Bi Pc 1010. Watching entertainment
Pāli / Sanskrit:Naccagīta
A nun who goes to see a show must confess the offense.
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Theravāda Collection on Monastic Law The Nuns’ Analysis
The chapter on offenses entailing confession The subchapter on garlic 10. Watching entertainment
Origin story
At one time the Buddha was staying at Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrel sanctuary. At that time in Rājagaha there was a hilltop fair, and the nuns from the group of six went to see it. People complained and criticized them, “How can nuns go to see dancing, singing, and music? They’re just like householders who indulge in worldly pleasures!”
The nuns heard the complaints of those people, and the nuns of few desires complained and criticized them, “How could the nuns from the group of six go to see dancing, singing, and music?” … “Is it true, monks, that those nuns did that?”
“It’s true, sir.”
The Buddha rebuked them, “How could the nuns from the group of six do this? This will affect people’s confidence …” … “And, monks, the nuns should recite this training rule like this:
Final ruling
‘If a nun goes to see dancing or singing or music, she commits an offense entailing confession.’”
Definitions
A: whoever … Nun: … The nun who has been given the full ordination in unanimity by both Sanghas through a legal procedure consisting of one motion and three announcements that is irreversible and fit to stand—this sort of nun is meant in this case. Dancing: any kind of dancing. Singing: any kind of singing. Music: any kind of music.
If she is on her way to see it, she commits an offense of wrong conduct. Wherever she stands to see it or hear it, she commits an offense entailing confession. Every time she goes beyond the range of sight and then sees it or hears it again, she commits an offense entailing confession.
If she is on her way to see any one of the three, she commits an offense of wrong conduct. Wherever she stands to see it or hear it, she commits an offense entailing confession. Every time she goes beyond the range of sight and then sees it or hears it again, she commits an offense entailing confession.
Non-offenses
There is no offense: if she sees it or hears it while remaining in the monastery; if the dancing, singing, or music comes to the place where the nun is standing, sitting, or lying down; if she sees it or hears it while walking in the opposite direction; if she goes there because there is something to be done and she then sees it or hears it; if there is an emergency; if she is insane; if she is the first offender.
The tenth training rule is finished.
The first subchapter on garlic is finished.
The “…” is an abbreviation carried over from the Pāli original itself, called peyyāla. The early canon was memorized and recited, so passages repeated verbatim from a preceding discourse were commonly contracted to an elision mark rather than written out in full. Venerable Thích Minh Châu's translation preserves this convention. Some texts therefore look short — but that is the canonical form, not missing content or a truncated translation. The elided passages can be read in full in the preceding discourses of the same chapter.
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