Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Pc 117Ordaining Trained Candidate Without Approval
Pāli / Sanskrit:Sikkhita-sikkhamānā-asammata
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Sikkhita-sikkhamānā-asammata Sutta
A Determination Concerning the Ordination of a Trained Female Candidate Without Approval
Background
This text belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, specifically the Pātimokkha, the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha: the disciplinary rules for bhikkhunīs. It is one of the detailed regulations concerning the ordination process for female monastics in the monastic community.
The historical background of this text concerns the formalization of the process of women’s ordination after the Buddha allowed the establishment of the Bhikkhunī Saṅgha, the community of bhikkhunīs. This did not occur immediately but through a long process, and it had to follow strict regulations to ensure quality and order in the community of nuns.
The Sikkhita-sikkhamānā-asammata Sutta specifically deals with the case of a woman who has completed the training stage (sikkhita-sikkhamānā, that is, a sikkhamānā, a female trainee in the precepts who has been fully trained), but is ordained as a bhikkhunī without the approval (asammata) of the established bhikkhunīs or of the community of nuns.
Main Content
This regulation fundamentally affirms that women’s ordination must follow formal procedures and be approved by the community of nuns. A sikkhamānā is a young woman who has committed to training under five or six precepts, preparing spiritually and practically for full ordination as a bhikkhunī.
When a sikkhamānā has completed the training process (sikkhita), she needs to be officially certified and approved by the community of bhikkhunīs before she can receive the full 311 rules of the bhikkhunī discipline (Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha). This approval is not a mere formality; it is an expression of the Saṅgha’s collective commitment to that person’s practice.
The text prescribes that if a nun is given ordination without such approval, the act is regarded as a serious violation of a rule. This affects not only the person receiving ordination, but also the bhikkhunīs or bhikkhus involved in certifying or receiving her.
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