Lzh Sarv Bi Vb Pc 122Giving Ordination to Trained Maiden of 20 Without Sangha Agreement

Exposition: Giving Ordination to a Trained Maiden of Twenty Without the Consent of the Sangha

Background

In the traditional Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka (Pāli), the matter of granting stages of renunciation to women is regulated in great detail to ensure the sanctity and order of the Sangha. This text addresses a specific situation: when a woman who has long been trained in the rules of practice and has reached the age of twenty, the required age of maturity, is given bhikkhunī ordination without the approval or solemn recognition of the entire Sangha.

This is a violation of the Pātimokkha, the fundamental rules binding bhikkhunīs. The Vinaya Piṭaka states very clearly that all major acts in the Sangha, especially decisions related to granting ordination, must be carried out with the participation, witnessing, and unanimous consent of the community. This is not a private administrative act but a formal legal act of the Sangha (Sangha-kamma) with validity in monastic law.

Main Content

According to the regulations in the Vinaya Piṭaka, for a woman to be lawfully ordained as a bhikkhunī, certain preliminary conditions must be fulfilled. First, she must have completed two years of training under the status of a trainee nun (sāmaṇerī). Second, she must have passed the age of twenty. Third, and this is the decisive factor in this text, she must be formally recognized through a proper legal meeting of the Sangha.

When someone grants ordination without following these legal steps, the act is considered invalid from the perspective of the Sangha. A bhikkhunī ordained in this way is not regarded as a fully official member of the Bhikkhunī Sangha. Moreover, if the one granting ordination, usually a junior bhikkhunī, deliberately neglects the requirement of the Sangha’s consent, this is a Pācittiya offense, a type of violation requiring confession and correction.