Xct Mu Bu Pm Pc 23Teaching Nuns for Profit

Explanation of the Āmisa Rule (Teaching Bhikkhunīs for Gain)

Background

This rule belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda Pāli Canon, specifically in the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga, the discipline for female bhikkhus. The background arises from an event in the community of female monastics during the Buddha’s time. At Sāvatthī, certain bhikkhunīs violated the twenty-third rule of the Pāṭimokkha, the code for bhikkhunīs, by instructing other female monastics not out of compassion, but for material benefit, that is, gains such as food, robes, or requisites of practice (āmisa).

The Buddha discovered that this conduct violated a basic ethical principle of the Sangha community. It not only harmed the purity of the teaching, but also turned the teaching of the Dharma, a noble act, into a means of livelihood. These female monastics used the role of teacher with a motive of craving for gain.

Main Content

The rule states that if a bhikkhunī instructs another bhikkhunī for the purpose of receiving material benefit (āmisa), this is a Pācittiya offense, a lesser fault requiring confession and clearing away. Teaching the Dharma is a noble duty of one who practices, but the motive must be pure, unmixed with any mind of sensual craving or gain.

This rule emphasizes that the transmission of the Dharma must never be turned into a tool for satisfying greed. A female monastic who wishes to teach and assist others must have a pure motive: out of compassion, to help, and wishing that others progress on the path to liberation. This reflects a basic principle of Buddhist discipline: every action of a practitioner must be directed toward the ending of suffering, not toward the accumulation of wealth or fame.

The rule also implicitly makes clear that education within the Buddhist community must maintain reciprocity and purity. If guides act for gain, then the Dharma loses its true value, and students will be misled.