Bi Pc 88. Disposing of waste over a wall
Pāli / Sanskrit:Tirokuṭṭuccārachaḍḍana
A nun who disposes of feces, urine, or rubbish over a wall 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 8. Disposing of waste over a wall
Origin story
At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery, a brahmin who had earned money by working for the king thought, “I’ll ask for my wages.” After washing his hair, he walked past the nunnery on his way to the king’s residence. Just then, after defecating in a pot, a nun disposed of the feces over a wall, and it landed on the head of that brahmin. He complained and criticized the nuns, “They’re not monastics, these shaven-headed sluts! How can they dump shit on my head? I’m gonna burn down the nunnery!” And he got hold of a firebrand and entered the nunnery. Just then a lay follower who was coming out from the nunnery saw that brahmin with a firebrand on his way in, and he said to him, “Sir, why are you entering the nunnery with a firebrand?”
“These shaven-headed sluts dumped shit on my head. I’m gonna burn down the nunnery!”
“But this is auspicious, brahmin! You’ll get your wages and a thousand coins in addition.”
That brahmin then washed his hair, went to the king’s residence, and he got his wages and a thousand coins in addition.
But that lay follower returned to the nunnery, told them what had happened, and then scolded them. The nuns of few desires complained and criticized them, “How can nuns dispose of feces over a wall?” … “Is it true, monks, that nuns do this?”
“It’s true, sir.”
The Buddha rebuked them, “How can nuns dispose of feces over a wall? This will affect people’s confidence …” … “And, monks, the nuns should recite this training rule like this:
Final ruling
‘If a nun disposes of feces or urine or trash or food scraps over a wall or over an encircling wall, or she has it disposed of in this way, 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.
Feces: excrement is what is meant. Urine: pee is what is meant. Trash: refuse is what is meant.
Food scraps: food remnants or bones or wastewater. A wall: there are three kinds of walls: walls made of bricks, walls made of stone, walls made of wood. An encircling wall: there are three kinds of encircling walls: encircling walls made of bricks, encircling walls made of stone, encircling walls made of wood.
Over a wall: to the other side of the wall. Over an encircling wall: to the other side of the encircling wall. Disposes of: if she disposes of it herself, she commits an offense entailing confession.
Has it disposed of: in asking another, she commits an offense of wrong conduct. If she only asks once, then even if the other disposes of such things many times, she commits one offense entailing confession.
Non-offenses
There is no offense: if she disposes of it after having looked; if she disposes of it at a place where no-one passes by; if she is insane; if she is the first offender.
The eighth 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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