Xct Mu Bi Ss 15Socializing

The Saṁsaṭṭhā Discourse (Socializing) - Explanation

Background

The Saṁsaṭṭhā discourse (social contact, association) is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Early Buddhist Dharma tradition. The Vinaya Piṭaka is the collection that regulates the lifestyle, discipline, and ethics of bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs. The Xct Mu Bi Ss section (the Suttavibhaṅga of the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga) contains detailed rules for female monastics.

This discourse was composed after the Buddha Śākyamuni permitted the establishment of the bhikkhunī community. Its content focuses on the issue of social interaction between female monastics and laypeople, as well as inappropriate association that may obstruct practice directed toward liberation.

Main Content

The Saṁsaṭṭhā discourse teaches caution in the social interaction (saṁsaṭṭha) of female monastics. The word "saṁsaṭṭha" means "contact, communication, association" - a subtle aspect of training.

According to the spirit of the Early Buddhist Dharma, a practitioner has gone forth to seek nirvana (nibbāna), the state of liberation from suffering. However, careless social interaction can give rise to lust, aversion, and delusion - the three unwholesome roots (tila akusala mula), which oppose practice. This discourse reminds female monastics to avoid contacts, conversations, or communications that are unnecessarily intimate with men, or social activities unsuitable for humility and purity (sukhakumāra).

The emphasis of the discourse is the distinction between "beneficial association" (sampleeta) and "harmful association" (visampleta). Beneficial association consists of contacts whose purpose is practice, Dharma discussion, or support within the Sangha. Harmful association consists of heedless contacts or contacts motivated by desire, with the potential to damage spiritual well-being.

Practical Meaning

The Saṁsaṭṭhā discourse is not meant to despise worldly people or isolate the monastic community.