San Lo Bi Vb Pc 110Not Ordaining Trainees After She Follows

Scriptural Exposition: Not Conferring Full Ordination upon Female Trainees After She Has Departed

Background

This rule belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, specifically to the regulations concerning female trainees (sikkhamānā) within the monastic community of bhikkhunīs. A female trainee is a woman in an intermediate stage who has not yet received full ordination as a bhikkhunī, but who has committed herself to training within the formal community under strict rules.

Within the context of the Vinaya Piṭaka, the regulations pertaining to sikkhamānās are highly detailed, as they are learners who require careful guidance and close supervision. This text records a specific rule concerning the full ordination of female trainees, reflecting the great care and diligence that the Buddhist forebears devoted to this process.

Main Content

The rule "Anubandha-sikkhamānana-vuṭṭhāpana" — not conferring full ordination upon a trainee who follows after — stipulates the following: if a female trainee (sikkhamānā) departs from or follows after a certain bhikkhunī without proper authorization, then the other bhikkhunīs may not conduct the ceremony of full ordination (upasampadā) for her under those circumstances.

This derives from a fundamental principle: the conferral of full ordination must be carried out in accordance with formal procedures and in a fitting manner. It is not a ceremony that may be performed at any time, in any place, or under any circumstances whatsoever. When a female trainee leaves her community or "follows after" (anubandha) a certain preceptor in a manner inconsistent with the Vinaya, the integrity of her training is called into question.

This rule protects the orthodoxy of the bhikkhunī Sangha and ensures that bhikkhunīs receive full ordination in an appropriate manner, under the supervision of a legitimate and duly authorized community.