Lzh Mg Bi Pm Pc 99Ordaining Trained Candidate Without Approval
Pāli / Sanskrit:Sikkhita-sikkhamānā-asammata
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THE RULE CONCERNING ONE TRAINED AS A SIKKHAMĀNĀ WITHOUT APPROVAL
Background
In the Vinaya Piṭaka of Theravāda Buddhism, the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha (the code of rules for bhikkhunīs) records the regulations governing the community of female monastics. The rule known as Sikkhita-sikkhamānā-asammata — concerning the reception of a trained woman as a sikkhamānā without approval — falls within the category of Pācittiya offenses, which are transgressions requiring confession and expiation before the community.
This rule arose from specific historical incidents within the monastic order, in which bhikkhunīs accepted women wishing to train in the religious life without following the proper formal procedure. A sikkhamānā (a female probationer) occupies an intermediate stage between a layperson and a fully ordained bhikkhunī, and her acceptance requires the formal confirmation of the monastic community. Failure to carry out this procedure reflects a disregard for monastic discipline and may give rise to harmful consequences for the individual concerned as well as for the community at large.
Principal Content
This rule stipulates that if a fully ordained bhikkhunī receives a woman wishing to train as a sikkhamānā without the approval of the community or of its authorized members, that bhikkhunī has committed a Pācittiya offense. The term sikkhita ("trained") indicates that the woman in question has received instruction in the practice, yet not in accordance with the prescribed procedure.
The element of asammata ("not approved") is the decisive factor. According to the Vinaya Piṭaka, every significant decision pertaining to the admission of a new bhikkhu or bhikkhunī must be ratified through a formal assembly (uposatha) of the entire community, by unanimous agreement or majority consent. This ensures that those who enter the monastic order possess the appropriate spirit of practice and are duly recognized by the community.
The act of receiving a candidate without observing this procedure is regarded as an act of non-compliance with collective discipline. It reflects a disposition toward unilateral self-determination, which may undermine the harmony and integrity of the monastic community.
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