Gotamī, those principles of which you know: ‘These principles lead to dispassion, not passion; to being unfettered, not fettered; to getting rid of, not heaping up; to few wishes, not many wishes; to contentment, not discontentment; to seclusion, not socializing; to arousal of energy, not laziness; to being easy to support, not hard to support.’ You may definitely hold: ‘This is Dhamma, This is Vinaya, This is the Teaching of the Buddha.’ ​—​The Buddha, Aṅguttara Nikāya 8.53, Pali Vinaya 2.258–9. Also by Bhikkhu Sujato through Santipada A History of Mindfulness How tranquillity worsted insight in the Pali canon Beginnings There comes a time when the world ends… Sects & Sectarianism The origins of Buddhist schools A Swift Pair of Messengers Calm and insight in the Buddha’s words Dreams of Bhaddā Sex. Murder. Betrayal. Enlightenment. The story of a Buddhist nun. White Bones Red Rot Black Snakes A Buddhist mythology of the feminine SANTIPADA is a non-profit Buddhist publisher. These and many other works are available in a variety of paper and digital formats. http://santipada.org Bhikkhuni Vinaya Studies Research & reflections on monastic discipline for Buddhist nuns BHIKKHU SUJATO SANTIPADA SANTIPADA Buddhism as if life matters Published in 2012 by Santipada. Printed and distributed by Lulu.com. Copyright © Bhikkhu Sujato 2007, 2012. Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.5 Australia You are free to Share​—​to copy, distribute and transmit the work under the following conditions: Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). No Derivative Works. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. With the understanding that: Waiver​—​Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Other Rights​—​In no way are any of the following rights affected by the license: o Your fair dealing or fair use rights; o The author’s moral rights; o Rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights. Notice​—​For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. ISBN 978–1–921842–14–6 Typeset in Gentium using LuATEX. Cover drawing by Darryl Gradwell. Contents Introduction 1 0.1 The Nature of Vinaya 2 0.2 Vinaya in Context 8 0.3 Bhikkhunis in History 10 0.4 The Vinaya Texts 14 0.5 Schools 17 1 A Question of Interpretation 22 1.1 What can we expect from Vinaya? 22 1.2 The Scope of Vinaya 25 1.3 The Layers of Text 27 1.4 What is a Tradition? 37 2 Principles to be Respected 46 2.1 Garudhamma 1 47 2.2 Garudhamma 2 58 2.3 Garudhamma 3 59 2.4 Garudhamma 4 62 2.5 Garudhamma 5 63 2.6 Garudhamma 6 65 2.7 Garudhamma 7 66 2.8 Garudhamma 8 67 2.9 The Garudhammas​—​an Assessment 71 3 Towns, Rivers, Journeys 75 3.1 Some Preliminaries 75 3.1.1 What does ‘alone’ mean? 77 3.2 The Rule 79 3.3 Sectarian Group Similarities 83 3.4 Traveling 85 3.4.1 Interpretation 89 3.5 Crossing a river 95 3.5.1 Interpretation 97 3.6 Spending the night 98 3.6.1 Interpretation 101 3.7 Lagging behind a group 104 3.7.1 Interpretation 105 3.8 Going out in the Day 106 3.9 Conclusion 107 4 Bhikkhuni Pārājika 1 112 4.1 Can a Bhikkhuni Ordain Again? 118 4.2 Nuns and Rape 129 4.2.1 Mahāvihāravāsin 130 4.2.2 Dharmaguptaka 131 4.2.3 Mūlasarvāstivāda 131 4.2.4 Who is to blame? 131 5 Ordination of Nuns by Monks 133 5.1 Vinaya and variability 137 6 Vuṭṭhāpana & Upasampadā 141 6.1 Vuṭṭhāpana, Pavattinī, Sahajīvinī 143 6.2 Basic Dharma Bhikkhuni 155 6.3 Conclusion 158 7 Who Trains for Two Years? 160 7.1 The ‘Six Rules’ 163 7.2 The Sikkhamānā Training Framework 168 7.3 Gihigatā & Kumārībhūtā 171 7.4 The Pali Context 176 7.5 Sikkhamānā in the Ordination Questions 183 7.6 Sikkhamānā in the Ordination Procedure 186 7.7 Conclusion 188 8 A Bhikkhuni Miscellany 190 8.1 Communion 190 8.2 Living in the Forest 193 8.3 Going to court 195 8.3.1 What does ‘ussaya’ mean? 196 8.3.2 Mahāvihāravāsin 197 8.3.3 Mahāsaṅghika/Lokuttaravāda 201 8.3.4 Dharmaguptaka 202 8.3.5 Conclusion 204 8.4 Delayed consent 205 9 Conclusion 211 9.1 Abhidhamma, Abhivinaya 211 9.2 The Peculiarity of the Pali 216 9.3 And Finally… 219 Abbreviations 222 Bibliography 223 ‘Disputes about livelihood or the pāṭimokkha would be trivial, Ānanda. But should a dispute arise in the Sangha about the path or the way, such a dispute would be for the harm and unhappiness of many, for the loss, harm, and suffering of gods and humans.’ ​—​The Buddha, Sāmagāma Sutta (Majjhima Nikāya 104.5) INTRODUCTION In the past few decades a quiet change has been taking root in the traditional forms of Buddhist monasticism. Women, for a long time ex- cluded or marginalized, have been moving towards the center. Whether in international conferences, bookstores, or retreat centers female monas- tic teachers are present, and are among the most popular and effective presenters of Buddhism in the international forum.This prominence is unprecedented, for in the annals of Buddhist history, female teachers are rare to the point of vanishing. And yet, while the female presence has be- come the norm in the public face of Buddhism, women still lack acceptance within the central monastic institutions, especially in the Theravādin and Tibetan traditions. It can hardly be a coincidence that those regions where women have the least acceptance and opportunity are also those that deny women the full ordination into the state of a bhikkhuni. 2 In the earliest form of Buddhism, as laid down by the Buddha himself, women who wished to commit themselves fully to their spiritual practice were granted the opportunity to practice as bhikkhunis, fully ordained nuns. As bhikkhunis, they had their own organized women’s communities which were supported by the Buddhist faithful so that the women could strive to realize the highest Awakening. A small but extraordinary litera- ture of these awakened nuns still survives today.1 Seeing such examples of realized practitioners awakens an inspiration and a faith that this is possible. 3 Supporting the balanced and stable growth of the bhikkhuni order re- quires efforts on many levels: building monasteries, encouraging women 1 Principally the Therīgāthā of the Pali Canon. 2 Bhikkhuni Vinaya Studies with a renunciate inclination, taking part in Sangha dialogue, and educa- tion. Such work has been ongoing through the Buddhist world in the last few decades. 4 One area where some special work is necessary is in textual study. The bhikkhuni movement is by its very nature cross-sectarian, as the mod- ern Theravādin nuns seek their bhikkhuni ordination lineage from the East Asian bhikkhunis, who themselves originally received the ordina- tion lineage from Sri Lanka.This means that questions of comparative textual study, especially in the area of Vinaya, become imperative. My own researches into Buddhist meditation texts had already shown me the importance of comparative study, so it was natural for me to bring this perspective to bear in the case of Bhikkhuni Vinaya. 5 Over the years I have accumulated a number of essays in response to specific questions discussed among the international community of monas- tics and scholars who have been engaging in these matters.In certain cases I found that it was possible to clear up perceived difficulties without too much trouble.In other cases, the more I looked, the more problematic the texts became. So this work is concerned with problem-solving: looking at difficult or controversial areas, highlighting the most accurate textual data, and looking at different possibilities for interpretation. It is not meant to be a guide to monastic conduct, and does not attempt to be complete or systematic. Along the way I offer a little advice for those seeking practical guidance. Usually, despite the forbidding textual complexities, the ethical issues are really quite simple. 6 One important point. Decisions on how to interpret and practice monas- tic discipline for Buddhist nuns must be made by the nuns themselves. Monks have no right under Vinaya to enforce any interpretation or prac- tice on the nuns. Our role must be to support and encourage, to educate when needed, to offer advice when it is wanted, and to remain silent when it is not. 0.1 The Nature of Vinaya 7 What kind of thing is the Vinaya? Etymologically the word stems from the prefix vi- (= English dis-, de-), here having a separative implication; and Introduction 3 the stem naya, lead. This yields the meaning ‘leading away’. In this sense it is frequently used in a simple ethical context: rāgavinayo, dosavinayo, mohavinayo; the ‘leading away of greed, hatred, and delusion’. 8 More specifically, however, vinaya is used in the sense of ethics, where it carries the suggestion of that which ‘leads away’ from bad behavior. This may be applied in the context of lay ethics, such as the famous gihivinaya of the Sīgāla Sutta;2 but normally it is a shorthand term used for Buddhist monastic discipline. Generally, all matters pertaining to monastic deport- ment and behavior may be considered as vinaya.