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1. The training rule on taking legal action

Ussayavādikā

A nun who uses litigation inappropriately is to be suspended.

Translated by Bhikkhu Brahmali · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Theravāda VinayaTheravāda Collection on Monastic Law
  • 0.2BhikkhunivibhaṅgaThe Nuns’ Analysis
  • 0.3SaṅghādisesakaṇḍaThe chapter on offenses entailing suspension

0.41. UssayavādikāsikkhāpadaThe training rule on taking legal action

0.5Ime kho panāyyāyo sattarasa saṅghādisesā dhammā uddesaṁ āgacchanti.Venerables, these seventeen rules on suspension come up for recitation.

1.0Origin story

1.1PTS 4.223Tena samayena buddho bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.At one time the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery.1.2Tena kho pana samayena aññataro upāsako bhikkhunisaṅghassa udositaṁ datvā kālaṅkato hoti.At that time a lay follower who had given a storehouse to the Sangha of nuns had died.1.3Tassa dve puttā honti—He had two sons,1.4eko assaddho appasanno, eko saddho pasanno.one with and one without faith and confidence,1.5Te pettikaṁ sāpateyyaṁ vibhajiṁsu.and they divided their father’s property between them.1.6Atha kho so assaddho appasanno taṁ saddhaṁ pasannaṁ etadavoca—Then the one without faith said to the other,1.7“amhākaṁ udosito, taṁ bhājemā”ti.“The storehouse is ours; let’s allocate it to one of us.”1.8Evaṁ vutte, so saddho pasanno taṁ assaddhaṁ appasannaṁ etadavoca—But the one with faith responded,1.9“māyyo, evaṁ avaca.“No,1.10Amhākaṁ pitunā bhikkhunisaṅghassa dinno”ti.our father gave it to the Sangha of nuns.”

1.11Dutiyampi kho so assaddho appasanno taṁ saddhaṁ pasannaṁ etadavoca—A second time they both said the same thing,1.12“amhākaṁ udosito, taṁ bhājemā”ti.1.13Atha kho so saddho pasanno taṁ assaddhaṁ appasannaṁ etadavoca—1.14“māyyo, evaṁ avaca.1.15Amhākaṁ pitunā bhikkhunisaṅghassa dinno”ti.1.16Tatiyampi kho so assaddho appasanno taṁ saddhaṁ pasannaṁ etadavoca—and a third time the one without faith repeated his proposal.1.17“amhākaṁ udosito, taṁ bhājemā”ti.1.18Atha kho so saddho pasanno—The one with faith then thought,1.19“sace mayhaṁ bhavissati, ahampi bhikkhunisaṅghassa dassāmī”ti—“If I get it, I too would give it to the Sangha of nuns,”1.20taṁ assaddhaṁ appasannaṁ etadavoca—and he said,1.21“bhājemā”ti.“Alright, let’s allocate it.”

1.22Atha kho so udosito tehi bhājīyamāno tassa assaddhassa appasannassa pāpuṇāti.But when they allocated it, it fell to the one without faith.1.23Atha kho so assaddho appasanno bhikkhuniyo upasaṅkamitvā etadavoca—He then went to the nuns and said,1.24“nikkhamathāyye, amhākaṁ udosito”ti.“Please leave, venerables, this storehouse is mine.”

1.25Evaṁ vutte thullanandā bhikkhunī taṁ purisaṁ etadavoca—The nun Thullanandā said to him,1.26“māyyo, evaṁ avaca, tumhākaṁ pitunā bhikkhunisaṅghassa dinno”ti.“No, your father gave it to the Sangha of nuns.”

1.27“Dinno na dinno”ti vohārike mahāmatte pucchiṁsu.Because they were unable to agree, they asked judges to decide on the matter.1.28Mahāmattā evamāhaṁsu—They said,1.29“ko, ayye, jānāti bhikkhunisaṅghassa dinno”ti?“Venerable, who knows that it was given to the Sangha of nuns?”1.30PTS 4.224Evaṁ vutte, thullanandā bhikkhunī te mahāmatte etadavoca—Thullanandā replied,1.31“api nāyyā tumhehi diṭṭhaṁ vā sutaṁ vā sakkhiṁ ṭhapayitvā dānaṁ diyyamānan”ti?“But sirs, didn’t you appoint a witness who saw or heard the giving of the gift?”1.32Atha kho te mahāmattā—Saying,1.33“saccaṁ kho ayyā āhā”ti taṁ udositaṁ bhikkhunisaṅghassa akaṁsu.“It’s true what the venerable says,” the judges made the storehouse the property of the Sangha of nuns.

1.34Atha kho so puriso parājito ujjhāyati khiyyati vipāceti—The defeated man complained and criticized the nuns,1.35“assamaṇiyo imā muṇḍā bandhakiniyo.“They’re not monastics, these shaven-headed sluts.1.36Kathañhi nāma amhākaṁ udositaṁ acchindāpessantī”ti.How could they take my storehouse?”1.37Thullanandā bhikkhunī mahāmattānaṁ etamatthaṁ ārocesi.Thullanandā told the judges of this1.38Mahāmattā taṁ purisaṁ daṇḍāpesuṁ.and they punished him.1.39Atha kho so puriso daṇḍito bhikkhunupassayassa avidūre ājīvakaseyyaṁ kārāpetvā ājīvake uyyojesi—That man then made a dwelling place for Ājīvaka ascetics near the nunnery,1.40“etā bhikkhuniyo accāvadathā”ti.inciting them to drown out the nuns.

1.41Thullanandā bhikkhunī mahāmattānaṁ etamatthaṁ ārocesi.Once again Thullanandā told the judges1.42Mahāmattā taṁ purisaṁ bandhāpesuṁ.and the judges jailed him.1.43Manussā ujjhāyanti khiyyanti vipācenti—People then complained and criticized those nuns,1.44“paṭhamaṁ bhikkhuniyo udositaṁ acchindāpesuṁ, dutiyaṁ daṇḍāpesuṁ, tatiyaṁ bandhāpesuṁ.“First the nuns take his storehouse, then they have him punished, and then they have him jailed.1.45Idāni ghātāpessantī”ti.Next they’ll have him executed!”

1.46Assosuṁ kho bhikkhuniyo tesaṁ manussānaṁ ujjhāyantānaṁ khiyyantānaṁ vipācentānaṁ.Nuns heard the complaints of those people,1.47Yā tā bhikkhuniyo appicchā …pe… tā ujjhāyanti khiyyanti vipācenti—and the nuns of few desires complained and criticized her,1.48“kathañhi nāma ayyā thullanandā ussayavādikā viharissatī”ti.“How could Venerable Thullanandā take legal action?”

1.49Atha kho tā bhikkhuniyo bhikkhūnaṁ etamatthaṁ ārocesuṁ …pe…Then those nuns told the monks …1.50“saccaṁ kira, bhikkhave, thullanandā bhikkhunī ussayavādikā viharatī”ti.“Is it true, monks, that the nun Thullanandā is taking legal action?”

1.51“Saccaṁ, bhagavā”ti.“It’s true, sir.”

1.52Vigarahi buddho bhagavā …pe…The Buddha rebuked her …1.53kathañhi nāma, bhikkhave, thullanandā bhikkhunī ussayavādikā viharissati.“How could the nun Thullanandā take legal action?1.54Netaṁ, bhikkhave, appasannānaṁ vā pasādāya …pe…This will affect people’s confidence …” …1.55evañca pana, bhikkhave, bhikkhuniyo imaṁ sikkhāpadaṁ uddisantu—“And, monks, the nuns should recite this training rule like this:

1.56.0Final ruling

1.56.1“Yā pana bhikkhunī ussayavādikā vihareyya gahapatinā vā gahapatiputtena vā dāsena vā kammakārena vā antamaso samaṇaparibbājakenāpi, ayaṁ bhikkhunī paṭhamāpattikaṁ dhammaṁ āpannā nissāraṇīyaṁ saṅghādisesan”ti.‘If a nun takes legal action against a householder or a householder’s offspring or a slave or a worker or even toward a monastic or a wanderer, then that nun has committed an immediate offense entailing sending away and suspension.’”

2.1.0Definitions

2.1.1Yā panātiA:
2.1.2yā yādisā …pe…whoever …
2.1.3bhikkhunītiNun:
2.1.4…pe… ayaṁ imasmiṁ atthe adhippetā bhikkhunīti.… The nun who has been given the full ordination in unanimity by both Sanghas through a legal procedure consisting of one motion and three announcements that is irreversible and fit to stand—this sort of nun is meant in this case.
2.1.5Ussayavādikā nāmaTakes legal action:
2.1.6aḍḍakārikā vuccati.what is meant is that she is the initiator of a lawsuit.
2.1.7Gahapati nāmaA householder:
2.1.8yo koci agāraṁ ajjhāvasati.anyone who lives at home.1
2.1.9Gahapatiputto nāmaA householder’s offspring:
2.1.10ye keci puttabhātaro.whoever is an offspring or a sibling.2
2.1.11Dāso nāmaA slave:
2.1.12antojāto dhanakkīto karamarānīto.one born in the household, one who has been bought, one who has been brought back as a captive.
2.1.13Kammakāro nāmaA worker:
2.1.14bhaṭako āhatako.a paid worker, a servant.
2.1.15Samaṇaparibbājako nāmaA monastic or a wanderer:
2.1.16bhikkhuñca bhikkhuniñca sikkhamānañca sāmaṇerañca sāmaṇeriñca ṭhapetvā yo koci paribbājakasamāpanno.anyone who is a wanderer apart from Buddhist monks, nuns, trainee nuns, novice monks, and novice nuns.2.1.17PTS 4.225Aḍḍaṁ karissāmīti dutiyaṁ vā pariyesati gacchati vā, āpatti dukkaṭassa.If, thinking, “I’ll initiate a lawsuit,” she looks for a companion or just goes there herself, she commits an offense of wrong conduct.2.1.18Ekassa āroceti, āpatti dukkaṭassa.If she tells one other person, she commits an offense of wrong conduct.2.1.19Dutiyassa āroceti, āpatti thullaccayassa.If she tells a second person, she commits a serious offense.2.1.20Aḍḍapariyosāne āpatti saṅghādisesassa.At the end of the lawsuit, she commits an offense entailing suspension.
2.1.21PaṭhamāpattikantiAn immediate offense:
2.1.22saha vatthujjhācārā āpajjati asamanubhāsanāya.there is an offense as soon as the misconduct is committed, and no pressing is required.
2.1.23NissāraṇīyantiEntailing sending away:
2.1.24saṅghamhā nissārīyati.she is sent away from the Sangha.
2.1.25SaṅghādisesantiSuspension:
2.1.26saṅghova tassā āpattiyā mānattaṁ deti mūlāya paṭikassati abbheti, na sambahulā na ekā bhikkhunī. Tena vuccati “saṅghādiseso”ti.only the Sangha gives the trial period for that offense, sends back to the beginning, and rehabilitates—not several nuns, not an individual nun. Therefore it is called an offense entailing suspension.32.1.27Tasseva āpattinikāyassa nāmakammaṁ adhivacanaṁ. Tenapi vuccati “saṅghādiseso”ti.This is the name and designation of this class of offense. Therefore, too, it is called an offense entailing suspension.

2.2.0Non-offenses

2.2.1Anāpatti—There is no offense:2.2.2manussehi ākaḍḍhīyamānā gacchati,if she goes there because people pull her; 2.2.3ārakkhaṁ yācati,if she is asking for protection; 2.2.4anodissa ācikkhati,if she tells without specifying a person; 2.2.5ummattikāya …pe…if she is insane;2.2.6if she is deranged; 2.2.7if she is overwhelmed by pain;2.2.8ādikammikāyāti.if she is the first offender.

2.2.9Paṭhamasaṅghādisesasikkhāpadaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ.The first offense entailing suspension is finished.

Translator’s notes

  1. Agāraṁ is typically rendered as “in a house”. The problem with this is that it is not unallowable for a monastic to live in a building that is the equivalent of a house. What a monastic should not do is own a home and then live there.

    ↩ pli-tv-bi-vb-ss1:2.1.8

  2. “Offspring” renders putta/ā, whereas “sibling” renders bhātaro. In Pali the male gender takes precedence if a group contains people of both sexes. For instance, the plural puttā, “sons”, may mean “children” or “offsping”, depending on the context. In the same way, the plural bhātāro, “brothers”, can mean “siblings”. This way of understanding male-gender nouns is confirmed in the introduction to the Pali lexical work the Abhidhānappadīpikāṭīkā: Ettha hi mātā ca pitā ca pitaro, putto ca dhītā ca puttā, sassu ca sasuro ca sasurā, bhātā ca bhaginī ca bhātaroti bhinnaliṅgānampi ekaseso dassitoti, “‘Mother and father are fathers; son and daughter are sons; mother-in-law and father-in-law are fathers-in-law; brother and sister are brothers;’ in this case the split gender is shown with only one gender remaining.” The Abhidhānappadīpikāṭīkā is available online at tipitaka.org.

    ↩ pli-tv-bi-vb-ss1:2.1.10

  3. For a discussion of the rendering “several” for sambahula, see Appendix of Technical Terms.

    ↩ pli-tv-bi-vb-ss1:2.1.26