Bi Np 88. Exchanging designated collective property
Pāli / Sanskrit:Gaṇikacetāpana
A nun who exchanges away a collective requisite designated for a specific purpose must relinquish the item and confess the offense.
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Gaṇikacetāpana Sutta (Bi Np 8)
Background
The Gaṇikacetāpana belongs to the Nisaggiya Pācittiya (offenses involving forfeiture of property) section of the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, recording events during the period when the Buddha was establishing the Saṅgha. This text arose from a specific incident concerning the management of communal requisites belonging to the community of bhikkhunīs.
In Indian society during the time of the Buddha, religious communities received offerings from lay supporters. Such property fell into two categories: items designated for communal use (gaṇika cetā), or items donated for a specific purpose. In order to maintain discipline and purity within the Saṅgha, the Buddha established strict regulations concerning the use of such property. The Gaṇikacetāpana is one of these regulations, intended to protect the common welfare of the community and to uphold integrity in the management of property.
Main Content
This text rules that when a bhikkhunī exchanges or trades a communal item that has been designated for a specific purpose — that is, a donation set aside for a particular use or person — such an action constitutes a Nisaggiya Pācittiya offense: an offense for which the practitioner must forfeit the item and confess the transgression before the Saṅgha.
This means that a bhikkhunī is not permitted to unilaterally alter the intended use of communal property. For example, if a lay supporter donates a robe specifically for the senior nun, or donates funds to purchase a particular kind of food for the community, those items may not be exchanged for another purpose or given to another person without authorization. The act of exchanging is understood as misappropriating what the donor had specifically designated.
The penalty is that the bhikkhunī must: (1) return or forfeit the exchanged item, and (2) confess the offense before the Saṅgha (pācittiya). This is not among the gravest offenses in the Vinaya, but it requires public acknowledgment of wrongdoing and constitutes sufficient respect for the trust of those who have made the donation.
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