Bi Np 2727. Asking for thread
Pāli / Sanskrit:Suttaviññatti
A nun who asks for thread and then has robe-cloth woven with it must relinquish the robe-cloth and confess the offense.
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Asking for Thread (Suttaviññatti) - Bhikkhunī Np 27
An Exposition According to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda
Background
This rule is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically within the Bhikkhunī Nissaggiya Pācittiya (offenses requiring forfeiture and confession by bhikkhunīs). These are detailed regulations governing the conduct of female monastics in the early Buddhist Sangha, promulgated by the Blessed One to safeguard the purity and harmonious development of the monastic community.
This rule arose from a specific incident within the community of bhikkhunīs. Certain nuns, wishing to have robes sewn for themselves but having no thread for weaving, sought to obtain thread by asking from laypeople, and then had that thread woven into robe-cloth for their own personal use. This action was considered a violation of the principles of restraint and independence proper to bhikkhunīs, as well as a violation of the proper management of the Sangha's material resources.
Main Content
This rule states clearly that: a bhikkhunī who herself requests thread from laypeople with the intention of having it woven into robe-cloth for her own use, and who then carries out that intention — that is, actually obtains the woven cloth — commits an offense of Nissaggiya Pācittiya (nissaggiya pācittiya — an offense requiring forfeiture and confession).
The consequences of this offense are that the bhikkhunī must:
First, completely relinquish the robe-cloth that was woven. The cloth may not be retained for personal use but must be returned or surrendered to the Sangha.
Second, the bhikkhunī must confess the offense before the community of bhikkhunīs, acknowledge her transgression, and request the formal acknowledgment of the Sangha.
The underlying reason for this rule lies in the distinction between a bhikkhunī's receiving robes offered by laypeople without needing to solicit them, as against personally requesting or directing others to procure materials for her own use and then having them made up — which is regarded as exceeding the proper bounds of allowable requesting.
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