Bu Pc 3030. Sitting alone with a nun
Pāli / Sanskrit:Rahonisajja
A monk who, seeking privacy, sits in private with a nun 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 30. Sitting alone with a nun
Origin story
At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery, Venerable Udāyī’s ex-wife became a nun. She often went to see Udāyī, and he often went to see her. And Udāyī would sit down in private alone with that nun.
The monks of few desires complained and criticized him, “How can Venerable Udāyī sit down in private alone with a nun?” … “Is it true, Udāyī, that you do this?”
“It’s true, sir.”
The Buddha rebuked him … “Foolish man, how can you do this? This will affect people’s confidence …” … “And, monks, this training rule should be recited like this:
Final ruling
‘If a monk sits down in private alone with a nun, 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.
A nun: she has been given the full ordination by both Sanghas. With: together. Alone: just the monk and the nun.
In private: private to the eye and private to the ear. Private to the eye: one is unable to see them winking, raising an eyebrow, or nodding. Private to the ear: one is unable to hear ordinary speech.
Sits: if the monk sits down or lies down next to the seated nun, he commits an offense entailing confession. If the nun sits down or lies down next to the seated monk, he commits an offense entailing confession. If both are seated or both are lying down, he commits an offense entailing confession.
Permutations
If it is private, and he perceives it as such, and he sits down alone with a nun, he commits an offense entailing confession. If it is private, but he is unsure of it, and he sits down alone with a nun, he commits an offense entailing confession. If it is private, but he does not perceive it as such, and he sits down alone with a nun, he commits an offense entailing confession.
If it is not private, but he perceives it as such, he commits an offense of wrong conduct. If it is not private, but he is unsure of it, he commits an offense of wrong conduct. If it is not private, and he does not perceive it as such, there is no offense.
Non-offenses
There is no offense: if he has a companion who understands; if he stands and does not sit down; if he is not seeking privacy; if he sits down preoccupied with something else; if he is insane; if he is the first offender.
The training rule on sitting alone with a nun, the tenth, is finished.
The third subchapter on the instruction is finished.
This is the summary:
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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