Bu Pc 2424. Accusing monks of teaching nuns for profit
Pāli / Sanskrit:Āmisa
A monk who says that other monks are teaching the nuns for the sake of worldly gain, intending to discredit them, must confess the offense.
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Theravāda Collection on Monastic Law The Great Analysis
The chapter on offenses entailing confession The subchapter on the instruction 24. Accusing monks of teaching nuns for profit
Origin story
At one time the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery. At that time the senior monks who were instructing the nuns received robe-cloth, almsfood, dwellings, and medicinal supplies. And the monks from the group of six said this about them, “The senior monks aren’t instructing the nuns as a service, but for the sake of worldly gain.”
The monks of few desires complained and criticized them, “How can the monks from the group of six say that the senior monks aren’t instructing the nuns to render a service, but for the sake of worldly gain?” … “Is it true, monks, that you say this?”
“It’s true, sir.”
The Buddha rebuked them … “Foolish men, how can you say this? This will affect people’s confidence …” … “And, monks, this training rule should be recited like this:
Final ruling
‘If a monk says that the senior monks are instructing the nuns for the sake of worldly gain, he commits an offense entailing confession.’”
Definitions
A: whoever … Monk: … The monk who has been given the full ordination by a unanimous Sangha through a legal procedure consisting of one motion and three announcements that is irreversible and fit to stand—this sort of monk is meant in this case.
For the sake of worldly gain: for the sake of robe-cloth, for the sake of almsfood, for the sake of a dwelling, for the sake of medicinal supplies, for the sake of honor, for the sake of respect, for the sake of deference, for the sake of veneration, for the sake of worship. Says: if, concerning one who is fully ordained and who has been appointed by the Sangha as an instructor of nuns—desiring to disparage him, desiring to give him a bad reputation, desiring to humiliate him—he says,
“He instructs for the sake of robe-cloth,” “… for the sake of almsfood,” “… for the sake of a dwelling,” “… for the sake of medicinal supplies,” “… for the sake of honor,” “… for the sake of respect,” “… for the sake of deference,” “… for the sake of veneration,” “… for the sake of worship,” he commits an offense entailing confession.
Permutations
If it is a legitimate legal procedure, and he perceives it as such, and he says such a thing, he commits an offense entailing confession. If it is a legitimate legal procedure, but he is unsure of it, and he says such a thing, he commits an offense entailing confession. If it is a legitimate legal procedure, but he perceives it as illegitimate, and he says such a thing, he commits an offense entailing confession.
When someone who is fully ordained is an instructor of nuns, but he has not been appointed by the Sangha as such, and a monk—desiring to disparage him, desiring to give him a bad reputation, desiring to humiliate him—says, “He instructs for the sake of robe-cloth,” “… for the sake of almsfood,” “… for the sake of a dwelling,” “… for the sake of medicines,” “… for the sake of honor,” “… for the sake of respect,” “… for the sake of deference,” “… for the sake of veneration,” “… for the sake of worship,” he commits an offense of wrong conduct.
When someone who is not fully ordained is an instructor of nuns, whether or not he has been appointed by the Sangha as such, and a monk—desiring to disparage him, desiring to give him a bad reputation, desiring to humiliate him—says, “He instructs for the sake of robe-cloth,” “… for the sake of almsfood,” “… for the sake of a dwelling,” “… for the sake of medicinal supplies,” “… for the sake of honor,” “… for the sake of respect,” “… for the sake of deference,” “… for the sake of veneration,” “… for the sake of worship,” he commits an offense of wrong conduct.
If it is an illegitimate legal procedure, but he perceives it as legitimate, he commits an offense of wrong conduct. If it is an illegitimate legal procedure, but he is unsure of it, he commits an offense of wrong conduct. If it is an illegitimate legal procedure, and he perceives it as such, he commits an offense of wrong conduct.
Non-offenses
There is no offense: if he says it to one who regularly gives the instruction for the sake of robe-cloth, … for the sake of almsfood, … for the sake of a dwelling, … for the sake of medicinal supplies, … for the sake of honor, … for the sake of respect, … for the sake of deference, … for the sake of veneration, … for the sake of worship; if he is insane; if he is the first offender.
The training rule on accusing monks of teaching nuns for profit, the fourth, 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.
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