Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Pc 81Standing Alone With Monk
Pāli / Sanskrit:Standing alone with monk
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Sutta on a Bhikkhunī Standing Alone with a Bhikkhu
An Explanation of the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda Tradition
Background
This sutta comes from the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha, the code of discipline in detail for female monastics. In the early period of the Buddha-Dharma, when the Buddha permitted the establishment of the women’s Sangha, regulations concerning shared life were carefully established, not because of suspicion regarding the meditative strength of female practitioners, but because of the social context and worldly attitudes of that time. The early Vinaya Piṭaka records the specific situations leading to each rule; whenever a bhikkhunī violated a rule or encountered difficulty, the Buddha laid down a corresponding rule.
The rule on “standing alone with a bhikkhu,” referring to the matter of being alone with a monk, arose from specific cases in early Sangha life, when female practitioners needed protection of their reputation, and when the religious life needed to avoid conditions that could easily draw criticism and damage the community’s confidence in the holy teaching.
Main Content
This training rule stipulates that bhikkhunīs should not be alone at any time with a bhikkhu unless another person is present. The basic reason lies in three aspects: protecting the honor of female practitioners from worldly judgment, maintaining people’s confidence in the purity of the Sangha, and limiting conditions favorable to offenses connected with sensual desire.
In the language of the Vinaya Piṭaka, this rule is classified according to the degree of fault: from Pārājika, a defeat offense, if ordinary sexual acts are committed, to Saṃghādisesa, an offense to be handled by the Sangha through a gradual process, or Pācittiya, a lighter offense requiring self-confession, if there is merely being alone without any impure act. This distinction shows that the Buddha-Dharma does not completely forbid contact between the sexes, but forbids the conditions that create opportunities for offenses or actions easily misunderstood.
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