San Mu Bu Pm GBM 3 Pc 23Teaching Nuns for Profit

Exposition of the Āmisa Sutta (Teaching Bhikkhunīs for Material Gain)

Background

The Āmisa Sutta, meaning “material sustenance” or “material gain,” is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, in the Pātimokkha section, the collection of prohibitions for the monastic communities of Theravāda Buddhism. The Vinaya Piṭaka was compiled after the Buddha entered nirvana, under the verification of the great disciples, in order to regulate the conduct of sāmaṇeras and bhikkhus.

This sutta arose from a specific situation in the early Buddhist community of monks and nuns. The issue addressed is bhikkhunīs teaching other bhikkhunīs with the purpose of receiving material gain, money, clothing, food, or other items, rather than teaching from the pure motive of helping them advance on the path of practice.

Main Content

The Āmisa Sutta forbids expounding the teachings (dhamma) with the intention of receiving material goods as compensation. This is regarded as a Saṅghādisesa offense, a serious offense in the bhikkhunī community, because it undermines the nobility of the holy Dharma and uses the teaching for personal greed.

The core of the sutta is the clear distinction between teaching for a pure purpose and teaching out of desire. When a bhikkhunī teaches the Dharma with the prior thought, “If I teach, we will receive robes, clothing, food, or other things,” that act is considered contrary to the spirit of practice. Receiving the basic requisites, the four necessities of clothing, food, lodging, and medicine, is not wrong; the fault lies in the intention to trade the teaching as a commodity.

Theravāda Buddhist law emphasizes that the teachings handed down from the Buddha are not to be used as a means of livelihood, but as a way to be liberated from suffering. Teaching the Dharma should be done out of compassion (karuṇā) and the wish to help others attain awakening.