Lzh Mu Bi Pm Ss 8Ekagamana

Ekagamana Sutta — Going Alone

Background

Ekagamana in the Pāli Canonical tradition appears in the context of the Vinaya Piṭaka, where the regulations concerning precepts and communal discipline for monks and nuns are recorded. This text is related to instructions on how bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs should conduct themselves when acting alone, especially in situations that could give rise to suspicion or cause the lay community to lose trust.

According to the Theravāda tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka was taught by the Buddha in order to protect the monastic community, maintain the purity of monks and nuns, and at the same time safeguard the honor of the monastics themselves. Ekagamana is one of the specific rules aimed at regulating individual conduct, especially when a monastic is separated from the community.

Main Content

Ekagamana (from eka = one, gamana = going, path) clearly sets out regulations concerning a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī not going alone into places that could give rise to mistaken judgment on the part of laypeople. In particular, bhikkhunīs must be especially careful in this regard, because downfall (puggala) can easily arise from unsuitable ways of acting.

The text states clearly that going alone into private places, especially together with people of the opposite sex, violates the spirit of moral discipline (sīla) and creates an occasion for needless accusations. Instead, monastics should always go together with companions in practice, especially others who are training in the same way, so that they may protect one another’s honor.

This rule is not due to fear of the truth, but because it understands that worldly conditions (lokadhamma), such as reputation, criticism, and suspicion, can obstruct the process of practice. By avoiding situations that may give rise to doubt, the monastic preserves the trust of the community, thereby protecting the continued teaching of the Buddha-Dharma.