Xct Mu Bu Vb Pc 54Lying Down With One Not Fully Ordained
Pāli / Sanskrit:Anupasampannasahaseyya
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Sutta: Lying Down with One Not Fully Ordained
Context
Anupasampannasahaseyya (lying down with one not fully ordained) is a rule in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically belonging to the Pācittiya class, violations requiring confession before a bhikkhu. This rule reflects the carefulness of Theravāda Buddhism in protecting the purity of the Sangha.
In the Buddha’s time, as the Sangha developed, maintaining the essence of practice became a central concern. Bhikkhus who had received ordination, gone forth and accepted the rules, differed in spiritual status from those not yet fully ordained, even if they lived together with the Sangha. This rule is recorded in legal collections such as the Mahāvagga and the Bhikkhu Pācittiya, in order to establish clear boundaries between those who had committed themselves to the noble Dharma and those still at the beginning.
The background arose from practical needs: monasteries often received people who wished to learn about and practice the Buddha’s Dharma, but who were not yet ready or qualified to receive full ordination. Such people were called sāmaṇeras (novices) or other fellow practitioners. To protect the purity of conduct of bhikkhus, the Buddha limited situations that could cause misunderstanding or challenges to virtue.
Main Content
The sutta states that a bhikkhu should not lie down together on one bed, one platform, or one sleeping place longer than two cubits with a person not fully ordained (anupasampanna). This act is considered a Pācittiya offense, a fault that must be confessed or acknowledged.
The reason for this rule is complex and has many layers of meaning. First, it concerns the difference in commitment to moral discipline. A bhikkhu has undertaken to keep the precepts, whether the Five Precepts in the case of a novice or the full bhikkhu precepts, 250 rules for male bhikkhus. The person not fully ordained, however courteous, has not yet made that formal commitment. Lying together may express a level of intimacy not appropriate to this difference in status.
Second, this rule is intended to avoid misunderstandings about attachment or actions not in accord with the spirit of Buddhist practice.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.