Lzh Mi Bi Pm Pc 115Ordaining Untrained Unmarried Girls

Explanation of the Paripuṇṇavīsativassa-asikkhita-kumāribhūta Sutta

On Ordaining Untrained Female Practitioners

Background

This rule is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the Pātimokkha for female monastics (bhikkhunīs). The rules on ordination, receiving someone into the Sangha, have always been a weighty matter in early Buddha Dharma, because they determine the quality of the Sangha body and the capacity of new members to study and practice.

In the historical context, the Buddha established clear criteria to ensure that those who wished to go forth met certain requirements. These requirements relate not only to age and marital status, but also include the capacity to understand basic Buddha Dharma and self-awareness in practice.

The sutta speaks of a specific case: female practitioners who are untrained and unmarried. This is one of the situations in which strict rules must be observed in order to protect both the individual and the Sangha.

Main Content

This rule states that a female practitioner must be fully twenty years old (dvīsativassa) before she may be ordained as a female monastic. However, if she is untrained (asikkhita), that is, has not had the opportunity to learn the basic rules and the necessary ethical knowledge of Buddha Dharma, and remains unmarried (kumāribhūta), then an additional process must be carried out.

In the Theravāda tradition, a female practitioner needs to pass through the training stage (sikkhamānā) before receiving full ordination (upasampadā). This stage usually lasts several years, during which the trainee masters the basic precepts, whether five or ten, and gains clearer understanding of the Pañca Sīla, the Five Precepts, the Eight Precepts (Aṭṭhaṅga Sīla), and the basic principles of practice.

The purpose of this rule is to ensure that before making a full commitment to the monastic life, she has sufficient understanding and psychological preparation.