Bi Pc 9494. Sitting in front without permission
Pāli / Sanskrit:Anāpucchā
A nun who sits down in front of a monk without asking permission must confess the offense.
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Theravāda Collection on Monastic Law The Nuns’ Analysis
The chapter on offenses entailing confession The subchapter on sunshades and sandals 94. Sitting in front without permission
Origin story
At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery, nuns sat down on seats in front of a monk without asking permission. The monks complained and criticized them, “How can nuns sit down on seats in front of a monk without asking permission?” … “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 sits down on a seat in front of a monk without asking permission, 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. In front of a monk: in front of one who is fully ordained. Without asking permission: without getting permission. Sits down on a seat: even if she sits down on the ground, she commits an offense entailing confession.
Permutations
If she has not asked permission, and she does not perceive that she has, and she sits down on a seat, she commits an offense entailing confession. If she has not asked permission, but she is unsure of it, and she sits down on a seat, she commits an offense entailing confession. If she has not asked permission, but she perceives that she has, and she sits down on a seat, she commits an offense entailing confession.
If she has asked permission, but she does not perceive that she has, she commits an offense of wrong conduct. If she has asked permission, but she is unsure of it, she commits an offense of wrong conduct. If she has asked permission, and she perceives that she has, there is no offense.
Non-offenses
There is no offense: if she sits down on the seat after asking permission; if she is sick; if there is an emergency; if she is insane; if she is the first offender.
The eleventh 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.
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.