Bi Sk 11. Not wearing the sarong evenly all around
Pāli / Sanskrit:Parimaṇḍala
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Theravāda Collection on Monastic Law The Nuns’ Analysis
The chapter on training The subchapter on evenly all around 1. Not wearing the sarong evenly all around
Venerables, these rules of training come up for recitation.
Origin story
At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery, the nuns from the group of six wore their sarongs hanging down in front and behind. People complained and criticized them, “How can nuns wear their sarongs hanging down in front and behind? 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 can the nuns from the group of six wear their sarongs hanging down in front and behind?” … “Is it true, monks, that those nuns do this?”
“It’s true, sir.”
The Buddha rebuked them … “How can 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
‘“I will wear my sarong evenly all around,” this is how you should train.’”
One should wear one’s sarong evenly all around, covering the navel and the knees. If a nun, out of disrespect, wears her sarong hanging down in front or behind, she commits an offense of wrong conduct.
Non-offenses
There is no offense: if it is unintentional; if she is not mindful; if she does not know; if she is sick; if there is an emergency; if she is insane; if she is the first offender.
(Contracted.)
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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