Parallels for Bhikkhuni vinaya rules

[vimalanyani]

@Brahmali

Having said this, it would be great to have a more reliable resource. […] Once you have published the rules of all the schools, however, we will have the foundation for making an entirely new table of parallels. Would you consider doing this? It would be a good time to do it while everything is fresh in your mind.

I actually made an updated parallels table many years ago when I first started working with these texts. But I ran into some issues, so it’s not fully completed. I decided to wait until the vibhanga translations were finished before finalizing the parallels, but now the vibhanga has been dragging on forever…

I think people don’t realize how much more complicated the parallels situation is for the bhikkhuni rules. Here are a few issues, off the top of my head. If I think about it a little more, I’ll probably come up with more problems:

1. Rule Clusters
   By far the biggest issue is that many bhikkhuni rules don’t have a 1:1 relationship, (and SC doesn’t support partial parallels for vinaya rules.) There are clusters of rules that parallel clusters of similar rules in other vinayas. There’s clearly a common core, but it was developed into different directions.
   Let me make this clearer with an example:

These are some rules from the Pali text:

Relinquishment With Confession 4: Asking for Something Else

If a nun asks for one thing and then for something else, she commits an offense entailing relinquishment and confession.

Relinquishment With Confession 5: Exchanging for Something Else

If a nun gets one thing in exchange and then something else, she commits an offense entailing relinquishment and confession.

Relinquishment With Confession 6: Exchanging Saṅgha Property

When a requisite belonging to the Sangha is designated for a specific purpose, if a nun exchanges it for something else, she commits an offense entailing relinquishment and confession.

Relinquishment With Confession 7: Exchanging Saṅgha Property (2nd)

When a requisite belonging to the Sangha is designated for a specific purpose and was asked for, if a nun exchanges it for something else, she commits an offense entailing relinquishment and confession.

Relinquishment With Confession 8: Exchanging Group Property

When a collective requisite is designated for a specific purpose, if a nun exchanges it for something else, she commits an offense entailing relinquishment and confession.

Relinquishment With Confession 9: Exchanging Group Property (2nd)

When a collective requisite is designated for a specific purpose and was asked for, if a nun exchanges it for something else, she commits an offense entailing relinquishment and confession.

Relinquishment With Confession 10: Exchanging Personal Property

When a personal requisite is designated for a specific purpose and was asked for, if a nun exchanges it for something else, she commits an offense entailing relinquishment and confession.

Here are the rules from the Mahasanghika

Np11
If a bhikkhunī asks for beds and mats, but then herself exchanges them for robes, bowls, drinks, food, or liquid remedies and medicines for the sick for herself, it is a nissaggiya pācittiya.

Np12
If a bhikkhunī uses offerings from people for a certain purpose to do something else, it is a nissaggiya pācittiya.

Np13
If a bhikkhunī asks for food, exchanges it for robes, bowls, drinks, food, liquid remedies, and medicines, and uses them, it is a nissaggiya pācittiya.

Clearly these rules have a common core. But no rule is a proper parallal to a specific other rule. When you add the rules from 6 schools instead of just 2, it’s just a messy tangle.

There are so many similar situations. Here’s another slightly less messy example:

The Pali has 4 rules about a bhikkhuni being massaged (pc90-93), by another bhikkhuni, a sikkhamana, a samaneri, or a female householder. Some schools combine all these cases into one rule. Some schools add a 5th rule about being massaged by a female non-Buddhist renunciate. Should all rules in this cluster be seen as parallel to each other?
That would make the 4 Pali rules parallels to each other. So far, SC doesn’t have parallel rules within the same school. We only have parallels between different schools.

The same issue applies to Pali Ss3, the “alone” rules. The Pali combines 4 situations into one rule. Some schools break them up into 4 different rules. Some only have 3 rules and are missing one case. Some have 4 situations (either combined or separately), but it’s not the same 4 as in Pali.

This is a very common issue, and there are many more examples I could post here.

2. Unrecognizeable parallels
   Parallel rules may have developed so far from the original rule, that they are virtually unrecognizeable as the same rule. There’s a small number of rules which I believe to be parallels, but without an in-depth study of the patimokkha as a whole, casual readers will not see how they could possibly belong together.
   There are also patimokkha rules that don’t look like parallels, but when you read the vibhanga, it suddenly becomes evident that they are in fact parallels.

3. Pm-kd crossover parallels
   There are many patimokkha rules that have parallels in the khandhakas of other schools. We don’t currently have a system to identify khandhaka rules, especially in non-Pali vinayas. So it’s difficult to refer to them and make parallels tables.

4. Floating origin stories
   Most vinayas preserve the famous origin stories we know and love from the Pali vinaya, with certain variations in the details of course. For example the story where a bhikkhuni dumps her chamber pot on a brahmin’s head, or the story where nuns build a stupa, a monk smashes it, and the nuns plot revenge. However, they’re not necessarily attached to the same rules. So we need a system for parallel stories in different rules.
   This also extends to other stories (jatakas, khandhaka stories) that have parallels in many vinayas and even the suttas.
   For example, the disputes between Thullananda and Mahakassapa are a popular motif in most/all? schools, and stories about them have proliferated throughout the vinayas and suttas.

5. Different rules in pm and vb
   There are cases where the same school has one rule in their pm, and a completely different rule in the same place in their vb.

6. Rules modelled after other rules
   Here’s an example:

Dg np24
If a bhikkhunī keeps a spare bowl, it is a nissaggiya pācittiya.

Dg np25
If a bhikkhunī keeps many well-formed utensils, it is a nissaggiya pācittiya.

Dg np24 is a well-known rule and has parallels in all schools. Np25 is a unique creation of the Dg and Mi schools, and clearly modelled after 24. But is it a parallel to 24? We would probably say no at first, but if you look at the parallels to np24 in other schools, their vibhangas do sometimes include utensils other than the standard alms bowl. So they cover a similar range as Dg np25.

The Mahasanghika has another spin-off about keeping a spare robe. Should that then also be a parallel? To the bowl rule or the utensil rule or both?

---

I guess I should also mention that there’s a huge amount of rules with no or only one parallel. Schools were really creative and each came up with their unique texts.

[Brahmali]

@vimalanyani

Clearly these rules have a common core. But no rule is a proper parallal to a specific other rule. When you add the rules from 6 schools instead of just 2, it’s just a messy tangle.

LOL! Yes, the situation with the bhikkhunī nissaggiyas is especially tricky. I wonder if it might be best to simply treat nissaggiyas 4-10 (in the Pali) as a single rule and then contract the rules of other schools in a similar way. The differences between the rules are so small that in the big picture they hardly matter.

@vimalanyani

The Pali has 4 rules about a bhikkhuni being massaged (pc90-93)

In this case, and also with Bi Ss 3, it is really just the presentation that is different. The rules are parallels as far as the content is concerned, and surely this is what matters. Whether the content is spread over one or more rules is secondary.

@vimalanyani

• Unrecognizeable parallels
  Parallel rules may have developed so far from the original rule, that they are virtually unrecognizeable as the same rule. There’s a small number of rules which I believe to be parallels, but without an in-depth study of the patimokkha as a whole, casual readers will not see how they could possibly belong together.
  There are also patimokkha rules that don’t look like parallels, but when you read the vibhanga, it suddenly becomes evident that they are in fact parallels.

Interesting! This is the sort of thing that may throw quite a bit of light on the development of the Vinaya. I mean, if we can see the Vibhaṅga of one school incorporated in the rules of another, we should be able to say a bit about which school were more conservative in preserving their Canonical texts. This would also have ramifications for the suttas.

@vimalanyani

Pm-kd crossover parallels
There are many patimokkha rules that have parallels in the khandhakas of other schools. We don’t currently have a system to identify khandhaka rules, especially in non-Pali vinayas. So it’s difficult to refer to them and make parallels tables.

Is translating the Khandhakas/Vastus on your to do list?

@vimalanyani

So we need a system for parallel stories in different rules.

This is another interesting proposal that should tell us quite a bit about how the origin stories came about.

@vimalanyani

Different rules in pm and vb
There are cases where the same school has one rule in their pm, and a completely different rule in the same place in their vb.

Yes. Further, it seems the rules are sometimes different in the Chinese compared to the Tibetan of the same school, or the Chinese compared to the Sanskrit of the same school. Some schools seem to have been sloppier with preserving the texts than others. it is certainly interesting to ferret out more about such differences.

@vimalanyani

Dg np24 is a well-known rule and has parallels in all schools. Np25 is a unique creation of the Dg and Mi schools, and clearly modelled after 24. But is it a parallel to 24?

I would say no. Instead, it shows how later material, that is, the Vibhaṅga, was used to create new rules, which in itself is interesting.

Thanks for all these observations. They are certainly food for thought. I am so glad we still have texts from all these schools. It is very enriching.

[vimalanyani]

@Brahmali

Is translating the Khandhakas/Vastus on your to do list?

I only work with the texts that relate to bhikkhunis, so my project only includes the bhikkhuni “khandhaka” of each school (also called pakinnaka, dharmaka, vastu, etc. depending on the school). I’ve already translated them. They’re being proof-read and published alongside the patimokkhas and vibhangas. The Mahasanghika pakinnaka is already online, the Dharmaguptaka skandhaka should be published in October, hopefully…

@Brahmali

Yes. Further, it seems the rules are sometimes different in the Chinese compared to the Tibetan of the same school, or the Chinese compared to the Sanskrit of the same school. Some schools seem to have been sloppier with preserving the texts than others. it is certainly interesting to ferret out more about such differences.

Yes. But even within the same school and the same language, there may be differences. For example, we have different recensions of the Sarvastivada bhikkhu patimokkha in Sanskrit I believe, and the number of sekhiyas varies considerably from manuscript to manuscript. I think there are more details in Pachow’s comparative pratimoksha study. So if that’s the case even for the bhikkhu text, we know what to expect for the bhikkhunis…

@Brahmali

I am so glad we still have texts from all these schools. It is very enriching.

It’s a really fascinating area of research, especially because there are so many differences, but also similarities for the nuns’ rules. Much more interesting that comparative studies for the monks because we can see much more development.
I’m considering writing introductions to the vibhangas of the different schools as I publish the translations, similar to (but much shorter than) what you just wrote for the Pali bhikkhuni vibhanga. And of course, eventually there needs to be an in-depth comparative study of all the bhikkhuni rules.

[Brahmali]

@vimalanyani

I’m considering writing introductions to the vibhangas of the different schools as I publish the translations

You should! Anyone who has worked with this material over an extend period of time will have a lot of interesting points to make. Don’t worry about the length. What matters is that you express the insights you have gained through your work. I look forward to reading it!