Lzh Sarv Bu Pm 2 Np 17Getting a Nun to Wash Wool

Explanation of the Eḷakalomadhovāpana Sutta

Background

This sutta is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha, the discipline for nuns. Its content concerns an administrative and ethical issue in the community of female monastics in Theravāda Buddhism.

The situation arose when female monastics were permitted to wash wool in order to increase income for the Sangha. This came from a practical need of the community of practitioners. Wool (eḷakalomadhova) was a kind of fiber or valuable material in ancient times, and washing it required skill and labor. Yet this action gradually developed into a matter of violating the precepts, when nuns were asked or compelled to perform this work beyond their capacity, or in a way that affected their mindfulness and collectedness.

The Buddha saw that compelling nuns to participate in worldly labor, including washing wool, could violate the spirit of practice and give rise to disputes and disharmony in the Sangha. Therefore, he set forth regulations to restrict or prohibit this action.

Main Content

According to the rule in the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha, asking a nun to wash wool for profit or for the Sangha is regarded as an action that violates the discipline. Specifically, if a female monastic is compelled, or volunteers under pressure, to perform this work, both the one who asks, if a monastic, and the one who performs it commit an offense.

This rule is not because washing wool is evil or impure, but because it manifests an exploitation of labor and violates the nature of practice. Female monastics are to rely on the minimum requisites: kāṣāya robe, alms bowl, and lodging. The purpose of Theravāda Buddhism is not to accumulate property or profit, but to practice in order to be liberated from suffering.

This offending act is classified as one of the offenses that requires penance, public confession, and further education for the community concerning the spirit of the discipline.