Bu Pc 44. Instructing a lay person to memorize the Teaching
Pāli / Sanskrit:Padasodhamma
A monk who teaches an unordained person to learn the word of the Buddha by heart must confess the offense.
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Commentary on Bu Pc 4: Instructing a Lay Person to Memorize the Teaching Word by Word
Background
Bu Pc 4 (Bhikkhunī Pāṭimokkha, rule 4) belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, which specifically addresses the rules of practice for female monastics (Bhikkhunī). The Pāṭimokkha is the collection of the most sacred rules of conduct within the Vinaya Piṭaka, compiled by the Blessed One to protect the purity of the Saṅgha. These rules are not merely prohibitions; they embody the spirit of practice: discipline is the foundation of virtue, and teaching is the proper transmission of the Dharma.
Bu Pc 4 arose within the context of the Buddha and his disciples establishing a clearly structured monastic community (Saṅgha). In this process, the matter of education and transmission of the Buddhadharma became essential. However, in order that the Saṅgha might maintain its purity and remain focused on practice, the rules of training were established gradually, based on specific incidents as they occurred.
Main Content
Bu Pc 4 stipulates that if a bhikkhunī teaches a lay person (one who has not gone forth into the homeless life, anaparibbajjā) to learn the words of the Blessed One by committing them to memory word by word (padasodhamma), she incurs an offense requiring confession (pācittiya). This offense is not among the gravest in the Vinaya Piṭaka, but it nonetheless requires confession and acknowledgment before the Saṅgha.
This rule carries a profound implication: the teaching of scriptural texts is not a simple matter of transmitting knowledge. It is an act that must be performed under proper conditions. The teacher must be a fully ordained monastic (bhikkhu or bhikkhunī), and those who receive the teaching ought to be persons of a certain capacity and commitment. If a bhikkhunī were to teach scriptural texts to lay persons of her own accord, without authorization or in disregard of the Saṅgha's regulations, this could give rise to concerns regarding the integrity of the Buddhadharma or the purposes of practice.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
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.