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The Bhikshuni Precepts – Venerable Nun Tu Nghiem
The Bhikshuni precepts consist of 348 rules, divided into five sections and seven groups. The first section is Parajika (irreparable offenses) with eight severe meanings; the second section is Sanghadisesa (also called Sanghadisesa offenses), comprising 17 offenses. If one gives rise to repentance and confesses, and is purified by the Sangha, the offense can be relinquished and purity restored. The Buddha compared the punishments of these sections to worldly punishments: execution, exile, imprisonment, beating with sticks, and whipping.
Within the 17 offenses of Sanghadisesa, the talk analyzed the first seven precepts:
- Acting as a matchmaker for men and women (in four forms: speaking, writing letters, making signs, expressing)
- Groundless slander (declaring someone has committed a Parajika offense when they have not)
- Using “minor matters” to slander (manipulating public opinion through comparison or insinuation)
- Bringing lawsuits against lay friends (leading to lay friends losing their case in court)
- Ordaining criminal women or prostitutes without consulting the king, authorities, or family lineage
- Helping a nun who has been accused to escape the formal Sangha act (despite three formal proclamations)
- Entering a village alone, sleeping alone, or crossing water alone (creating conditions for trouble to arise)
