Bi Pc 66. Attending on a monk
Pāli / Sanskrit:Upatiṭṭhana
A nun who attends on a monk while he is eating 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 6. Attending on a monk
Origin story
At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery, a government official called Ārohanta became a monk and his ex-wife a nun. On one occasion that monk was having his meal in the presence of that nun. While he was eating, she attended on him with drinking water and a fan, and she flirted with him. But he dismissed her, saying, “Don’t do that; it’s not allowable.”
“Before you did such and such to me, but now you can’t even take this much.” And she dropped the water vessel on his head and struck him with the fan.
The nuns of few desires complained and criticized her, “How could a nun hit a monk?” … “Is it true, monks, that a nun did this?”
“It’s true, sir.”
The Buddha rebuked her, “How could a nun hit a monk? This will affect people’s confidence …” … “And, monks, the nuns should recite this training rule like this:
Final ruling
‘If, when a monk is eating, a nun attends on him with drinking water or a fan, 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. A monk: fully ordained. Is eating: is eating any of the five cooked foods. Drinking water: any kind of drink. A fan: any kind of fan. Attends on: if she stands within arm’s reach, she commits an offense entailing confession.
Permutations
If he is fully ordained, and she perceives him as such, and she attends on him with drinking water or a fan, she commits an offense entailing confession. If he is fully ordained, but she is unsure of it, and she attends on him with drinking water or a fan, she commits an offense entailing confession. If he is fully ordained, but she does not perceive him as such, and she attends on him with drinking water or a fan, she commits an offense entailing confession.
If she attends on him from beyond arm’s reach, she commits an offense of wrong conduct. If she attends on him when he is eating fresh food, she commits an offense of wrong conduct. If she attends on one who is not fully ordained, she commits an offense of wrong conduct.
If he is not fully ordained, but she perceives him as such, she commits an offense of wrong conduct. If he is not fully ordained, but she is unsure of it, she commits an offense of wrong conduct. If he is not fully ordained, and she does not perceive him as such, she commits an offense of wrong conduct.
Non-offenses
There is no offense: if she gives something; if she has someone else give something; if she asks someone who is not fully ordained to do it; if she is insane; if she is the first offender.
The sixth 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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