Lzh Mg Bi Vb Pc 123The Dark of the Night
Pāli / Sanskrit:Rattandhakāra
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– MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA
– RULES OF TRAINING FOR BHIKKHUNĪS
– EXPLAINING THE FIRST SECTION OF THE 141 PĀCITTIYAS
123. RULE: ENTERING A DARK PLACE WHERE MEN ARE PRESENT.
When the Buddha was residing at Vesālī, the bhikkhunī Bhaddrā went to visit her relatives. Without announcing herself beforehand, she suddenly entered a place where brothers, sisters, and children were sitting in the dark without a lamp, causing the relatives to be startled and ashamed. The bhikkhunīs then reported this to Mahāpajāpatī. In the end, she presented the matter to the Buddha:
—It is indeed so, Blessed One!
—Why did you, knowing that men were sitting in a dark place without a lamp, enter it? From now on, I do not permit such conduct.
Thereupon the Buddha instructed: Whether one has heard this before or not, one must hear it again:
—If a bhikkhunī, knowing that men are sitting in a dark place without a lamp, enters it, she commits a pācittiya offense.
EXPLANATION:
A place where men are sitting: A place where they habitually lie down and sleep.
A dark place: A place where one cannot see one another.
Without a lamp: Without an oil lamp or any other kind of lamp. If one enters such a place, one commits a pācittiya offense.
Pācittiya: As explained above. One must not enter a dark place where men are sitting. If there is a cause or condition requiring entry, and one hears those inside speaking loudly, then one may enter. If one does not hear voices, one should first send someone to announce one's coming, or snap one's fingers, or light a lamp so that one's form becomes visible, and then enter only when called in by someone. If one enters without prior announcement, without snapping one's fingers, and without lighting a lamp, one commits a pācittiya offense.
If a bhikkhu enters without prior announcement, he commits a dukkhaṭa offense. Therefore the Blessed One has spoken thus (as above).
Vietnamese translation: Thích Phước Sơn. MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA
Chinese translation: THE TRIPIṬAKA MASTER BUDDHABHADRA FROM INDIA
TOGETHER WITH THE ŚRAMAṆA FAXIAN, TRANSLATED DURING THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY
MEANING VERIFIED BY: THÍCH ĐỖNG MINH
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