Bi Pc 1313. Meeting a man in the open
Pāli / Sanskrit:Ajjhokāsasallapana
A nun who, seeking privacy, stands alone with a man out in the open must confess the offense.
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KINH AJJHOKĀSASALLAPANA
The Bhikkhunī Vinaya — Confession Offense (Bi Pc 13)
Background
This rule is recorded in the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha, an essential part of the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda tradition. The rules governing the community of nuns were established by the Blessed One to protect the purity, virtue, and honor of the monastic community. In particular, the regulations concerning relations with men were formulated with the utmost care — not out of excessive caution, but to safeguard a pure environment for spiritual practice and to prevent misunderstandings and resentment from arising within society at large.
The rule of Ajjhokāsasallapana — meeting a man in the open — reflects the wisdom of the Blessed One in regulating conduct on the basis not of inner intention, but of objective circumstances. A bhikkhunī, however pure her intentions may be, commits a breach of the training rules if she stands alone with a man in an open place — such as a courtyard or a road — engaging in private conversation (sallapana).
Main Content
According to this rule, a transgression consists of three essential elements: first, a bhikkhunī standing alone (ekasañcāra) with a man (puggala); second, the exchange of conversation (sallapana) of a private nature, rather than a public one; third, the location being open and in the open air (ajjhokāsa), a place where one may readily be seen. When these three conditions converge, the bhikkhunī has committed a pācittiya offense (Pācittiyā) — a rule requiring public confession before the community.
A pācittiya offense differs from weightier transgressions such as pārājika or saṅghādisesa, yet it still demands serious attention. Confession (āpatti paṭidesana) is not merely a verbal declaration; it is a profound act of practice, reflecting the bhikkhunī's acknowledgment of her fault and her resolve to correct herself. The process of confession is carried out before other bhikkhunīs — ordinarily before one's preceptor or senior sister — so as to ensure the transparency and validity of the act of purification.
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