Nuns’ Formal Meeting (Saṅghādisesa) 5 (PLI-TV-BI-VB-SS5)

… at Sāvatthī in the Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time the nun Sundarīnanda was beautiful, good to look upon, charming. People, having seen the nun Sundarīnanda in the refectory, were filled with desire (and) gave the very best meals to the nun Sundarīnanda who was filled with desire. The nun Sundarīnanda ate as much as she pleased; other nuns did not obtain as much as expected. Those who were modest nuns … spread it about, saying: “How can the lady Sundarīnanda, filled with desire, having accepted with her own hand from the hand of a man who is filled with desire, solid food, soft food, eat it, partake of it?” …

“Is it true, as is said, monks, that the nun Sundarīnanda, filled with desire … ate it, partook of it?’

“It is true, lord.”

The enlightened one, the lord, rebuked them, saying: “How, monks, can the nun Sundarīnanda, filled with desire, having accepted with her own hand … solid food or soft food, eat it, partake of it? It is not, monks, for pleasing those who are not (yet) pleased … And thus, monks … this rule of training:

“Whatever nun, filled with desire, having accepted with her own hand from the hand of a man who is filled with desire, solid food or soft food, should eat it or partake of it, that nun also has fallen into a matter that is an offence at once, entailing a formal meeting of the Order involving being sent away.”

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

Filled with desire means: infatuated, full of desire, physically in love with.

Filled with desire means: infatuated, full of desire, physically in love with.

Man means: a human man, not a yakkha, not a departed one, not an animal; he is learned, competent to be infatuated.

Solid food means: having set aside the five (kinds of) meals (and) water for cleansing the teeth, the rest is called solid food.

Soft food means: the five kinds (of) meals: conjey, barley-meal, food made with flour, fish, meat.

If, thinking, “I will eat, I will partake of,” she accepts, there is a grave offence. For every mouthful there is an offence entailing a formal meeting of the Order.

She also means: she is so called in reference to the former.

Offence at once means: … therefore again it is called an offence entailing a formal meeting of the Order.

If she accepts water for cleansing the teeth, there is an offence of wrong-doing.

If one is filled with desire (and) she accepts, thinking, “I will eat, I will partake of,” there is an offence of wrong-doing. For every mouthful, there is a grave offence. If she accepts water for cleansing the teeth, there is an offence of wrong-doing.

If both are filled with desire (and) thinking, “I will eat, I will partake of,” she accepts from the hand of a yakkha or of a departed one or of a eunuch or of an animal in human form, there is an offence of wrong-doing. For every mouthful there is a grave offence. If she accepts water for cleansing the teeth, there is an offence of wrong-doing.

If one is filled with desire (and) she accepts, thinking, “I will eat, I will partake of,” there is an offence of wrong-doing. For every mouthful, there is an offence of wrong-doing. If she accepts water for cleansing the teeth, there is an offence of wrong-doing.

There is no offence if neither comes to be filled with desire; if she accepts, knowing, “He is not filled with desire”; if he is mad, if she is the first wrong-doer.

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

Digital edition prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato

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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

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