Lzh Mg Bi Vb Ss 9Ekanaditara

– MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

– PRECEPTS FOR BHIKKHUNĪS

– EXPLICATING THE FIRST PORTION OF THE 19 SAṂGHĀVAŚEṢA RULES

9. PRECEPT: CROSSING A RIVER ALONE.

When the Buddha was residing in the city of Śrāvastī, at that time there were many women on the far bank of the Aciravatī River, while on the near bank the community of bhikkhunīs had gathered. Then the bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā removed her robes, cast them to the ground, and swam across to the far bank. The women, seeing this, remarked among themselves: "Look at the bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā swimming across the water to this side." Having arrived on the other bank, she sat for a while on an open patch of ground and then swam back again. At that point, the women criticized her, saying: "Why does this bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā behave like a wicked person, swimming across and then swimming back!"

The bhikkhunīs, upon hearing this, reported the matter to Mahāprajāpatī. Mahāprajāpatī then brought the matter before the Blessed One. The Buddha immediately ordered that the bhikkhunī Sthūlanandā be summoned. When she arrived, the Buddha rebuked her: "That was a wrong action. Why, when there is a ferry crossing available, did you swim across? From now on, I do not permit swimming across alone at a ferry crossing."

The Buddha then instructed Mahāprajāpatī to issue a directive requiring all the bhikkhunīs residing in the city of Śrāvastī to assemble, and that even those who had already heard it must hear it again:

—If a bhikkhunī swims across a river alone at a ferry crossing, she commits the first offense of saṃghāvaśeṣa.

EXPLANATION:

Swimming across alone: From the moment she departs from the near bank to the far bank, she commits the first offense of saṃghāvaśeṣa.

Vietnamese translation: Thích Phước Sơn. MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

Chinese translation: THE TRIPIṬAKA MASTER BUDDHABHADRA OF INDIA,

TOGETHER WITH THE ŚRAMAṆA FAXIAN, TRANSLATED DURING THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY

DOCTRINAL VERIFICATION: THÍCH ĐỖNG MINH