Bi Pc 6868. Not guiding a disciple after ordination
Pāli / Sanskrit:Sahajīvinī-ananuggahaṇa
A nun who ordains a student but does not guide her for two years must confess the offense.
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Scripture on Not Guiding a Disciple After Ordination
Background
The Vinaya Piṭaka is the most fundamental collection of rules for monastic practice in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. Among its contents, the rules pertaining to the monastic community (Saṅgha) of monks and nuns are clearly arranged so as to maintain discipline and ethical conduct. Bi Pc 68 (Pācittiya 68 — a category of offense requiring confession) concerns the responsibility of bhikkhunīs toward disciples whose ordination they have sponsored.
According to the Pāli tradition, when a bhikkhunī sponsors a woman's ordination and receives her into the monastic community, that bhikkhunī does not merely serve as a formal witness; she must also assume the responsibility of guiding, instructing, and caring for the disciple throughout her practice. This is a profound ethical commitment, not simply an administrative procedure.
Main Content
This scripture states clearly: if a bhikkhunī has sponsored a woman's ordination but does not guide, instruct, or care for that person for a period of two years, that bhikkhunī commits an offense requiring confession (Pācittiya).
The two-year period is not an arbitrary figure. In the Theravāda tradition, two years is regarded as the minimum time necessary for a newly ordained person to absorb the fundamental principles of the bhikkhunī's way of life, including: discipline in conduct (kāya-saṁvara), in speech (vācī-saṁvara), and in mind (mano-saṁvara). During this time, the disciple must learn the rules of proper behavior, how to participate in community ceremonies, and methods of meditation practice.
"Not guiding" (ananuggahaṇa) means that the preceptor bhikkhunī completely abandons the disciple, showing no concern for that person's progress in practice or conduct. This constitutes a moral failing, for it violates the principle of spiritual friendship (kalyāṇamittatā) — the relationship between teacher and student grounded in guidance offered with compassion.
🌏 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.