Bu Pc 6767. Traveling with a woman
Pāli / Sanskrit:Saṁvidhāna
A monk who travels by arrangement with a woman must confess the offense.
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Commentary on Bu Pc 67: Traveling Together with a Woman
Background
The Vinaya Piṭaka is the collection of training rules established by the Buddha Śākyamuni to maintain discipline within the community of monastics. Precepts (Pācittiya) such as Bu Pc 67 were formulated gradually, each time a monk committed a transgression and the Buddha gave instruction, after which the rule was established as a minimum standard for the entire Sangha to follow.
Saṁvidhāna means "arrangement" or "prior agreement," referring to a monk's intentional arranging or agreeing with a woman to travel or journey together. This rule falls within the category of Pācittiya (Pācittiya), offenses requiring confession before the Sangha or before another monk. The historical context shows that the Buddha was concerned with matters that could arouse suspicion and cause the community to lose faith in the Sangha, even when the action itself was not a direct offense.
Main Content
According to Bu Pc 67, if a monk (bhikkhu) intentionally agrees or makes prior arrangements to travel together with a woman from one place to another, that monk commits a Pācittiya offense and must confess it. This does not require the action to have been actually carried out—the mere intention and prior arrangement are sufficient to constitute a violation.
The reason the Buddha established this rule was to protect two important things: first, to protect the virtue and moral conduct of the monk himself; second, to protect the reputation of and confidence in the Sangha. In ancient Indian society, the sight of a monk traveling alone with a woman would arouse suspicion and give rise to gossip, even if no wrongdoing whatsoever had taken place. The Buddha particularly emphasized the spirit of "prevention is better than remedy"—avoiding situations that are liable to cause misunderstanding.
The form of confession (paṭidesanā) set forth is as follows: the monk must personally acknowledge the offense before at least one other monk or before the Sangha.
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