Bi Pc 4444. Serving householders
Pāli / Sanskrit:Gihiveyyāvacca
A nun who serves a lay person 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 galleries 44. Serving householders
Origin story
At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery, the nuns were providing services for householders. The nuns of few desires complained and criticized them, “How can nuns provide services for householders?” … “Is it true, monks, that nuns do this?”
“It’s true, sir.”
The Buddha rebuked them … “How can nuns do this? This will affect people’s confidence …” … “And, monks, the nuns should recite this training rule like this:
Final ruling
‘If a nun provides services for a householder, 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. Services for a householder: if she cooks congee, a meal, or fresh food for a householder, or she washes a wrap garment or a turban for them, she commits an offense entailing confession.
Non-offenses
There is no offense: if it is a congee drink; if it is a meal for the Sangha; if it is to venerate a shrine; if she cooks congee, a meal, or fresh food for her own service provider, or she washes a wrap garment or a turban for them; if she is insane; if she is the first offender.
The fourth training rule 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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