Bu Np 1717. Getting a nun to wash wool
Pāli / Sanskrit:Eḷakalomadhovāpana
A monk who makes a nun wash, dye, or comb unspun wool must relinquish it and confess the offense.
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Eḷakalomadhovāpana — The Washing of Wool by a Bhikkhunī
Background
The Eḷakalomadhovāpana is found within the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha of the Vinaya Piṭaka, reflecting an early period of the Dharma when the community of bhikkhunīs had just been formally established by the Buddha. This text concerns the improper use of the labor of female monastics by bhikkhus.
In the context of ancient India, unprocessed wool (eḷakalom) was a valuable material. Washing, dyeing, and carding wool required concentrated labor and was a traditional form of manual work. When bhikkhus requested bhikkhunīs to perform such tasks on their behalf, there was a risk of turning female monastics into unwilling laborers, violating the spirit of the monastic life — namely, voluntariness, and the absence of compulsion or exploitation.
The Buddha recognized this and established it as a rule within the Pātimokkha, with the aim of protecting equality and mutual respect between the two monastic communities.
Main Content
The Bhikkhu Pātimokkha stipulates that if a bhikkhu causes or requests a bhikkhunī to wash, dye, or card unprocessed wool for his own benefit, that bhikkhu commits an offense of Nissaggiya Pācittiya — an offense requiring the forfeiture of the article in question and confession before the community.
Specifically, if a bhikkhu has requested (or directed) a bhikkhunī to perform such processing of wool, he must: first, completely forfeit that wool; and second, confess this offense before his fellow members of the community — a process referred to as pabbājanīya or paṭidesanā. The confession is not merely verbal; it is a public acknowledgment of wrongdoing and a commitment not to repeat it.
This prohibition is not limited simply to the wool itself. It reflects a broader principle: bhikkhus should not request bhikkhunīs to perform manual work or personal labor on their behalf.
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