Lzh Mg Bi Vb Ss 8Ordaining a Criminal

– MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

– PRECEPTS OF THE BHIKKHUNĪS

– CLEARLY EXPLAINING THE FIRST PART OF THE 19 SAṂGHĀVAŚEṢA RULES

8. RULE: ORDAINING A PERSON GUILTY OF A CRIME.

When the Buddha was dwelling at the city of Śrāvastī, there was at that time a young and comely wife of a strongman in the village of Āmala, who had conducted a secret affair with another man. Her husband said to her: "Do not do this any longer; if you continue, I will punish you in such and such a way." Yet the wife continued the affair without stopping. The husband then watched and caught the two of them in the act, bound them, and brought them before an official to have the case judged, saying: "My wife has committed adultery with this man; I ask that the authorities apply the law and punish her for me." The magistrate in charge of criminal matters said: "If a woman commits adultery with another, she must be presented before the two assemblies for seven days.

After being presented for seven days, she shall be dismembered before the two families." The official then said to the wife: "You may return home. If there are means in the household, you must prepare provisions and food for distribution. If there are no means, then as you wish.

After seven days are completed, you shall be dismembered before the two assemblies."

Thereupon she returned home, prepared various foods and distributed them to the two assemblies; then she sat in a secluded place and wept. The elder women saw this and asked:

—Why are you weeping?

—In seven more days I am to be dismembered before the two assemblies — how could I not weep?

—Do you wish to live?

—I do.

—Go to the bhikkhunī Kālī in the city of Śrāvastī and beg to go forth; then you may live.

Because everyone was intoxicated, she quietly slipped away according to this plan and made her way to the city of Śrāvastī. She asked people: "Where is the monastery of the bhikkhunīs?" They directed her to it. She entered and then asked someone else: "Where is the cell of the bhikkhunī Kālī?" They pointed out the cell. She entered the cell and said:

—Venerable one, I wish to go forth.

—Has your guardian given permission?

—What do you mean by permission?

—If you are unmarried, your parents give permission; if you are married, your parents-in-law, your husband, and your husband's uncle give permission. That is what permission means.

—If that is so, then I must give permission myself, for all my relatives wish me to be dismembered and have already cast me off.

—If that is truly the case, then they have made up their minds to abandon you.

So Kālī allowed her to go forth and received her into the full ordination. Her husband searched for her to punish her but could not find her. He heard that a bhikkhunī in the city of Śrāvastī had given her the going-forth, and so he went to Śrāvastī and asked the people: "Where is the monastery of the bhikkhunīs?" The people directed him. He entered the monastery and asked: "Where is the cell of the bhikkhunī Kālī?" They pointed it out. He stepped into the cell and asked:

—Are you the bhikkhunī Kālī?

—Why do you ask?

—I have not divorced my wife; why did you ordain her?

—Good sir, where do you live?

—In the village of Āmala.

—You wretch! You are a spy — do you not know? People from the village of Āmala frequently come here to gather intelligence about our country and act as agents.

Kālī then said to her disciple: "Bring me my robe; I will go and report this wretch to the king and have him seized."

Hearing this, he thought: "This bhikkhunī glares fiercely and seems capable of doing harm." With that thought, he slowly withdrew. Once outside, he erupted in anger and cursed: "This śramaṇī secretly ordained my wife and now wants to have me arrested!"

The bhikkhunīs heard this and reported the matter to Mahāprajāpatī. Mahāprajāpatī then brought the entire matter and reported it fully to the Blessed One. The Buddha ordered the bhikkhunī Kālī to be summoned. When she arrived, the Buddha rebuked her: "Kālī, this is an unlawful act. Why, knowing that a person had committed a crime and that her relatives wished to punish her, did you allow her to go forth? That is an unlawful act, contrary to the Vinaya, and contrary to my teaching. From now on I do not permit: when it is known that a woman has committed a crime and people wish to punish her, she is not to be given the going-forth."

Furthermore, in the Śākya settlement of Kiṃdhi there was a young woman — as described above — who said to a bhikkhunī:

—Please allow me to go forth.

—You have previously committed such a crime, and therefore you cannot go forth.

She then went to other bhikkhunīs, but none of them would ordain her. She therefore went to members of an outside sect and asked to go forth among them. Her husband wished to find her and punish her, but did not know where she was; then he heard that she had been given the going-forth by a non-Buddhist sect in the city of Śrāvastī. He thought: "This person was originally the daughter of an upāsaka, and now she has fallen among the ranks of heterodox wrong views. She must be punished, yet she cannot be found."

The way of life of those non-Buddhists was to drink rice-washing water and pot-washing water, to live naked without any sense of shame, and moreover to beat their wives without mercy. Therefore the woman grew weary and said to herself: "This is not the proper manner of the going-forth," and she left. She came to the monastery of the bhikkhunīs and said: "I have fallen from a crumbling bank into a deep pit and am about to fall into hell. Please pull me out and allow me to go forth."

None of the bhikkhunīs dared to ordain her. So she went and said to Mahāprajāpatī: "Venerable one, I am a daughter of the Śākya clan, yet I have fallen into a deep pit. Please allow me to go forth." Mahāprajāpatī then brought the matter and reported it to the Blessed One. The Buddha said: "It is permitted to ordain her. If she had previously been given the going-forth by a non-Buddhist sect, it is thereafter permitted for her to go forth."

The Buddha then instructed Mahāprajāpatī to transmit the command to all the bhikkhunīs living in Śrāvastī to assemble together, and that even those who had already heard the rule should hear it again:

—If a bhikkhunī, knowing that a woman has committed a crime and that her relatives wish to punish her, gives her the going-forth — except in another case; the other case is when a non-Buddhist sect has already given her the going-forth beforehand, that is called the other case — she commits the first offense.

EXPLANATION:

(Some terms above have already been explained.)

Two assemblies: The two assemblies gathered together, meaning those on the side of the birth-parents and those on the side of the husband's family.

Relatives: That is, the brahmin clan, the kṣatriya clan, the vaiśya clan, and the śūdra clan.

Punishment: Either binding and wrapping in order to burn; or placing inside a sack of sand, tying the mouth of the sack closed, and submerging in water; or burning the head with fire; or cutting off the ears and nose; or applying a heated iron rod to the vagina; or dismembering the body — the laws of the land differ in their various forms of this kind. Except where she had previously gone forth in a non-Buddhist sect and is then given the going-forth — in that case the Blessed One declares there is no offense.

Non-Buddhist sect: Such as the Nirgrantha, the Daṇḍika, and the various non-Buddhist sects of that kind.

That is the first saṃghāvaśeṣa offense: As described above.

If a bhikkhunī, knowing that a woman has committed a crime deserving of punishment, gives her the going-forth, she commits a duṣkṛta offense.

If she allows her to train in the rules, she commits a sthūlātyaya offense.

If she confers full ordination upon her, she commits a saṃghāvaśeṣa offense.

Therefore the Blessed One has spoken thus (as above).

Vietnamese translation: Thích Phước Sơn. MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

Chinese translation: TRIPIṬAKA BUDDHĀBHADRA OF INDIA

TOGETHER WITH ŚRAMAṆA FAXIAN, TRANSLATED DURING THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY

Verification of meaning: Thích Đỗng Minh