Xct Mu Bi Pc 117Paribbājikā-ummaddāpana

Discourse on Paribbājikā-ummaddāpana

An Explanation According to the Pāli Canon — Theravāda Tradition

Background

The discourse Paribbājikā-ummaddāpana belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka, the first division among the three baskets of Theravāda Buddhist scripture. The Vinaya Piṭaka is not a collection of the Buddha’s sermons for liberating beings, but the Monks’ Code (Bhikkhu-pātimokkha) and the Nuns’ Code (Bhikkhunī-pātimokkha), together with details, precedents, and instructions on the administration of the Sangha in practice.

The term “Paribbājikā” (an independent female renunciant, a female mendicant ascetic) refers to a kind of female Buddhist renunciant who is not formally a bhikkhunī. “Ummaddāpana” means “being trampled down or suppressed.” This discourse, as a Vinaya rule, records the case of a Paribbājikā being penalized for conduct that violated the Vinaya.

In the context of the early Sangha, regulations concerning the conduct of female renunciants who were not formally bhikkhunīs were very necessary to maintain the discipline and reputation of the Sangha. Moral violations, especially acts that harmed the honor of Buddhism, had to be handled according to principles of fairness and transparency.

Main Content

The rule Paribbājikā-ummaddāpana stipulates that if a Paribbājikā (an independent female renunciant) commits a serious violation of moral rules, especially conduct not in accord with the precepts, she will be subject to the penalty called “ummaddāpana” (deprivation of rights, removal from the privileges of the Sangha).

This penalty is not absolute expulsion, but a form of discipline intended to educate and restore order. The one who is penalized is temporarily barred from certain privileges in the Sangha, compelled to live in a stricter manner, and required to submit to close supervision by the Sangha until she proves sincere reform.