San Mu Bu Pm GBM 3 Pc 27Travelling on a Boat With a Nun
Pāli / Sanskrit:Nāvābhiruhana
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SUTTA ON BOARDING A BOAT WITH A NUN
Background
This sutta is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, specifically in the Pāṭimokkha, the code of discipline for bhikkhus. During the Buddha’s lifetime, in the riverine regions of ancient India, there were many river trade routes along which bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs traveled. Nāvābhiruhana (nāva = boat, ābhiruhana = boarding) is a minor disciplinary rule related to conduct when using transportation.
The historical context shows that in early Buddhism, bhikkhus needed to travel in order to transmit the Dharma, go on almsround, and attend great assemblies of the Sangha. On these journeys, they inevitably came into contact with others, including bhikkhunīs. The rule arose precisely to guide these interactions so that suspicion would not arise and the spirit of the discipline would not be violated.
Main Content
According to the spirit of the Pāṭimokkha, when a bhikkhu lies down or sits on a boat together with a bhikkhunī, if this occurs without witnesses or proper arrangement by the Sangha, it may give rise to ethical misunderstandings. The sutta does not absolutely forbid two people from being on the same boat, but prohibits situations that generate suspicion, an important principle in the Vinaya Piṭaka often expressed as not doing things that people may criticize.
The detailed rule is this: a bhikkhu should not deliberately lie down or sit down on a boat when there is already, or he knows there will be, a bhikkhunī lying or sitting there. If this occurs, the bhikkhu commits a Saṅghādisesa offense, a violation that needs to be witnessed by other bhikkhus when the fault is disclosed and the offense confessed. Its resolution does not require expulsion from the Sangha, but it is a serious matter that must be publicly revealed.
This rule reflects a balance between allowing monastics to travel for the work of Buddhism and protecting the integrity of the Sangha in public opinion.
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