Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Pc 112Ordaining Trained Unmarried Girls Without Approval

Source Status

The text marked Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Pc 112 belongs to the Comparative Vinaya corpus in Chinese within the traditions of the Buddhist sectarian canon. At present, the full source text has not been directly collated in the processing database; therefore, this explanation is not a translation of the original scripture but only an analysis based on the provided descriptive information, including the Vietnamese title, English title, and Pāli/Sanskrit terminology. Readers should consult the original Chinese text of the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya for full and accurate content.

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Background

This training rule belongs to the Sarvāstivāda tradition, one of the important schools of sectarian Buddhism, whose Vinaya system is richly preserved in Chinese. The Sarvāstivāda Vinaya is known for its systematic and detailed regulations concerning training rules for both bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs.

This item belongs to the Pācittiya group for bhikkhunīs, that is, a class of training rules requiring confession when violated, ranked in the middle level of the classification of disciplinary offenses. The Pāli/Sanskrit title of this rule is Paripuṇṇavīsativassa-sikkhita-kumāribhūta-asammata, whose semantic components may be analyzed as follows: paripuṇṇa (complete, fulfilled), vīsativassa (twenty years old), sikkhita (trained in the precepts, having undergone disciplinary training), kumāribhūta (an unmarried maiden), asammata (not approved, lacking the consent of the Sangha).

The whole compound refers to a specific act of ordination: giving bhikkhunī ordination to a woman who is twenty years old, has completed two years of training as a sikkhamānā, and has never been married, but doing so without the official approval of the Sangha.

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Content Determinable from the Descriptive Information

Based on the title and the Pāli/Sanskrit terminology, this training rule concerns the procedure for bhikkhunī ordination in a particular case. According to the Vinaya tradition, before receiving full ordination (upasampadā) to become a bhikkhunī, a woman must pass through the stage of being a Sikkhamānā, one who is training in the precepts for two years. The case to which this rule applies is that of a maiden (kumāribhūta, never married) who has completed the training period and is twenty years old.

The core of the rule lies in the requirement of formal approval by the Sangha (sammata, consent or lawful acceptance). In the Buddhist Vinaya system, all important legal acts of the Sangha, especially ordination, must be carried out through a collective procedure called kammavācā, in which a sufficient number of monastics give consent. If a bhikkhunī conducts an ordination for another person without this proper approval according to the Dharma, the act is regarded as a violation of the training rule and gives rise to a Pācittiya offense.

The distinction between kumāribhūta (unmarried maiden) and one who has been married (vuḍḍhā or vivaṭṭhā) in the Vinaya reflects a different classification of ordination age: one who has been married may receive ordination from the age of twelve upward after two years of training, whereas an unmarried maiden must be twenty years old. This shows that the Vinaya takes into account life experience and psychological maturity in determining the conditions for going forth.

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Meaning for Practice

This training rule carries many important layers of meaning for monastic life and the organization of the Sangha:

First, it emphasizes the importance of legal validity in Sangha acts. Ordination is not the personal act of a single bhikkhunī but a communal rite requiring collective agreement. This spirit protects the purity and unity of the Sangha and prevents arbitrary or insufficiently considered decisions.

Second, the rule shows concern for the quality and preparation of the person receiving ordination. The two conditions, being of sufficient age and having undergone training, are not merely formalities but reflect the view that a renunciant needs a firm foundation in ethical conduct and a certain maturity before assuming the responsibilities of bhikkhunī life.

Third, for modern practitioners, this training rule reminds us that observing procedure is not mere formalism, but an expression of respect for the Dharma and the Sangha. Every process in the Vinaya has a deep reason, intended to protect both the person being ordained and the entire monastic community.

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Collation Note

Because the full source text has not yet been directly collated, the observations in this explanation are based entirely on analysis of terminology and descriptive information. Researchers who wish to understand the precise content of this training rule, the details concerning the occasion for its establishment, exceptions, and methods of confession should consult directly the Chinese text of the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya, as well as specialized scholarly works on comparative sectarian Vinaya studies, in order to gain a comprehensive and reliable view.