Lzh Mu Bi Vb Pc 162Getting Trainees to Massage
Pāli / Sanskrit:Sikkhamānā-ummaddāpana
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Discourse on Instructing Trainees to Massage
Background
This discourse belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda tradition, specifically the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga, the discipline for bhikkhunīs, with 162 Pācittiya regulations, offenses requiring confession. These regulations were established by the Blessed Buddha to protect the purity of the community of nuns and maintain discipline in study and practice.
The historical background of the discourse lies in practical situations arising in early Buddhist bhikkhunī communities. The Vinaya texts were compiled to record unworthy acts corrected by the Buddha, thereby establishing rules of conduct for those who had gone forth.
The rule concerning "Sikkhamānā-ummaddāpana" (instructing trainees to massage) relates to the management of work in the monastery and the proper way to teach those newly training: the sikkhamānās, or trainee bhikkhunīs.
Main Content
According to the Vinaya, the Blessed Buddha established the rule that bhikkhunīs should not ask trainees in practice (sikkhamānās) or those newly beginning monastic training to massage their bodies. This rule was laid down when it was discovered that some bhikkhunīs were using massage as an opportunity for inappropriate or disrespectful behavior.
Massage here is not merely therapeutic or medical work, but also involves bodily contact that Buddhist discipline considers necessary to limit and carefully control. Assigning this work to those who have not yet been fully trained creates the risk of violating sexual restraint and actively nurturing desire.
This rule reflects a core principle of the Vinaya: protecting concentration in study and practice, maintaining the pure image of the Sangha, and especially protecting trainees who are still vulnerable to worldly desires. It also shows Buddhism’s deep concern for the spiritual and ethical development of those newly entering the path of practice.
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