Nuns’ Expiation (Pācittiya) 96 (PLI-TV-BI-VB-PC96)

… at Sāvatthī in the Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time a certain nun entered a village for almsfood without her vest. While she was on the high road gusts of wind blew up her outer cloak. People shouted out: “Beautiful is the waist of the lady.” That nun, being made fun of by the people, became ashamed. Then that nun, having gone to a dwelling, told this matter to the nuns. Those who were modest nuns … spread it about, saying: “How can this nun enter a village without her vest?” …

“Is it true, as is said, monks, that this nun … without her vest?”

“It is true, lord.”

The enlightened one, the lord, rebuked them, saying:

“How, monks, can a nun enter a village without her vest? It is not, monks, for pleasing those who are not (yet) pleased … this rule of training:

“Whatever nun should enter a village without her vest, there is an offence of expiation.”

Whatever means: … nun is to be understood in this case.

Without a vest means: without a vest.

Vest means: from below the collar-bone to above the navel, for the sake of covering this.

Should enter a village means: in going beyond the enclosure of a village that is fenced in, there is an offence of expiation. In entering the precincts of a village that is not fenced in, there is an offence of expiation.

There is no offence if she is one whose robe is stolen; if she is one whose robe is lost; if she is ill; if she is not thinking; if she does not know; if there are accidents; if she is mad, if she is the first wrong-doer.

The Ninth Division: that on a sunshade

Recited, ladies, are the hundred and sixty-six rules for offences of expiation. Concerning them, I ask the ladies: I hope that you are quite pure in this matter? And a second time I ask: I hope that you are quite pure in this matter? And a third time I ask: I hope that you are quite pure in this matter? The ladies are quite pure in this matter, therefore they are silent; thus do I understand this.

Told is the Minor (Class)

The Book of the Discipline was translated by I.B. Horner.

Digital edition prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato

A complete digital edition can be downloaded here.

Published in 2014 by SuttaCentral.

Originally published by the Pali Text Society in the following years:

Vol. 1: 1938

Vol. 2: 1940

Vol. 3: 1942

Vol. 4: 1951

Vol. 5: 1950

Vol. 6: 1966

In May 2013, these volumes were kindly released by the Pali Text Society under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 licence (CC BY-NC 3.0). The current digital edition, including all revisions, corrections, additions, and modifications, is released under the same terms, which are as follows.

You are free to:

Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.

Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material.

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.