Lzh Sarv Bi Vb Pc 150Not Inviting

Not Inviting (Apavāraṇā)

Lzh Sarv Bi Vb Pc 150 — Comparative Vinaya, Chinese, Sectarian Tradition

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Source Status

The complete source text of this training rule has not yet been directly collated in the database currently being used. The explanation below is not a translation from the original canonical text, but a general analysis and presentation based purely on the supplied descriptive information, including the Vietnamese title “Not Inviting,” the English title “Not Inviting,” the Pāli/Sanskrit term Apavāraṇā, the identifier Lzh Sarv Bi Vb Pc 150, and its location in the Comparative Vinaya in Chinese belonging to the Sectarian tradition. Readers should consult specialized Vinaya editions of the Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition or corresponding collections in order to obtain the complete original text and official commentary.

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Background

This training rule belongs to the Pācittiya group, often transcribed as Ba-dật-đề, in the Prātimokṣa for bhikkhunīs (Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga), marked as Pc 150 in the numbering system of the Chinese Comparative Vinaya according to the Sarvāstivāda tradition. The fact that the ordinal number reaches 150 reflects a notable feature of the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya: the set of rules for bhikkhunīs in this tradition often contains a significantly larger number of training precepts than in some other schools, showing careful attention to each circumstance of conduct in the life of women renunciants.

The term Apavāraṇā in Pāli means refusal, prevention, or not opening an opportunity for others to make a request, not creating conditions for others to raise a request or inquiry. In the context of Vinaya studies, “vāraṇā” or “pavāraṇā” relates to the act of inviting or opening oneself to request. Thus “apavāraṇā” means not inviting, or the act of blocking and not allowing others to make such a request. This is a conduct specifically regulated in the Vinaya in order to protect harmony in the Sangha and maintain a spirit of openness and sincerity among renunciant members.

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Content That Can Be Determined from the Descriptive Information

Based on the title and the original term, this Pc 150 training rule is related to the conduct of a bhikkhunī in not allowing, not creating conditions for, or obstructing a request of some kind, perhaps a request from the Sangha, from a supporter, or in the context of specific acts of the Sangha.

In the Vinaya context, the concept of pavāraṇā usually appears in two main contexts: (1) the Pavāraṇā ceremony at the end of the rains retreat, when each member of the Sangha invites others to point out one’s faults; and (2) the opening of a request for offerings or support between donors and monastics. With the negative prefix apa-, this training rule may stipulate that a bhikkhunī is not permitted to refuse unreasonably, or conversely, is not permitted arbitrarily to obstruct another person’s right to request in circumstances that the Vinaya regards as necessary and proper.

Because this is a training rule in the Ba-dật-đề (Pācittiya) group, violating it requires confession (desanā) before another bhikkhunī. It is not a violation of the most serious degree, but it remains a training rule that must be carefully upheld.

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Meaning for Practice and Study

This training rule, though brief in title, reflects a profound principle of practice: openness and non-obstruction in the renunciant community are essential conditions for the purity and harmony of the Sangha. When a renunciant intentionally does not allow others to make a request, or creates unjustified barriers, that action may arise from conceit, concealment of faults, or lack of mutual support, all of which are unsuitable to the ideal of the holy life.

For practitioners, this training rule reminds us that keeping discipline is not only avoiding external bad conduct, but also cultivating a clear inner attitude, ready to receive instruction and not building walls to protect the self. The spirit of “opening the door” to requests is the spirit of a genuine practitioner, one who does not protect oneself from the light of the Sangha.

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Comparative Note

The complete text of Lzh Sarv Bi Vb Pc 150 has not yet been directly collated within the scope of the present materials. The analyses above are general in nature, based on the semantic meaning of the term Apavāraṇā and the position of the training rule in the Chinese Comparative Vinaya of the Sarvāstivāda tradition. To understand fully its specific content, the scope of the violation, exceptions, and the form of confession, researchers should consult the original Chinese or extant Sanskrit Sarvāstivāda Vinaya texts preserved in the Buddhist canons.