BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

The Exhortation Chapter Chapter 8.3Summary: Going to the bhikkhunīs' quarters and exhorting a bhikkhunī about theeight rules of respect — except when she is ill or has requested the instruction — isa pācittiya offense.24. Should any bhikkhu say that the bhikkhus exhort the bhikkhunīsfor the sake of worldly gain, it is to be confessed.Here the factors for the full offense are three.Object: a bhikkhu who has been properly authorized to teach the bhikkhunīs andwho is not teaching for the sake of worldly gain: either material (robes, almsfood,lodgings, or medicine) or immaterial (honor, respect, reverence, homage, orveneration).A bhikkhu who has not been properly authorized is grounds for a dukkaṭa, as is anon-ordained person, properly authorized or not. (The PTS edition of the Canoncontains a wheel in which a person not properly authorized and perceived as notproperly authorized is not grounds for an offense, but this contradicts the passagesearlier in the Vibhaṅga which make the above points. The same wheel in the Thai,Burmese, and Sri Lankan editions is thus more correct in saying that a person notproperly authorized and perceived as such is grounds for a dukkaṭa.)Perception as to the validity of the bhikkhu's authorization is not a mitigating factorhere. If it was valid, he is grounds for a pācittiya whether one perceives it as valid,invalid, or doubtful. If it was invalid, he is grounds for a dukkaṭa whether oneperceives it as valid, invalid, or doubtful. This is another case where the pattern setout under Pc 4 does not hold.Intention. One's motive is to make him lose face, lose status, or feel abashed (thesame intention as under Pc 13).Effort. One accuses him of teaching for the sake of worldly gain, as defined above.Non-offenses. If the bhikkhu does actually teach for the sake of worldly gain, thereis no offense in stating the facts of the case. However, as we noted in the similarcase under Pc 13, this exemption does not apply in cases where one's perceptionthat he teaches for the sake of worldly gain is mistaken, so one must be careful thatone's perception is accurate.Summary: Saying that a properly authorized bhikkhu exhorts the bhikkhunīs for thesake of worldly gain — when in fact that is not the case — is a pācittiya offense.291