  
  
  
  
                              CHAPTER NINE
                                           
                              Patidesaniya
                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
   This term means "to be acknowledged."  As a name for training rules, 
   it means "entailing acknowledgement."  The four training rules here 
   are unique in that they mention, as part of the rule, the words to 
   be used in acknowledging the violation; the second rule is 
   especially unique in that it depicts the violators as acknowledging 
   their offense as a group.
  
  
  
       1. Should any bhikkhu chew or consume staple or non-staple 
       food, having received it himself from the hand of an 
       unrelated bhikkhuni in an inhabited area, he is to 
       acknowledge it:  "Friends, I have committed a blameworthy, 
       unsuitable act that ought to be acknowledged.  I acknowledge 
       it."
  
     A long series of events led up to the formulation of this rule.
  
       "Now at that time a certain woman whose husband was away 
       from home was made pregnant by her lover.  She, having 
       caused an abortion, said to a bhikkhuni who was dependent on 
       her family for alms, 'Come, lady, take this fetus away in 
       your bowl.'  So the bhikkhuni, having placed the fetus in 
       her bowl and covering it up with her outer robe, went away.  
       Now it so happened that a certain alms-going bhikkhu had 
       made this vow:  'I won't eat from the first almsfood I 
       receive without having given some of it to a bhikkhu or 
       bhikkhuni.'  Seeing the bhikkhuni, he said to her, 'Come, 
       sister, accept alms.'
       
       "'No, master.' -- "A second time...A third time... -- "'No, 
       master.'
       
       "'Look, sister, I have made this vow:  "I won't eat from the 
       first almsfood I receive without having given some of it to 
       a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni."  So come on, accept alms.'
       
       "Then the bhikkhuni, being pressured by the bhikkhu, took 
       out her bowl and showed it to him.  'You see, master:  a 
       fetus in the bowl.  But don't tell anyone'.... 
       
       (Of course the bhikkhu couldn't help but tell his fellow 
       bhikkhus, and word reached the Buddha, who formulated a 
       double rule:)  'A bhikkhuni should not take a fetus in a 
       bowl.  I allow a bhikkhuni, when seeing a bhikkhu, to take 
       out her bowl and show it to him.'
  
       "Now at that time some group-of-six bhikkhunis, on seeing a 
       bhikkhu, would turn their bowls upside down and show him the 
       bottom side....'I allow a bhikkhuni, when seeing a bhikkhu, 
       to show him her bowl right side up.  And she is to offer him 
       whatever food there is in the bowl.'" (Cv.X.13)
       
       "Now at that time a certain bhikkhuni, on the way back from 
       going for alms in Savatthi, seeing a certain bhikkhu, said 
       to him, 'Come, master, accept alms.'
       
       "'Very well, sister.'  And he took everything.  As the time 
       (for alms-going) was almost up, she was unable to go for 
       alms and so was deprived of her meal.
       
       "On the second day...the third day...he took everything.... 
       she was deprived of her meal.
       
       "On the fourth day, she went staggering along the road.  A 
       rich merchant, coming the opposite direction in a chariot, 
       said to her, 'Get out of the way, lady.'
       
       "She went and fell down right there.
       
       "The rich merchant apologized to her, 'I'm sorry, lady, for 
       making you fall.'
       
       "'It wasn't that you made me fall, householder.  It's just 
       that I'm weak.'
       
       "'But why are you weak?'
       
       "And she told him what had happened.  The rich merchant, 
       having taken her to his house and having fed her (%), was 
       offended and annoyed and spread it about, 'How can the 
       revered ones take food from the hand of a bhikkhuni?  It's 
       difficult for women to come by things.'"
  
   There are two factors for the full offense here.
  
     1) //Object//:  staple or non-staple food that a bhikkhu has 
   accepted from the hand of a bhikkhuni -- unrelated to him -- while 
   she is in a village area.
     
     2) //Effort//:  He eats the food.
     
     Object.   Actually, there are two elements to this factor:  the 
   food sub-factor and the bhikkhuni sub-factor.  Under the food 
   sub-factor:  //Staple food// follows the standard definition given 
   in the Food Chapter under the pacittiya rules.  //Non-staple food// 
   includes all edibles except juice drinks, tonics, and medicines. 
   Staple and non-staple food are grounds for a patidesaniya; juice 
   drinks, tonics, and medicines taken as food, grounds for a dukkata.
     
     As for the bhikkhuni sub-factor:  //Bhikkhuni// refers to one who 
   has received the double ordination.  A bhikkhuni who has received 
   only her first ordination -- in the Bhikkhuni Sangha -- is grounds 
   for a dukkata.  //Unrelated// means sharing no common ancestor back 
   through seven generations.  Perception as to whether or not the 
   bhikkhuni is related is not a mitigating factor here.
     
     A //village area// is defined as a house or roadway in a village, 
   town, or city.
     
     Effort.  There is a dukkata in accepting staple or non-staple food 
   with the purpose of eating it, and in accepting juice drinks, 
   tonics. or medicine with the purpose of taking them as food; while 
   there is a patidesaniya for every mouthful of the staple or 
   non-staple food one eats, and a dukkata for every mouthful one takes 
   of the juice drinks, tonics, or medicine for the sake of food. 
  
     Non-offenses.  There is no offense if a bhikkhu accepts and eats 
   food from a related bhikkhuni, and no offense in the following 
   situations even if the bhikkhuni is unrelated:
  
     She gets someone else to give him the food.
     She gives it by placing it near him (as in NP 18 and Pacittiya 
       41).
     She gives it to him in a monastery, nuns' quarters, a dwelling of 
       members of other sects, or on the way back from such places.
     She gives it to him after she has left the village.
     She gives him juice drinks, tonics, or medicine, and he uses them 
       as such, rather than as food.
     She is a female novice or probationer.
  
     Even in these cases, though, it would be a wise policy not to take 
   so much of her food that she is deprived of a full meal.
  
       Summary:  Eating staple or non-staple food, after having 
       accepted it from the hand of an unrelated  bhikkhuni in a 
       village area, is a patidesaniya offense.
  
  
  
                                 * * *
  
  
  
       2. In case bhikkhus, being invited, are eating in family 
       homes, and if a bhikkhuni is standing there as though giving 
       directions, (saying,) "Give curry here, give rice here," 
       then the bhikkhus are to dismiss her: "Go away, sister, 
       while the bhikkhus are eating."  If not one of the bhikkhus 
       should speak to dismiss her, "Go away, sister, while the 
       bhikkhus are eating," the bhikkhus are to acknowledge it:  
       "Friends, we have committed a blameworthy, unsuitable act 
       that ought to be acknowledged.  We acknowledge it."
  
   This rule refers to situations where lay donors invite bhikkhus to a 
   meal, and a bhikkhuni stands giving orders, based on favoritism, as 
   to which bhikkhus should get which food.  The duty of the bhikkhus 
   in such cases is to tell her to go away.  If even just one of them 
   does, they are all exempted from the offense here.  If none of them 
   does, and the following factors are fulfilled, they all incur the 
   penalty and must acknowledge their offense as a group.
  
     Object.  As with the preceding rule, there are two objects here:  
   the food and the bhikkhuni.  Any one of the five staple foods 
   received in the above situation would fulfill the food sub-factor.  
   A bhikkhuni who has received double ordination would fulfill the 
   bhikkhuni sub-factor.  A bhikkhuni ordained only in the Bhikkhuni 
   Sangha would be grounds for a dukkata. 
     
     Effort.  There is a dukkata in accepting the staple food received 
   under such circumstances, and a patidesaniya for every mouthful one 
   eats.
  
     Non-offenses.  There is no offense -- 
  
     if the bhikkhuni gets others to give her food to the bhikkhus;
     if she herself gives the food of other people to the bhikkhus;
     if she gets the donors to give food they have forgotten;
     if she gets them to give to a bhikkhu they have passed over;
     if she gets them to give the food equally to all;
     if she is a female probationer or novice; or
     if she gets them to give anything but the five staple foods.
     
       Summary:  Eating staple food accepted at a meal to which one 
       has been invited and where a bhikkhuni has given directions, 
       based on favoritism, as to which bhikkhu should get which 
       food, and none of the bhikkhus have dismissed her, is a 
       patidesaniya offense.
  
  
  
                                 * * *
  
  
  
       3.There are families designated as in training.  Should any 
       bhikkhu, not being ill, uninvited beforehand, chew or 
       consume staple or non-staple food, having received it 
       himself at the homes of families designated as in training, 
       he is to acknowledge it:  "Friends, I have committed a 
       blameworthy, unsuitable act that ought to be acknowledged.  
       I acknowledge it."
  
   The term //in training (sekha)// is usually used to refer to anyone 
   who has attained at least the first noble path but has yet to become 
   an arahant.  Here, though, the Vibhanga uses it to refer to any 
   family whose faith is increasing but whose wealth is decreasing -- 
   i.e., a family whose faith is so strong that they become generous to 
   the point of suffering financially.  In cases such as these, the 
   Community may, as a formal act, declare them as families in training 
   so as to protect them with this rule from bhikkhus who might abuse 
   their generosity.
  
     The factors for the offense here are two.
     
     1) //Object//:  staple or non-staple food accepted at the home of 
   a family designated as in training when one is not ill and has not 
   been invited by them beforehand.
     
     2) //Effort//:  One eats the food.
     
     Object.  //Staple food// follows the standard definition given in 
   the Food Chapter under the pacittiya rules.  //Non-staple food// 
   includes all edibles except juice drinks, tonics, and medicines.  
   Staple and non-staple food are grounds for a patidesaniya; juice 
   drinks, tonics, and medicines taken as food, grounds for a dukkata.
     
     //Ill// is defined as being unable to go for alms.
     
     //Invited// means that one has been invited on that day or a 
   previous day by a member of the family -- or a messenger -- 
   //standing outside of the house or its yard/compound//.  If they 
   invite one while they are inside the home or its yard/compound, one 
   is not exempted from the offense in accepting and eating their food.
     
     Effort.  There is a dukkata in accepting staple or non-staple food 
   with the purpose of eating it, or in accepting juice drinks, tonics, 
   or medicine with the purpose of taking them as food; a patidesaniya 
   for every mouthful of the staple or non-staple food one eats; and a 
   dukkata for every mouthful one takes of the juice drinks, tonics, or 
   medicine for the sake of food.
     
     Non-offenses.  There is no offense in eating food that one has 
   accepted from the house of a family in training if -- 
  
     one is ill;
     one was invited;
     the food was set out in the house or its yard by people other than 
       the members of the family in training (%); 
     the family has made an arrangement to provide food by drawing lots 
       or on a regular or rotating basis, and one accepts the food as 
       part of that arrangement;
     one eats the leftovers of one who received the food at their house 
       when he was invited or ill; or
     the members of the family give the food outside of their home or 
       yard/compound.  The Commentary quotes the Mahapaccari, one of the 
       ancient commentaries, as saying that this last exemption holds 
       regardless of whether they take the food out of the home before 
       or after seeing one approach.
  
       Summary:  Eating staple or non-staple food, after accepting 
       it -- when one is neither ill nor invited -- at the home of 
       a family formally designated as "in training," is a 
       patidesaniya offense.
  
  
  
                                 * * *
  
  
  
       4.There are wilderness abodes that are dubious and risky.  
       Should any bhikkhu, not being ill, living in such abodes, 
       chew or consume unannounced (gifts of) staple or non-staple 
       food, having received them himself in the abode, he is to 
       acknowledge it:  "Friends, I have committed a blameworthy, 
       unsuitable act that ought to be acknowledged.  I acknowledge 
       it."
  
       "Now at that time the Sakyan slaves were rebelling.  The 
       Sakyan ladies wanted to make a meal (for the bhikkhus) in 
       wilderness abodes.  The Sakyan slaves heard, 'The Sakyan 
       ladies, they say, want to make a meal in the wilderness 
       abodes,' so they infested the way.  The Sakyan ladies, 
       taking exquisite staple and non-staple foods, went to the 
       wilderness abodes.  The Sakyan slaves, coming out, plundered 
       and raped them.  The Sakyans, having come out and captured 
       the thieves with the goods, were offended and annoyed and 
       spread it about, 'How can the revered ones not inform us 
       that there are thieves living in the monastery?'"
  
   Here again there are two factors for the full offense.
  
     1) //Object//:  an unannounced gift of staple or non-staple food 
   that one has received, when not ill, in a dubious and risky 
   wilderness abode.
     
     2) //Effort//:  One eats the food.
     
     Object.   The Vibhanga defines a //wilderness abode// as one at 
   least 500 bow-lengths, or one kilometer, from the nearest village, 
   measuring by the shortest walkable path between the two, and not as 
   the crow flies.  Such an abode is considered dubious if thieves are 
   known to be about, and risky if people are known to have been hurt 
   or plundered by them.
     
     //Staple food// follows the standard definition given in the Food 
   Chapter under the pacittiya rules.  //Non-staple food// includes all 
   edibles except juice drinks, tonics, and medicines.  
     
     Staple and non-staple food are grounds for a patidesaniya; juice 
   drinks, tonics, and medicines taken as food, grounds for a dukkata.
     
     The Vibhanga gives specific instructions for how the gift of food 
   should be announced.  The donor(s) or a messenger must come to the 
   abode and tell one of the inhabitants that a gift of food will be 
   brought.  The inhabitant must then tell the informant that the area 
   is dubious and risky.  If the informant says, "Never mind, the 
   donor(s) will come anyway," then someone in the abode must tell the 
   thieves, "Go away.  People are coming to serve food."  This is 
   unlikely to make the thieves go away but, as the Commentary 
   explains, it absolves the bhikkhus from any responsibility if the 
   thieves attack the donors. 
     
     Even if the informant specifies that only certain types of food 
   will be brought, anything that comes along with those foods counts 
   as announced (%).  Here the Commentary adds that if other people 
   learn of the intended donation and bring food to add to it, their 
   food counts as announced as well.  The Vibhanga also states that if 
   the informant says a particular group is coming to bring food, the 
   announcement covers anything brought by any member of the group.
     
     The Vibhanga makes clear that the announcement is valid only if 
   the donor makes it in the abode or its yard/compound.  Thus, for 
   example, if the donors announce their intended donation to the 
   bhikkhu while he is in the village for alms, the donation is still 
   considered unannounced.  And, for the same reason, such things as 
   telephone calls, letters, and faxes would also not count.  
     
     The Commentary adds that if the donors send a bhikkhu or novice to 
   the monastery to announce the donation, it does not count as 
   announced.  In other words, the messenger must be a lay person.  
     
     Perception is not a mitigating factor here.  If the food is not 
   properly announced, then regardless of whether one perceives it as 
   properly announced or not, it still fulfills this factor.
     
     A bhikkhu counts as //ill// if he is unable to go for alms.
     
     Effort.  There is a dukkata in accepting staple or non-staple food 
   with the purpose of eating it, or in accepting juice drinks, tonics 
   or medicine with the purpose of taking them as food; a patidesaniya 
   for every mouthful of the staple or non-staple food one eats; and a 
   dukkata for every mouthful one takes of the juice drinks, tonics, or 
   medicine for the sake of food.
     
     Non-offenses.  There is no offense in eating food accepted in the 
   monastery if one is ill or if the gift was announced.  There is also 
   no offense -- 
     
     in using roots, bark, leaves, or flowers growing in the abode;
     in eating left-over announced food or food given to one who is 
       ill;
     in accepting food outside the abode and eating it inside; or
     in accepting and eating juice drinks, tonics, and medicines as 
       such and not as food.
     
     The Commentary, in discussing these allowances, makes the 
   following points:  1) If lay people take any of the fruits, roots, 
   etc., growing in the abode and cook them at home, they must announce 
   the gift before bringing them back to the abode.  2) If the donors, 
   after announcing the gift, bring large amounts of food, some of it 
   may be set aside -- without presenting it to the bhikkhus -- to be 
   presented on a later day.
     
     All of this causes no hardships in communities where everyone 
   knows that they have to announce a gift of food before bringing it 
   to the dangerous abode, but there are bound to be cases where donors 
   do not know that the abode is dangerous or that they should announce 
   their gifts before bringing them, and they are likely to show up at 
   the abode with unannounced gifts of food.  In such cases, the 
   Commentary recommends:  1) Either have the donor take the food 
   outside the area of the abode, come back in to announce it, and then 
   go out to bring the food back in to present it; or 2) have the donor 
   take the food outside and have a bhikkhu follow him/her out to 
   accept it there.
     
     If order to minimize the need for doing this, though, it would be 
   a wise policy for a bhikkhu who finds himself living in such an 
   abode to announce to all his supporters beforehand -- and ask them 
   to spread the word -- that if they want to bring him gifts of food, 
   they have to come and announce them in advance. 
     
       Summary:  Eating an unannounced gift of staple or non-staple 
       food after accepting it in a dangerous wilderness abode when 
       one is not ill is a patidesaniya offense.  
  
                            * * * * * * * *
