Lzh Dg Bu Pm Pd 1Receiving a Nun’s Food

PAṬHAMAPĀṬIDESANĪYA SUTRA

The Nun and the First Confession Rule

Background

Paṭhamapāṭidesanīya is the first rule in the series of Pāṭidesanīya confession rules of the Theravāda Buddhist Vinaya Piṭaka. The sutra is recorded in the Bhikkhunī Vinaya, an important part of the Vinaya Piṭaka.

This event took place at Sāvatthī, a major city of ancient India where the Buddha often taught the Dharma. At that time, bhikkhunīs studying the Buddha’s Dharma were observing prohibitions in order to cultivate concentration and ethics. Yet in their life of practice, special cases arose that required guidance from the Buddha and the Sangha.

The rules in the Pāṭidesanīya section are not grave offenses such as Pārājika or Saṅghādisesa, but actions done through carelessness or under circumstantial pressure. After publicly acknowledging them before the Sangha, the person is regarded as purified.

Main Content

The Paṭhamapāṭidesanīya sutra records the case of a bhikkhunī receiving food from another bhikkhunī, even though according to the rule, offered food should come from outsiders, not from a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī. This was not a grave violation, but it transgressed a solemn principle of the Vinaya: a bhikkhunī should not directly receive food from another bhikkhunī in certain situations.

When the Buddha came to know of this matter, he did not condemn that bhikkhunī harshly. Instead, he instructed that the bhikkhunī should publicly acknowledge the act before the Sangha. The act of acknowledgment (paṭidesanā) is not a plea for atonement, but a dignified and direct recognition of the truth, by which the person is considered spiritually purified.