Lzh Mu Bi Pm Pc 161Getting Nuns to Massage
Pāli / Sanskrit:Bhikkhunī-ummaddāpana
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The Bhikkhunī-ummaddāpana Sutta: Nuns Giving Soothing Massage
Background
The Bhikkhunī-ummaddāpana Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, especially within the Pātimokkha discipline (Pātimokkha Saṃvara) regulating the rules for nuns. This sutta reflects specific situations that arose in the women’s monastic community, when the Buddha and senior disciples needed to establish instructions to maintain discipline and respect within the Saṅgha and the order of nuns.
The deeper background of the Vinaya Piṭaka in general comes from actual events: as the community of monks and nuns grew larger, issues concerning bodily contact, medical care, and proper relations among members arose. The Buddha, with prudence, established standards to protect the concentration of practice and the honor of monks and nuns, especially nuns, who were both practitioners and persons needing protection in ancient Indian society.
Main Content
The Bhikkhunī-ummaddāpana Sutta concerns nuns giving soothing massage, or performing acts of bodily contact for one another or for others in the context of medical care, health care, or assistance. The word "ummaddāpana" (ummaddana = rubbing, massaging) denotes the act of using the hands to ease pain or fatigue.
This rule establishes that such acts of soothing or touching are permitted only in clearly defined circumstances and for a proper purpose. Specifically, when a nun or another person has a legitimate medical need, such as back pain, muscular fatigue after difficult practices, or particular health conditions, massage is permitted on the condition that others are present as witnesses, that it is performed with a pure mind, and that it is not connected with any improper intention or action.
The Pāli Vinaya explains in detail that such actions should take place in communal spaces of the monastery, in daylight if possible, and must not be secret or private.
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