holy life; in all such cases there is no offense.

Those who do not offend: the first offender at the time before the rule was laid down; one who is mentally deranged, of disturbed mind, or afflicted with pain and overwhelmed by suffering.

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

Chinese translation: Tripiṭaka Buddhayaśas and竺佛念 (Zhu Fo-nian).

Revised and annotated by: Bhikkhu Thích Nguyên Chứng

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

Buddhist Studies Editorial Board, 2002