Story of Dharmadinna Ordination by Messenger in The Mulasarvastivada Vinaya

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253
brill.com/iij
The Story of Dharmadinn

Ordination by Messenger in the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya
Fumi Yao*
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
yaofu@mcmaster.ca
Abstract
In the Kudrakavastu of the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, the nun Dharmadinn is
ordained not in the usual way, but rather by a messenger, a valid type of ordination
listed in the various lists of types of ordination in Indian Buddhist texts. While both
the story of Dharmadinn and these lists have received some scholarly attention, what
has not been noted is the peculiarity of the Mlasarvstivdin tradition in relation to
other existing vinayas on the issue of ordination by messenger. In this paper, I examine
the story of Dharmadinns ordination in the Kudrakavastu with special reference to
its highly narrative characteristics and its surprising lack of legal elements. Then I discuss how the above characteristics are related to the list of different types of ordination
which appears in other parts of this vinaya. As Appendices, I present a comparative
table of the story and its counterparts in the other vinayas and a comparative table of
the lists of types of ordination found in different texts.
* This is a revised version of a paper read at the conference on Buddhist Nuns in India sponsored by the University of Toronto/McMaster University Yehan Numata Buddhist Studies
Program, on April 17, 2011. My special thanks are due to Dr. Shayne Clarke for his kind invitation to the conference, and for patiently reading the present draft of this article, and providing
a great number of detailed comments. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to Professor Masahiro Shimoda under whose insightful guidance my paper first took shape. Dr. Kazuo
Kan gave his helpful reply to my questions. Dr. Lozang Jamspal and Mr. Thomas Fischer
generously provided me with their unpublished translation of the Karmaataka. And I have
received valuable advice from Mr. Fischer, Mr. Daigo Isshiki and Venerable Lozang Zopa. And
I wish to thank Professor Jonathan Silk and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. But all errors and mistakes in the article are my own. This research was supported by
jsps kakenhi Grant Number 243594.
koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2015 | doi: 10.1163/15728536-05800062
the story of dharmadinn
217
Keywords
Dharmadinn nun bhiku ordination avadna Mlasarvstivda Vinaya
Kudrakavastu
Introduction
In general, each and every rule of training for Indian Buddhist monks and nuns
presented in extant monastic law codes (vinayas) includes two elements: the
rule itself and an explanation of what led the Buddha to establish the rule. The
latter almost invariably takes the form of a narrative, and often shows a developed plot and rich details. Among the vinayas of the various schools, this narrative tendency manifests itself most vividly in the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya. The
Mlasarvstivda Vinaya is well known for its many avadnas, stras, and other
kinds of stories. Some of these stories serve to explain the reasons for the establishment of monastic rules. Other stories have rather vague or indirect relationships with rules, and some seem completely unrelated to formal monastic
rules.1 This paper examines one of these stories in particular, one which deals
with a typically monastic matter, ordination. Oddly, however, as preserved in
the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, this story contains no mention of concrete rules
such as those found in the corresponding accounts in other vinayas and related
works of Buddhist literature. As I will argue, this story exemplifies a number
of distinctive characteristics that set the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya apart from
other vinayas.
According to most extant vinayas, a woman who wanted to be a nun
(bhiku) first had to enter the religious life (pravraj, literally, to go forth)
and become a novice (rmaer). Afterwards, the novice became a probationer (ikam) and, after spending two years on probation, the probationer
attended a ceremony of ordination (upasapad) in the presence of the Order
1 See Schopen 2000, esp. 9399. The ayansanavastu, the first half of which is translated in
Schopens article, provides examples of narratives closely connected to rules established in
the vastu. In contrast, in the Bhaiajyavastu in the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, forty passages
can be identified as stras, and only four of them are related to monastic law. See Yao
2010; 2011; 2012. The abundance of text unrelated to rules applies not only to stras but
also to different kinds of narratives in the vastu. Cf. Anlayo 2012, 416, which proposes an
understanding of stories in vinaya texts as developed for the function of legal education. The
Mahvastu is another significant example of a vinaya text that seems to have been strongly
characterized by its narratives. See Tournier 2012.
218
yao
(sagha) of nuns. Finally, she would attend a similar ceremony in the presence of the Order of monks.2 However, in most vinayas we find two exceptions
whereby candidates became ordained as nuns without undergoing the aforementioned standard procedures: the ordination of the group of women headed
by the Buddhas stepmother, Mahprajpat Gautam, who became the first
nuns before the Order of nuns was established, and the ordination of those
who were themselves physically unable to attend the ordination ceremony.3
This paper is concerned with the second of these two exceptions.
As listed below, each of the extant Indian Buddhist vinayas contains a passage explaining the Buddhas permission for ordination by messenger. These
passages belong to the khandhakas, in Pli terminology, which thematically
address how the monastic Order should be managed. More specifically, the
passages appear in chapters about nuns, that is, the Pli Bhikkhunkkhandhaka
and its counterparts in other vinayas with the exception of the Shisong l
, the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya and the Mohesengzhi l , in which
there are no chapters about nuns and the passages in question appear in chapters titled Miscellaneous:
The Pli Vinaya: Bhikkhunkkhandhaka (Vin ii: 277.3278.12)4
The Mishasaibu hexi wufen l (the Mahsaka
Vinaya): Biqiunifa (t. 1421, 22.189a26b15)
The Sifen l (the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya): Biqiunijiandu
(t. 1428, 22.926b7c16)
The Shisong l (the so-called Sarvstivda Vinaya): Zafa (t. 1435,
23.295b10296a22)
2 See Hirakawa 2000, ii: 242271, esp. 254257. Hirakawa does not refer to ordination procedures
for nuns in the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, which differ slightly from the above model. See the
next section.
3 In addition to these two examples, there is another exception in some vinaya texts: in a list
of those who are called bhikkhun/, a type of nun who was addressed by the Buddha
Come, nun is listed (ehi bhikkhunti bhikkhun, Vin iv: 214.67; t. 1428, 22.714a 15). Though
it is not likely that all of the bhikkhuns listed were regarded as ordained, we may count
this address Come, nun as a type of ordination, judging from the example of Bhadd Ther
(Th v: 109). Another example of a woman who became a nun through the Buddhas words
Come, nun also appears in the Divyvadna (Divy 616.1617), while the extant texts of the
Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, to which the Divyvadna is closely connected in textual tradition,
do not include the Come, nun type of bhiku in their list of bhikus (d 5, Ta46a4b3; t.
1443, 23.913a22b7).
4 English translation: Horner 19921993, v: 383384. Partial German translation: Hsken 1997,
433435.
219
The Mlasarvstivda Vinaya: the Kudrakavastu5

Tibetan: Dul ba phran tshegs kyi gzhi (d 6, Dul ba Da160b6170a6 in Derge
xylograph)
Chinese: Genbenshuoyiqieyoubu pinaiye zashi
(t. 1451, 24.366b14369b16)
The Mohesengzhi l (the Mahsghika Vinaya): Zasongbaqufa
(t. 1425, 22.474a3c1)6
The Bhikuvinaya of the Mahsghika-Lokottaravda (Roth 1970, 70
82)7
As we shall see later, these passages belonging to different schools have been
compared by some scholars, and the story in the Kudrakavastu of the
Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, which has a famous nun, Dharmadinn, as its main
character, has itself been an object of study in recent years.8 No one, however,
seems to have noted the uniqueness of the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya version. As
I will demonstrate below, this version is significantly different from its counterparts in other vinayas with regards to the plot, characters and lack of any
substantial legal prescriptions. Let us now turn to the story of Dharmadinn in
the Kudrakavastu.
5 As far as this passage is concerned, both Ch. and Tib. correspond exactly to one another.
Regrettably, the Skt. manuscript of the Kudrakavastu has been lost.
Rhula Sktyyana published a list of manuscripts he had examined in Tibet and a list
of the texts among them which he was able to photograph and copy. This second list reports
a text some 3,000 lokas in length called Vinayakudraka (Sktyyana 1937, 57). Strangely,
this title does not appear in the first list, which naturally should have included all the entries
in the second. Later catalogues which deal with the manuscripts Sktyyana examined do
not mention the title either (Wang 1985 reprinted as appendix in Hu-von Hinber 2006, Bandurski 1994 and Sferra 2008. For the cataloging history of these manuscripts, see Kan 2009).
It is unclear whether this Vinayakudraka refers to the Kudrakavastu in the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya. The reported length is too short to be the whole Kudrakavastu. Whether or
not a manuscript reported as Vinayakudraka actually exists, this title is worthy of notice.
I thank Professor Shayne Clarke for bringing the title in Sktyyanas list to my attention.
A summary of the story is given in a commentary on the Abhidharmakoabhya by
amathadeva, Abhidharmakoakopyik, without mention of the source (d 4094, Ju
214a3ff.). See Honj 2014, ii: 538540.
6 English translation: Hirakawa 1982, 7681.
7 French translation: Nolot 1991, 3742.
8 See note 16.
220
yao
The Story of Dharmadinn in the Kudrakavastu

As already mentioned, in the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, the rules about nuns are
gathered in the latter part of the Kudrakavastu,9 not formed into an independent chapter such as the Bhikkhunkkhandhaka of the Pli Vinaya. The rules
begin with the story of the first ordination of nuns, conferred by the Buddha
upon Mahprajpat and her followers,10 and an explanation of how participants in ordination ceremonies should act and what formulas they should
utter. The Tibetan version explains in great detail every act and statement to
be made in the course of the procedure, which we might categorize into five
successive steps: (1) initiation as a lay devotee through acceptance of the five
precepts and three refuges; (2) initiation for a novice through acceptance of the
ten precepts; (3) initiation as a probationer through a japtidvitya-karman (a
formal act consisting of one motion and one proclamation) and acceptance
of rules called the six dharmas and six anudharmas; (4) conferment of the
consent to enter the holy life11 through preparation of robes and bowls, questions and answers about the candidates social and physical condition and a
japtidvitya-karman; (5) ordination as a nun in the presence of both Orders12
9
10
11
12
D6, Da100a3187b3/t. 24.350b7374c28.

For a Gndhr parallel and other parallels of this story, see Strauch 2014.
Tshangs par spyad pa skyed pai sdom pa. This is a variant Tib. translation of *brahmacaryopasthnasavti. I translate sdom pa as consent in light of Kishino 2015, which provides
a number of examples of usage of the term sdom pa meaning consent or permission in vinaya contexts. Kishino also shows its interchangeability with another translation gnang ba permission, which supports Edgertons interpretation (1998, s.v. savti),
adding important examples to those previously noted by Kieffer-Plz (1992, 366371) and
Hu-von Hinber (1994, 198199).
This vinaya explains that the ordination for a nun is to be performed once in the presence
of both Orders, whereas the other vinayas apart from the Shisong l state that the ordination is to be performed twice, first in the Order of nuns and then in the Order of monks.
See Kieffer-Plz 2010, 218219 n. 4. In the other vinayas, it is clearly stated that the candidates should go to the Order of monks for ordination after ordination in the Order of nuns
(Vin ii: 3238; t. 1421, 22.188a2224; t. 1428, 22.757c29, 925a2426; t. 1425, 22.473a28). For
the Shisong l, according to which candidates are to attend a karman for asking to follow
a preceptress () performed in the Order of nuns and then a karman for
ordination in the Order of monks, see t. 1435, 23.331b16333b23. Each karman in ordination procedures in the different vinaya texts is listed in Than 2007 (note, however, that
the ordination procedure of nuns regulated in the Kudrakavastu is not mentioned in this
article). For a detailed explanation of the whole procedure of a nuns ordination in the
Sifen l, see Heirman 1997.
221
including the aforementioned questions and answers, a japticaturthakarman (a formal act consisting of one motion and a thrice made proclamation), and teaching the candidates the three requisites of nuns lives and the
eight important rules, the famous gurudharmas.13
The story of ordination by messenger appears after many rules and precedents, long stories of ordination of the famous nun K Gautam and conversion of the yaki Hrt, and a short account of the establishment of rules
concerning the sex change of nuns.14 Our story is mentioned in one of the
uddnas (table of contents), although the uddnas differ in these Tibetan and
Chinese translations: pho nyas yang ni de bzhin bsnyen rdzogs par// drang srong
chen po yis ni gnang ba yin// Ordaining by emissary like that was also authorized15 by the great sage. (Da160a7)/ The story of
Dharmadinn is explained in detail. Utpalavar acted as a messenger (t.
24.366b5). Shortly after this uddna, the story of Dharmadinn starts. Since the
story has already been introduced in detail in a number of recent studies,16 here
I will present only a short synopsis:
Once there were two householders whose names were Byin pa17 and Ri
dags sgra.18 They promised each other that their children would wed
when they were of marriageable age. Not too long after, a beautiful girl
13
14
15
16
17
18
Da105a1121b1. Ch. strangely gives only the initiation as a lay devotee, and omits all the following ceremonies (t. 24.351c1024). In Ch., the whole ceremony is preserved in the Genbenshuoyiqieyoubu baiyijiemo (t. 1453, 24.459c10465a20).
The order of rules for nuns in the Kudrakavastu is apparently more random than systematic. Directly following the story of Dharmadinn we find an uddna and a short account
of the establishment of rules about how nuns should make apologies to their male teacher.
The Tib. verb gnang ba/rjes su gnang ba permit, allow frequently appears as a translation
of anuj (cf. Mvy 6330; for the Chinese translation of the term, see Clarke 2014a, 126 and
218 n. 37). Heinz Bechert has argued that the term anuj can mean to order, command
in the context of the vinaya and that to permit, allow is a mistranslation in that context
(Bechert 1968, 320321). However, as von Hinber argues (2015, forthcoming) Becherts
interpretation of anuj should not be generalized and the term anuj can still safely
be translated as to permit rather than to order in many cases in a vinaya context. In
this paper I use to authorize, which seems to me to cover the widest range of meanings
of anuj mentioned above.
Panglung 1981, 197; Finnegan 2009, 156160, 180182, 201210 (The protagonists name is
reconstructed as Dharmadatt both by Panglung and Finnegan); Muldoon-Hules 2010,
303305; Clarke 2014a, 4850, 189, 190.
Skt. unknown; Ch. tianyu given by a god.
Skt. unknown; Ch. luzi son of a deer.
222
yao
was born to Byin pa. She was named *Dharmadinn19 (One who was given
the Dharma) because she liked to hear the sermons of monks. A boy was
born to Ri dags sgra and was named *Vikha.20
Although, as she grew up, Dharmadinn became eager to go forth into
the religious life, her father did not allow her to do so because of her
engagement to Vikha. She asked the nun *Utpalavar21 for advice.
Utpalavar, in turn, informed the Buddha of this situation. The Buddha, through nanda, told the nuns to send Utpalavar to Dharmadinn
to initiate her. To allow Dharmadinn to go forth at home, he instructed
Utpalavar to give Dharmadinn the three refuges and the five precepts
of a lay devotee (upsik), and to give her the ten precepts of a novice.
Not long after she heard Utpalavars sermon, Dharmadinn realized
the Four Truths and attained the stage of sainthood called Stream-entry
(rotpann).
Again, according to the Buddhas instructions, the six dharmas and the
six anudharmas for a probationer were given to her by the same messenger. Dharmadinn then attained the next stage of sainthood, OnceReturning (sakdgmin).
After these two years of probation, she matured and became a beautiful
young woman. The parents of both families, the king, and everyone in
and outside the city began to prepare for her marriage. Dharmadinn
again requested her fathers permission to go to the nunnery, but she
made her request in vain. The Buddha then smiled, sending beams of
19
20
21
fayu /chos sbyin ma. In spite of the absence of a Skt. text of the Kudrakavastu today,
the Skt. name of this nun is supported by a number of materials: Dharmadinn/chos kyis
sbyin in Mvy 1073; damochenna in the Vinayasagraha translated in Ch. (t.
1458, 24.599a8); Dharmadinn in the Abhidharmakoabhya (AKBh 212.7); damodina
in the Sapoduobu pini modeleqie (t. 1441, 23.594b4).
The name is also attested in stras which are not directly related to the nuns ordination
story: Dhammadinn in the Majjhima Nikya (no. 44, mn i: 299305. For this stra, see note
22); tanmodina biqiuni in the Ekottarikgama in Ch. (t. 125, 2.559a14).
For translation of the name, besides fayu , a number of possible Ch. translations of
the name Dharmadinn bhiku appear in different texts. E.g.: fayu biqiuni
(t. 1425, 22.474a34), fale biqiuni (t. 1543, 26.788a1314.), fashi biqiuni
(t. 125, 2.803c2324), shifa bichuni (t. 126, 2.833c1718), and fashouni
(t. 1558, 29.74c2). The Abhidharmakoakopyik in Tib. gives chos sbyin, without
the suffix ma, in both the story of the ordination of Dharmadinn (d 4094, Ju214a6, see
note 5) and the parallel to mn 44 and m 210 (Ju 6b4, see note 22).
sa ga/pishequ .
utpa lai kha dog/lianhuase .
223
light from his mouth, and predicted that before long Dharmadinn would
become a female arhat (arhant). Utpalavar was then sent to confer
upon Dharmadinn the consent to enter the holy life. Dharmadinn
then attained the next stage, Not-Returning (angmin). The Buddha
had both the Order of monks and that of nuns ordain Dharmadinn by
sending Utpalavar as their messenger. At last, Dharmadinn attained
the stage of an arhant.
Her parents permitted her to go with the Buddha, while at the same
time sending a messenger to Ri dags sgra telling him to hurry and perform
the marriage. The Buddha, together with the Order, visited Byin pa and
was served a meal. When Dharmadinn was about to leave and follow
the Buddha, her fianc, Vikha, reached out for her arm. At that very
moment, she soared high into the sky like the king of hasa birds. Vikha
and the entire crowd began prostrating themselves before her, begging for
forgiveness. Dharmadinn landed on the ground and preached to them.
The Buddha declared that Dharmadinn was the best of all his female
disciples in her ability to preach, and also explained the deeds she had
performed in her former life: When Buddha Kyapa appeared in this
world, a daughter of a householder wished to go forth but her parents
did not allow her to do so. Following the Buddhas instructions, she was
ordained by an old nun acting as a messenger, and then attained the
stage of an arhant. The old nun made a wish that in the future, when
the young brahmin Uttara, who had made a wish in the presence of
Buddha Kyapa, was to become Buddha kyamuni, she herself might be
ordained at home by messenger, attain the stage of arhant, and be praised
by the Buddha as best in ability to preach. This old nun was Dharmadinn
in her former life.
When viewed as a piece of narrative literature, this story is fascinating, describing quite dramatically the life of the renowned nun Dharmadinn, who appears
as a great preacher also in a stra in the Madhyamgama, although there she
never reveals her own personal history.22 However, this story is puzzling when
22
This stra, which consists of her sermon to the lay devotee Vikha but has no mention
of the personal relationships between the preacher and the listener, is found in the Ch.
translation of the Madhyamgama (m 210), Pli Majjhima Nikya (mn 44) and also preserved as a full quotation in the Abhidharmakoakopyik translated into Tib. For the Tib.
version, see Honj 2014, i: 6474, Anlayo 2011 and Skilling 2001, 148. For Dhammadinn
in Pli sources, see Krey 2010. Note, however, that in the Pli tradition Dhammadinn
seems totally unrelated to ordination by messenger, which is established with a woman
224
yao
read as part of a monastic legal code. In this context, the question that arises is
what rule the story explains. That is, are there any rules in the story that actually allude to the permission for or prohibition of anything? Certainly in the
story the Buddha says that he is willing to let Dharmadinn go forth before the
messenger Utpalavar, and the Buddha lets the nuns give Dharmadinn the
vows for women of each stage in the Order, and also ordain her by means of
the very same messenger. However, it must be noted that these words of the
Buddha are stated only as they pertain to the particular case of Dharmadinn
and do not seem to be general rules. In short, the Buddha in this story always
orders Do this for Dharmadinn, or says I authorize the nuns to do this for
Dharmadinn, instead of speaking in a general manner, such as Therefore,
if a monk/nun does such and such, he/she should or Therefore, I authorize monks/nuns to do such and such,23 which are common expressions in the
vinaya when legal precedents are formally established. Even if we consider the
Buddhas words in Dharmadinns story as part of the process for establishing
rules, the question remains as to what rule is actually established, because this
story does not precede a generalized explanation of a specific ordination procedure.24 By contrast, as we shall see later in the next section, corresponding
23
24
named Ahaks, as we shall see in the next section. The popularity of the story of
Dharmadinns unusual ordination is observed in an interesting passage related to Dharmadinn in the Bhiku-vinayavibhaga of the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya. The passage
explains ptayantika offense no. 117 in the Ch. version (t. 1443, 23.1006c211007a15), ordaining an argumentative woman. In this passage, a newly ordained nun, censuring famous
nuns, refers to Dharmadinn : Dharmadinn was ordained by a messenger. Here
Dharmadinn (as well as Mahprajpat, who was ordained without an ordination ceremony) is criticized for her unusual ordination. This ptayantika offence numbered as 117 in
the Ch. version is numbered as 17.3 in Tib., and the explanations of the offence in both versions generally correspond to each other. However, the remark concerning Dharmadinns
ordination does not appear in Tib., even though Mahprajpat and other famous nuns are
mentioned there (d 5, Ta288b6289b2). See Clarke 2014a, 224225 n. 138 on the problems
associated with the Tib. and Ch. Bhiku-vinayavibhaga.
E.g.: de lta bas na dge slong dag chos chad na phags ma dug ces smros shig Therefore, if
monks explain the Dharma, they should say (to a nun) Noble One, sit down. (Da137b3);
de lta bas na dge slong dag gis bzhag pa dge slong mas byin len byos la bza bar gnang
ngo Therefore, I authorize a nun to receive and eat what has been left over by monks.
(Da139b3)
Although not of major importance to our discussion here, it is perhaps noteworthy that
this story of Dharmadinns ordination seems to ignore one of the conditions for ordination: parental consent. It is clearly stated that the candidate should be asked in the
ordination ceremony whether her parents and husband have given her their permission
225
passages in the other extant vinayas clearly establish the permission of ordination by messenger as a specific monastic rule. Comparison with these passages
will show more precisely what is lacking in our story of Dharmadinn, viz., any
description of how messengers should actually perform this special ordination
procedure.
Ordination by Messenger in the Extant Vinayas

At least two scholars have briefly compared the rules on ordination by messenger in the vinayas of different schools. Akira Hirakawa, in his explanation of
the various forms of ordination among the Buddhist schools, mentioned ordination by messenger and pointed out some differences in both the names of the
characters in the stories and in the locations of the passages with regard to the
structure of the vinayas.25 Ann Heirman, in her article on the origins and validity of the Order of nuns in China, gave short summaries of the various accounts
on ordination by messenger in the existing vinayas.26 However, neither of these
scholars examined the differences in the details of these accounts and, consequently, neither seems to have noticed the uniqueness of the Mlasarvstivda
Vinaya compared with the other vinayas.
In all but the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, the narratives begin by first introducing the event in which one or more female candidates encounter some
difficulty in being ordained, an event which is completely different from what
happened to Dharmadinn in our story. The texts then state that the Buddha,
having been informed of that matter, gave permission to perform ordination by
messenger. It is the Buddhas explanation of how to perform such ordinations
that accounts for the larger part of the passage on ordination by messenger in
these vinayas. It might be useful to consider points of difference among the
25
26
(Da109a34) and that, Dharmadinns story notwithstanding, permission from parents is

an indispensable requisite for ordination in the Rraplastra embedded in the Bhaiajyavastu of the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya (d 1, Kha100b7112a5; Yao 2013, 208221). However, in the Uttaragrantha of the same vinaya, there is an exception allowing for the
ordination of those who do not have parental consent. Shayne Clarke has examined many
of the exceptions to ordination rules which appear in the Uttaragrantha, and pointed out
that in the Mlasarvstivdin tradition(s) any number of things can go wrong during the
ordination, without in any way affecting the validity of the ordination itself. See Clarke
2010, esp. 231.
Hirakawa 19992000, ii: 160178.
Heirman 2001, 298299.
226
yao
vinayas in terms of both narrative and legal aspects. The former consists of (1)
the main characters of the story and (2) what difficulties they faced. The latter
includes (3) qualifications for messengers and (4) the order of ceremonies (see
Appendix 1).
With regard to narrative features, it must be noted at first that the main characters of the story differ among these various vinayas. The Pli Vinaya and the
Wufen l agree with each other in identifying the candidates name as
Ahaks/*Ardhak and her profession as that of courtesan.27 The Shisong
l exhibits an interesting difference from the above two vinayas: it
characterizes the candidate, a brhmaa woman who was born in K and
became a widow soon after her marriage, as *ardhak ( ardhak
woman/ ardhak nun). Here this word does not appear to be a
proper name but a common noun meaning an extraordinary beauty or an
adjective applied to such a woman meaning of the value of half of K.28
The Sifen l refers to nuns from the kya and Koliya clans. The
Mlasarvstivda Vinaya uses Dharmadinn. The Mohesengzhi l
and the Bhikuvinaya of the Mahsghika-Lokottaravda refer to (a) disciple(s) of the nun Dharmadinn. It is especially noteworthy that the name
differs between the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya and the Shisong l , even
though these two texts are generally thought to be close in textual lineage.29
Secondly, in spite of the variation with regard to the name of the main character, all the vinayas other than the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya agree on the problem that the candidates encountered: Once they had been ordained among
nuns and sought to be ordained in the Order of monks, there was danger of
rogues attacking them on the way to the ordination site. The Mlasarvstivda
27
28
29
Though the events surrounding her ordination are not mentioned in Ahakss verses
in the Thergth (Th vss. 24, 25), her story in the Vinaya is given in the commentary on
the verses (Th-a 2931). See, also, the story of Ahaksiks former life in the Apadna
(Ap ii: 610611).
See, for instance: At
that time, there was a brhmaa in the kingdom of K. A girl was born to him. She was so
beautiful and lovely she was of the value of half of the kingdom of K (t. 23.295b1011);
()
Reverends, may the Order listen. An ardhak nun so-and-sos preceptress is so-and-so.
This ardhak nun sent me to ask the Order for her ordination precepts (b2224);
What is the name of the ardhak nun? What is the
name of her preceptress? (c1415). Cf. Th-a 31.12, 1620.
A nun named Dharmadinn appears in the Shisong l several times, but the
context of those accounts is not related to ordination at all (t. 23.57c1158c27; 316c327;
316c28317a24).
227
Vinaya, however, gives a story totally different from the above. In this version,
the problems are not only with her ordination by the Order of monks, which
is the last stage of the ordination procedure, but are encountered throughout
the whole procedure, including the stages of becoming a lay devotee, novice,
probationer, and nun. Thus throughout the story the protagonist stays at home,
far from the Order of nuns. In addition, what actually prevents the protagonist
from becoming a nun is not an assault by ruffians but the opposition of her
father. She asks her father twice for permission to go forth to the nunnery, but
he withholds his permission both times, then guards her so that she cannot
depart. The reason for his refusal is his promise to marry his daughter to his
friends son, a promise which was made at birth. Even after she has become a
nun by messenger and became an arhant, her father tries to force the wedding.
This situationnamely refusal of permission to enter the religious life by
the candidates father, her confinement at home and engagement against her
willare all unique to the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya.
In addition, in all vinayas other than the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, the narrative elements are very brief, as can be seen in the following example in the
Pli Vinaya, which comprises only ten lines in the pts edition.30 We read in
I.B. Horners translation:
Now at that time the courtesan Ahaks had gone forth among the
nuns. She was anxious to go to Svatth, thinking, I will be ordained in the
Lords presence. Men of abandoned life heard it said that the courtesan
Ahaks was anxious to go to Svatth and they beset the way. But
the courtesan Ahaks heard it said that the men of abandoned life
were besetting the way and she sent a messenger to the Lord saying:
Even I am anxious for ordination. Now what line of conduct should be
followed by me? Then the Lord on this occasion, having given reasoned
talk, addressed the monks, saying: I prescribe you, monks, to ordain even
through a messenger.31
30
31
tena kho pana samayena ahaks gaik bhikkhunsu pabbajit hoti/ s svatthi gantukm hoti bhagavato santike upasampajjissmti/ assosu kho dhutt/ ahaks kira
gaik svatthi gantukmti/ te magge pariyuhisu/ assosi kho ahaks gaik/
dhutt kira magge pariyuhitti/ bhagavato santike dta phesi/ aha hi upasampajjitukm/ katha nu kho may paipajjitabban ti/ atha kho bhagav etasmi nidne dhammi katha katv bhikkh mantesi/ anujnmi bhikkhave dtena pi upasampdetun ti/
(Vin ii: 277.312).
Horner 19921993, v: 383.
228
yao
The parallel passages in the other vinayas are about as long as the above quotation, but all are far shorter than the story of Dharmadinn in the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, which amounts to nine and a half folios in the Derge xylograph
and three pages in the Taish edition, including the story of the protagonists
former life. Needless to say, no versions other than the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya
give stories of the former lives of the main characters. Then, the Mlasarvstivdin version is unique both in content and in length.
Regarding the legal elements, all vinayas except the Mlasarvstivda
Vinaya, despite the many differences in detail among them, offer practical
explanations of the order of ceremonies of ordination by messenger including
the necessary qualifications for messengers and the formulas to be used at the
ceremonies. In some vinayas, a karman for the purpose of dispatching the messenger is required, in addition to the japticaturtha-karman for ordination. In
each vinaya, a motion and proclamation for ordination and other statements
to be made by or towards the messenger show special forms for use in the case
of the candidates absence. For example, the formula used by the messenger to
communicate her message in the presence of the Order of monks in the Pli
Vinaya is given as follows:32
The lady So-and-so wishes for ordination through the lady So-and-so. She
is ordained on the one side, in the Order of nuns, and is pure; she is not
coming only on account of some danger. The lady So-and-so is asking
the Order for ordination; may the Order out of compassion raise up that
lady.33
Such practical guidance is the very thing that the passage in question in the
Mlasarvstivda Vinaya lacks. In the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, the narration
of the ordination is as follows:34
32
33
34
itthannm ayy itthannmya ayyya upasampadpekkh ekato upasampann bhikkhun saghe visuddh/ s kenacid eva antaryena ngacchati/ itthannm ayy sagha upasampada ycati/ ullumpatu ta ayy sagho anukampa updya/ (Vin ii:
277.2327).
Horner 19921993, v: 383384.
bcom ldan das kyis tshe dang ldan pa kun dga bo la bka stsal pa/ kun dga bo song ste/ dge
slong ma dag la di ltar ngas gnang gis dge dun sde gnyis kyis utpa lai kha dog ma phrin
par thong ste/ bu mo chos sbyin ma bsnyen par rdzogs par gyis shig ces bsgo shig/ btsun
pa de ltar tshal lo// tshe dang ldan pa kun dga bos bcom ldan das las mnyan te dge slong
ma dag la bsgoo// dge slong mai dge dun gyis dge dun sde gnyis ka bsdus te chos sbyin ma
khyim de na dug bzhin du utpa lai kha dog ma las phrin gyis bsnyen par rdzogs par byas
229
The Blessed One said to the Venerable nanda, nanda, go and instruct
the nuns, With my (the Blessed Ones) authorization, the two Orders
should send Utpalavar as a messenger and ordain the girl Dharmadinn. Certainly, Reverend, replied the Venerable nanda to the
Blessed One, and he instructed the nuns thus. The Order of nuns summoned both the Orders and ordained Dharmadinn while she was still
staying at home through Utpalavar as a messenger.35
As we can see in the above quotation, the narration of the ordination itself is
so simple that nothing can be gleaned from it regarding how to send a messenger and what to state during the karman for ordination in the case of the
candidates absence. As Hirakawa noted, it presents no formula for use in the
ceremony.36 Regarding the messenger, the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya provides
only the simple information that the nun Utpalavar was sent, without mentioning any of the general requirements of that duty.
Briefly, the story of Dharmadinns ordination in the Mlasarvstivda
Vinaya is highly exceptional when compared with its counterparts in the other
vinayas; it contains an overwhelming abundance of narrative elements and a
lack of explanation of monastic law on how to ordain a woman by messenger.
Monastic Codes or Avadnas

It was observed in the preceding section that it is the richness of narrative
and the absence of legal elements which set the Mlasarvstivdin version of
Dharmadinns story apart from those in the other vinayas. In spite of the fact
that this story is a passage from a monastic code, the text does not read like an
explanation of how to ordain any candidate by messenger in case of trouble.
In essence, the text is the story of Dharmadinn, who, despite opposition
from her parents, was ordained by messenger at home, attained arhatship, and
exhibited an extraordinary ability to preach. This story is written in the form of
an avadna or a legend about the deeds performed in this life and in a previous
life or several previous lives by a specific prominent person, as commonly found
in the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya.
35
36
te (Da167a24)/

(t. 24.368b1519).
Translation is from the Tib. version.
Hirakawa 19992000, ii: 165.
230
yao
Notably, there is evidence to suggest that this understanding of this story

as avadna rather than as legal precedent is not restricted to modern readers.
The Kaiyuan shijiao lu , a catalogue of Buddhist scriptures compiled
during the Tang period in China, includes a list of forty-two stras extracted
by the translator Yijing from the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, thirty-three of
which are from the Kudrakavastu.37 Among the thirty-three is a stra named
Stra of the nun Dharmadinns attainment of arhatship at home
, which must have included the story of Dharmadinn that we
have examined in this paper.38 Obviously, the title of the stra, emphasizing
the attainment of arhatship, ignores the question of ordination by messenger,
although it does emphasize the fact that she remained at home. However,
it is quite natural that Yijing may not have considered the story to be about
an unusual ordination but rather about the religious achievement of the protagonist. This story would easily lead readers to such an understanding on
account of its scant information about monastic rules for ordination and abundant information about how quickly the talented nun Dharmadinn, staying at
home, attained the stages of sainthood, as we have already seen.39
Did Yijing, however, make the story of Dharmadinn in the vinaya into a
stra under the title Stra of the nun Dharmadinns attainment of arhatship
at home at his own discretion? It is reported in the Kaiyuan shijiao lu, which
was compiled two decades after Yijing translated the Kudrakavastu in 710 ce,
that the stras were extracted by Yijing himself and then circulated.40 But this
37
38
39
40
This list was later repeated in another catalogue, the Zhenyuan xinding shijiao mulu
(t. 2157, 55.997c2; 1001b24; 1047c6).
t. 2154, 55.660a7; 663c9; 699b6 (only here, ).
See Tournier 2012 for a discussion of the shift in textual transmission of the categorization
of the Mahvastu, from vinaya to avadna literature, which started with the later addition
of the label avadna to the title of the Mahvastu.
All the thirty-three stras, beginning with the Stra of the householder Jyotika, appear
in the Kudrakavastu of the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya. And also the Story of the householder Anthapiadas asking for permission to paint the monastery, one fascicle,
appears in the seventeenth fascicle of the Kudrakavastu and the fifth fascicle of the
Vinayakrik. [Including the above thirty-three,] all forty-two texts, beginning with the
Stra of the story of the makara fish, forty-nine fascicles [in total], are accounts in the
[Mla-]sarvstivda Vinaya. The Tripiaka Master Yijing extracted them, and they [then]
circulated [as independent texts]. Since they are extracts, I have listed them in this catalogue [of extracted texts].

t. 55.660a1722. See also 663c21664a2; 699b1820. A short
231
account gives no information about whether the extraction reflected any actual
circulation of the stras in India. It is thus difficult to determine whether the
story of Dharmadinn was extracted from the vinaya only in China or whether
it was also read as a stra in India, and, if so, whether it was included in
the gamas. Some similar stras listed as extracts from the Kudrakavastu
in the Kaiyuan shijiao lu have their parallel in the extant gamas or nikyas,
e.g. , which parallels no. 52-1 of the Ekottarikgama
in Ch. (t. 125); , which parallels the Ambhastra in the
Drghgama of the Mlasarvstivdins;41 , which parallels
no. 5.213 of Aguttara Nikya (t. 55.659c660a).
Whether or not it had a parallel in the gama, the Stra of the nun Dharmadinns attainment of arhatship at home, being an extract, is likely to
have had exactly the same contents as the story of Dharmadinn in the Kudrakavastu. On the other hand, here is another version of the story to examine,
this time one significantly different from our story. The thirty-sixth story of the
Karmaataka, an avadna collection preserved in Tibetan translation whose
close relationship to the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya has been noted,42 is about a
woman named Dharmadinn.43 The story, titled Giving a bride (bag ma gtong
ba), consists of one shorter story of the present and two of the past lives of
the protagonist. The first half of the story of the present, from the engagement
made before Dharmadinns birth to her longing to go forth and saving herself from her forced marriage, is a kind of shortened version of the story in the
41
42
43
biography of Yijing in the Kaiyuan shijiao lu also mentions his having extracted these
stras (t. 55.569a2529). Today, the stra titled Stra of Dharmadinns attainment of
arhatship at home is lost. The reason for this is not hard to see: the Kaiyuan shijiao lu
classified such stras as stras not to be included in the full set of Buddhist scripture (in
order to avoid duplication, as they were mere extracts from larger texts. See Hayashiya
1964). After that, new copies of the manuscripts of those stras were rarely made. Even
the old manuscript canon in the Nanatsudera-issaiky in Japan, which contains many such stras classified in the Kaiyuan shijiao lu as uncanonical, contains only
one stra extracted from the Kudrakavastu. See Ochiai 1994, 448; 1999, 772
Gudrun Melzers study of the Sanskrit manuscript of the Drghgama from Gilgit revealed
the close correspondence between the Ambhastra in the manuscript and its parallels
in the Kudrakavastu and Bhaiajyavastu (Melzer 2010). See also Yao 2011, 183186 and Yao
2013, 156187.
Okada 1994a and 1994b; Skilling 2001, 139142; Silk 2008, 180; and a series of studies by
Junko Matsumoto, ne Iibuchi, esp. 1995 and 1999.
d 340, mDo sde Ha135a4142a6. Feer 1901, 267271 (French summary); Matsumoto 2005
(Japanese translation); Jamspal and Fischer, Forthcoming (English translation).
232
yao
Kudrakavastu. However, notably enough, this part of the story includes no

mention of ordination by messenger. Dharmadinn here is only a lay devotee
when she converts her fianc, flying up before a crowd headed by him. The
ordination by messenger appears in the second half of the story: Dharmadinn,
granted permission by her fianc, goes forth in the nunnery and becomes a
novice and then a probationer. When she is on her way to the Jetavana for
full ordination, she is threatened by men desiring to obtain her. The nuns take
her to her parents house and report the situation to the Buddha, who then
authorizes her ordination by a messenger. Dharmadinn, soon after having
been ordained, attains arhatship.
Thus the story of the present in Karmaataka 36 is a combination of two
different plots about fleeing from marriage and ordination by messenger,44
and the second half shows a rather close similarity to other extant vinayas
apart from the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, especially the Shisong l.45 Although
the relationships between the Karmaataka and the vinayas of other schools
apart from the Mlasarvstivdins, extant or not, are beyond the scope of
44
45
Combining the two plots, the compilers of the Karmaataka seem to have chosen to
sacrifice the well-made narrative structure of the Kudrakavastu version of the story
for coherency. The synchronism in the latter between advances in sainthood and the
procedures of ordination had to be broken in the former, and the climax of the latter had
to be set at a halfway point in the former. In any case, Peter Skillings general remark on
the texthighly processed biographical texts in contrast with the Divyvadnawill
apply here (Skilling 2001, 141).
Both the Karmaataka and the Shisong l explain that because of her beauty many people
wanted to obtain the protagonist: de yang gzugs bzang zhing blta na sdug la mdzes pa kha
dog rgyas pa mchog dang ldan pa yul na bzang ba byad gzugs dpe med pa zhig ste/ btsas
ma thag tu skye bo mang pos bslangs na (Ha137a45);
(t. 23.295b1012).
More noteworthy is the permission granted by the Buddha in both texts, which declares
that this type of ordination should be granted to other women in a similar situation: phyin
cad gzhan zhig phyi rol du byung ba la/ di kho na dang dra bai nyes dmigs byung bar gyur
na/ de yang phrin gyis bsnyen par rdzogs par gyis shig (Ha137b12);
(t. 23.295b23) Such a statement is not seen in the Kudrakavastu
version (see the next section). There are also some remarkable features to point out in
this Karmaataka story: Mahprajpat is mentioned as the first preacher to Dharmadinn
(Ha135b57); Utpalavar does not appear in the story; Dharmadinn is finally allowed
to go forth, but it is not her father but her fianc who allows it (Ha137a1). Her fathers
words beforehand explain this: My daughter, since we gave you to a husband before you
were born, we are not the proper people to allow you [to go forth] You should ask your
husband for yourself and go forth. (Ha136a35)
233
this paper, it can be safely said at least that the compilers of the Karmaataka
had access to some of those vinayas.46
The combination of the two storylines seen above seems linked to one of
the two past life stories in Karmaataka 36. The first is relatively short and
about Dharmadinns prayers for religious achievement in her former life and
is to some extent similar to the past life story in the Kudrakavastu version.47
The second, which is longer even than the story of the present, is about the
adventures of a young merchants wife, who defends her chastity during her
solitary travel full of dangers and is finally reunited with her husband. What is
important is that in the Karmaataka this past life story is narrated by the Buddha explaining Dharmadinns defence of her chastity in the present life. The
repeated threats to the merchants wifes virtue parallel the multiple challenges
to Dharmadinns chastity, viz. her forced marriage and her abduction by men.
Here in the Karmaataka the story of Dharmadinn from the Kudrakavastu,
through being combined with a story from another vinaya, attained another
aspect different from both the religious achievement of a talented nun and a
rule for ordination by messenger, that is, the struggle for chastity.48
46
47
48
The Karmaataka story does not explain how to perform ordination by messenger and
who was appointed messenger but abbreviates as follows: It should be related in detail
just as it appears in the scripture (gzhung las ji skad byung ba bzhin du rgyas par brjod
par byao// Ha137b2). Here what the word scripture (gzhung, *grantha) indicates is an
unsolved, interesting question. It is most likely to be some vinaya text, as Matsumoto
has suggested (Matsumoto 2005, 193 n. 13), but it cannot be the Kudrakavastu of the
Mlasarvstivda Vinaya.
But in this past life story an ordination candidate is confronted not by any objection to
going forth from her parents but by some problem that occurs when she goes out for
ordination after having gone forth. The consistency with the story of the present is clear.
Since the compilation process of the Karmaataka has still not been elucidated, the above
scenario, i.e. that the compiler extracted the Dharmadinn story from the Kudrakavastu,
combined it with its counterpart from another vinaya, modified the whole story of the
present in order to get rid of inconsistencies caused by the combination and attached two
past life stories, is only a possibility. There might be a number of other scenarios, one of
which could be that the story of Dharmadinns going forth originally had nothing to do
with ordination by messenger and that this older story was adopted in the Karmaataka.
However, I am rather skeptical about the probability of this second scenario: the story
says that Dharmadinn had to go back to her parents house when she was to be ordained.
This account agrees with none of the extant vinayas and is likely to reflect the story of an
ordination by messenger at home, which is none other than the Kudrakavastu version
among the extant vinayas.
234
yao
Universal Rules or Specific Events

Returning to the vinaya text but extending our observations into another part of
it, we find further peculiarities of the Mlasarvstivda tradition related to the
story of Dharmadinn. Some vinaya texts offer lists of different types of ordination which often include ordination by messenger. These lists have been
the subject of scholarly discussions from time to time. Hirakawa examined
the lists in the works of different schools,49 namely the Pli Samantapsdik and its counterpart, the Shanjian lpiposha (t. 1462),
the Pinimu jing (t. 1463), the school affiliation of which is unknown,
the Lershiermingliao lun (hereafter Mingliao lun, t. 1461) of
the Smityas, the *Sarvstivdavinayavibh (hereafter Vinayavibh, t.
1440), the *Sarvstivdavinayamtk (Sapoduobu pini modeleqie
, hereafter Modeleqie, t. 1441),50 comparing them with the list in
the so-called Binisong section in the Shisong l,51 and then argued that
the list in the Shisong l is accepted in all Sarvstivdin abhidharma work such
as the *Mirakbhidharmahdaya (Zaapitanxin lun , hereafter
Miraka, t. 1552), the Abhidharmakoabhya in Chinese translation (t. 1558),
the *Nyynusrin (Apidamo shunzhengli lun , t. 1562), and
also in a Mahyna work, the Rudachenglun (t. 1634), and in the Chinese translation of the Mlasarvstivda Vinayakrik (hereafter Vinayakrik,
t. 1459).52 These lists were studied again by Mitsuo Sat and Noriaki Hakamaya.53
To the aforementioned materials we may add seven more texts: five texts
which belong to the Mlasarvstivda tradition, namely, the Vinayakrik in
Tibetan translation,54 the Mtk section in the Uttaragrantha preserved in
Tibetan and a Sanskrit manuscript fragment which corresponds to it,55 and
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
Hirakawa 19992000, ii: 167178.

Sp i: 241.9242.13; t. 1462, 24.718b5c1; t. 1463, 24.801b3803c8; t. 1461, 24.668c1624; t.
1440, 23.511a26b4; t. 1441, 23.594a18b9.
t. 1435, 23.410a426. For the title Binisong, see Hirakawa 19992000, i: 127137; Clarke 2012.
t. 1552, 28.890c2428; t. 1558, 29.74b25c5/AKBh 212.39; t. 1562, 29.551a27b10; t. 1634
32.48b210; t. 1459, 24.618b922.
Sat 1972, 179195, esp. 184185; Hakamaya 2011.
d 4123, Shu3b44a3. The unpublished Skt. manuscript of the Vinayakrik (Sktyyana
1937, 23, catalogue no. 195) lacks the portion in question.
d 7, Pa234b7235b3; Hoernle 1970, 13 (Hirakawa 19992000, i: 8889; Clarke 2004, 108 n.105;
Hakamaya 2011, 1216. Wille 2014, 232 and n.27; Clarke forthcoming, under subheading
Mlasarvstivda-vinaya: Uttaragrantha: Tibetan).
235
the Vinayasagraha preserved in Chinese and Tibetan,56 and two from the
Mahsghika tradition, namely, the Mahsghika Vinaya and the Mahvastu.57 The Mtk in the Uttaragrantha, the Binisong, the Modeleqie, the
Pinimu jing, the Mahsghika Vinaya and the Mahvastu all appear to be
parts of canonical vinayas themselves. In recent years, Shayne Clarke has questioned the conventional association of the Modeleqie to the school of the
Shisong l, and made clear that this text agrees more with the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya than the Shisong l.58 The Samantapsdik, the Mingliao lun,
the Vinayavibh, the Vinayakrik and the Vinayasagraha can be classified as vinaya commentaries. The Miraka, the Abhidharmakoabhya,59
and the Nyynusrin are abhidharma works, which deal with the lists of
types of ordination from the viewpoint of savara, or moral restraint. There
is considerable variety in the order of the categories in each list as well as
in the categorization itself among these texts, even within the texts which
belong to the Sarvstivda School, interpreted here in a broad sense (See
Appendix 2).60
In these lists, ordination by messenger appears as one type of ordination. For
example, the Abhidharmakoabhya presents the following list:61
56
57
58
59
60
61
t. 1458, 24.599a412; d 4105, Nu242b57.

t. 1425, 22.412b2324; Mv i: 2.1516. See Hirakawa 19992000, ii: 111122.
Clarke 2004, 8486, 91 n. 61; Clarke 2009, 128 n. 35; Clarke forthcoming, under subheading Sapoduo-bu pini modeleqie ; T. 1441 [xxiv]; 10 fasc. See also
Kishino 2008. The correspondence between the Modeleqie and the Mtk in the Uttaragrantha against the Shisong l is obvious also in the passages dealt with here, as we shall
see later in this section.
In his commentary on this passage of the Abhidharmakoabhya, amathadeva summarizes the story of Dharmadinn in the Kudrakavastu (see note 5). However, Yaomitra explains in his commentary on the same passage that Dharmadinn, who was in a
harem, sent a messenger to the Buddha in order to go forth (dtena dharmadinny iti.
tay kilntapura-gatayaiva pravrajyrtha buddhya dta preita iti. AKVy 374.2526).
I was unable to clarify which source Yaomitra consulted about this. Contrary to the explanation above, Yaomitra in another place mentions bhiku Dharmadinn whose former
husband was Vikha, quoting a stra which parallels mn 44 and m 210: yat tarhy ukta
asabhgo nirodha iti. kvokta. stre. prva-bhartr vikhena ghapatin pay dharmadinnay bhikuyokta. (AKVy 16.2829)
Numbers assigned to each category in the Ch. translations seem not to originate from
their original Skt. texts. See, for example, the Ch. and Skt. versions of the Abhidharmakoabhya (note 52).
t. 1558, 29.74b25c5/AKBh 212.39.
236
yao
1.
2.
ordination of the Buddhas and pratyekabuddhas without a teacher;

ordination of the first five disciples of the Buddha through their enlightenment;
3. ordination of Yaas and other disciples through the Buddhas saying,
Come, monk;
4. ordination of Mahkyapa through acceptance of the teaching;
5. ordination of Sodyin through his answer to the Buddhas query;
6. ordination of Mahprajpat through acceptance of the eight important
rules;
7. ordination of Dharmadinn through messenger;
8. ordination by an Order composed of five monks including a vinaya master
in border areas;
9. ordination by an Order composed of ten monks in the middle country;
10. ordination of sixty disciples through declaration of the three refuges.
Dharmadinn occurs as the seventh member of this list. In other texts, her
name appears in the list itself as fayu /mchod sbyin ma (sic) in both
versions of the Vinayakrik; as damochenna /chos sbyin ma in both
versions of the Vinayasagraha; as fayu and damodina in
the Modeleqie; as fayu in the Miraka;62 and as fashouni in the
Nyynusrin. In contrast, the Binisong in the Shisong l and both versions of
the Samantapsdik refer to the nun, as *Ardhak63 /Ahaks.
Their usage of this word is in harmony with the above examined account of
her ordination in the Zafa and the Bhikkhunkkhandhaka respectively.64
The Vinayavibh, the Mahsghika Vinaya and the Mahvastu do not list
ordination by messenger. The Pinimu jing and the Mingliao lun list this type of
ordination without mention of the persons name.
As we have seen in the list in the Abhidharmakoabhya quoted above, each
of these lists, with some exceptions, includes special types of Ordination as
well as the standard ordination through a ceremony performed by the Order:
the ordination of the Buddha himself, his first five disciples, the disciples who
were ordained by the Buddhas words Come, monk, and Sodyin(/Udyin),
who was ordained through his answer to a question the Buddha asked. Thus,
in the same list we find both usual forms of ordination and some which are
62
63
64
Because of its incompleteness, it is not known if the Skt. manuscript fragment corresponding to the Modeleqie contained any references to Dharmadinn. See note 55.
Or *ardhak as a common noun in this text; see note 28.
Note, also, that the *Abhidharma Mahvibh mentions
*Ardhak () in the context of prtimoka-savara (t. 1545, 27.957c14).
237
quite specific and probably never were used againwhen there is no longer
a Buddha to say Come, monk, for example. Naturally enough, the texts often
include some arguments about the validity or feasibility of each type of ordination, though the works of abhidharma listed above do not seem to contain such arguments. The question, then, is how ordination by messenger is
explained in the aforementioned texts. Does the feasibility of this type of ordination have any relationship with the difference between the story of Dharmadinn in the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya and its counterparts in the other
vinayas observed in the preceding sections of this paper? In other words, is
ordination by messenger regarded as a legal procedure open to anyone who
wishes to utilize it, or as a special event in the past which can no longer
occur?
Let us start with the most explicit example. The Modeleqie states that
although this type of ordination is permitted for those who experienced similar difficulties in their ordination, from now on only ordination through a
japticaturtha-karman in the presence of both Orders is regarded as a valid
form of ordination for nuns. It clearly denies the future validity of ordination
through acceptance of the eight important rules and by messenger.65 Both versions of the Vinayasagraha also say that after the Buddha established the
karman of ordination, other types of ordination except Come, monk were not
performed.66
65
66

(t.
23.594b49).
srid pa tha ma pa yin pai phyir dge slong tshur shog ces bya ba ma gtogs pa las bcas tshun
chad gzhan gyis bsnyen par rdzogs par bya ba med do (Nu242b7)/
(t. 24.599a1011) Note also that Tib. says
da ltar ni now, listing ordination by both Orders as the ninth after the ordinations of
nuns through acceptance of eight important rules and by messenger, which are the seventh and eighth: lci bai chos khas blangs pa rnams kyi ni skye dgui bdag mo chen mo gau
ta mo// pho nyas ni chos sbyin mao// da ltar ni tshogs gnyis ka dus pas so// (Nu242b6
7). This suggests that the seventh and eighth types of ordination were regarded in this
text as only past events. Bu ston in his commentary on the vinaya criticizes an opinion
that, after todays ordination rites (da ltar gyi cho ga) were established, it is improper
that the old ordination rites (sngon chog) except Come, monk are performed (Lokesh
Chandra 1971, 4a67). Though this criticized opinion looks similar to the above statement in the Vinayasagraha, Bu ston does not specify the holders of this opinion but
only refers to them as kha cig some. In the following sentence, he mentions ordination of Dharmadinn (mchod sbyin ma) as well as that of Mahprajpat as evidence that
238
yao
In contrast, the Shisong l authorizes candidates who find themselves in

similar circumstances to be ordained by messenger, not only in the explanation
after the list but also in the account of the establishment of the ordination
which we have already seen.67 The Pinimu jing tells a story similar to the Shisong
l, and argues that although ordination by messenger took place only once
during the Buddhas life, it is still valid for people in similar circumstances.68
The Samantapsdik and its Chinese counterpart seem to be ambiguous
about the validity of ordination by messenger for women other than
Ahaks.69 Both versions of the Vinayakrik also do not seem to provide
enough information about the matter.70
67
68
69
70
the old ordination rites were employed after the establishment of todays ordination
rites. I am indebted to Professor Clarke for informing me of Bu stons reference to this
subject.

(t.
23.410a2226);
(t. 23.295b1920). One may notice that the passage about ordination by
messenger in the Sifen l has a supplementary explanation in the last part of it:

With such instructions the Blessed One authorized ordination by sending a
messenger. Then they performed ordination by sending a messenger on account of faces
of no importance (?). The Buddha said: You should not perform ordination by sending
messenger because of faces of no importance. (t. 22.926c1316) Though the meaning
of faces of no importance or quite small face is not clear to me, this text
might be saying something similar to the above passage in the Shisong l, viz., If there
is someone beautiful like this . In other words, women who do not
possess great beauty may not be authorized to be ordained by messenger in either the
Shisong l or the Sifen l.

(sic)
(t. 24.807a48).
dtena upasampad nma ahaksiy gaikya anutaupasampad (Sp i: 242.8
10)/(t. 24.718b2526). It is noteworthy that, in the
list of those who are called bhikkhun in the Bhikkhunvibhaga above mentioned, there
is not one listed who has been ordained by messenger and that, at the end of the list,
those who have been ordained by both Orders through complete atticatuttha kamma are
stated to be the bhikkhun intended in the context: tatra yya bhikkhun samaggena
ubhatosaghena atticatutthena kammena akuppena hnrahena upasampann aya
imasmi atthe adhippet bhikkhunti. (Vin iv: 214.1113).
bsnyen par rdzogs la sngar gyi ni// nyes par grags pa med pa yin// (Shu 4a3)/
(t. 24.618b22).
239
The Mtk in the Uttaragrantha has a marked correspondence with the

Mtk found in the Modeleqie in the list itself and the argument following it.
In the Mtk, the Buddha, after enumerating ten kinds of people suitable to
be ordained (bsnyen par rdzogs par os pa), explains three types of ordination
for nuns, namely ordination through acceptance of the eight important rules,
ordination by messenger and ordination by both Orders. As to ordination by
messenger, the Buddha describes in a passage not free from difficulties:
As for a messenger, an emissary should be employed for a person similar
to that woman of virtue (namely Dharmadinn) who would encounter
obstacles were she to go out. The messenger listens to the precepts,
repeats them (for the candidate), saying: Sister, you have been properly
ordained as was the case with Dharmadinn. The instruction should be
given in detail71 exactly as it appears in the vinaya.72
In spite of the difficulties in understanding the word skye boi dge ba can ma
the woman of virtue in the above passage,73 I would like to point out at least
that in this text ordination by messenger is allowed for women other than
Dharmadinn under certain conditions. Just after this passage, however, we
find a statement that those who do not fit the conditions should be ordained
by both Orders through the complete ordination ceremony, which is performed
without any problem:
Those of lesser virtue should be ordained by both Orders. One who has
been ordained through the japticaturtha-karman without misgivings or
reservations is said to be an ordained person.74
71
72
73
74
I am grateful to Geshe Tsewang Nyima and Venerable Lozang Zopa for their advice about
understanding this passage, especially suggesting an idea that the instructions (lung
bsgo ba) here indicates the instructions given at the end of the ordination ceremony. In
regard to nuns, they are explained in the Kudrakavastu (Da113b121b).
phrin ni skye boi dge ba can ma dang dra ba gang phyir byung na bar chad du gyur ba de
la yang pho nyas las su byao// phrin gyis bslab pa nyan te de dag la zlos la che zhe khyod
legs par bsnyen par rdzogs pa ni chos sbyin ma dang drao// lung bsgo ba ni rgyas par sbyar
te/ ji ltar dul ba las byung ba bzhin no// (Pa235a7b1).
The word skye boi dge ba can ma may also be interpreted as a translation of a Skt. common
noun janapadakaly beautiful woman of the country (see Edgerton 1998, q.v.; Mvy
7630 yul gyi bzang mo). A similar expression, yul na bzang ba, is seen in the Karmaataka
to explain Dharmadinns beauty (Ha137a4).
de las thu ba dag ni dge dun sde gnyis kyis bsnyen par rdzogs par gyis shig/ skyo ba med/
240
yao
Thus we see that, broadly speaking, the opinions about the ordination by messenger differ between texts that report the case of Ardhak and texts that
narrate the story of Dharmadinn. The former obviously interpret this type
of ordination as a general rule applicable to anyone who fulfills certain conditions, whereas the latter tend to restrict the ordination to the past, even though
they recognize that at one time it was applied to some people other than Dharmadinn. This difference agrees with our previous observation about the legal
and narrative attitude of most of the existing vinayas and the Mlasarvstivda
Vinaya towards this subject respectively.
Conclusions
When compared with other vinayas regarding how the establishment of the
rule of ordination by messenger is described, the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya
shows a notable peculiarity: an abundance of narrative elements and a lack
of explanation of monastic rules. Unlike the other vinayas, the narrative in
the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya focuses on Dharmadinns character as an outstanding person and the story is rather close to the genre of avadna. This
story suggests the possibility of some narrative freedom from the vinaya framework, which allows the story to develop independently in narrative literature
outside of the strict legal context. Regarding the lack of legal elements in the
story, this feature can be considered in the context of various types of ordination listed in the various vinayas, revealing itself related to the negative attitude
towards the continued validity of ordination by messenger assumed by the
vinaya texts which preserve Dharmadinns story, in contrast with the texts
based on another legal precedent, and their tendency to limit this type of ordination to the past, the time of the legendary nun Dharmadinn.
Abbreviations
AKBh
AKVy
Ap
d
Abhidharmakoabhya (Pradhan 1967)

Abhidharmakoavykhy (Wogihara 1989)
Apadna (Lilley 2000)
Derge Xylograph
gzhag pa med par gsol ba dang bzhii las kyis bsnyen par rdzogs pa de ni bsnyen par rdzogs
pa zhes ni bya ste/ (Pa235b1235b2).
Divy
m
mn
Mv
Mvy
SbhV
Sp
t
Th
Th-a
Vin
241
Divyvadna (Cowell and Neil 1987)

Madhyamgama in Chinese, Zhong ahan jing (t. 26)
Majjhima Nikya (vol. 1: Trenckner 1979)
Mahvastu (Senart 18821897)
Mahvyutpatti (Sakaki 1998)
Saghabhedavastu (Gnoli 19771978)
Samantapsdik, Vinayahakath (Takakusu and Nagai 19751981)
Taish shinsh daizky
Thergth (in Oldenberg and Pischel 1966)
Thergth-ahakath (Pruitt 1998).
Vinayapiaka (Oldenberg 19821997).
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247
Appendix 1. A Comparative Table of Ordination by Messenger in

the Extant Vinayas
1.
2.
3.
4.
The main characters of the story: the candidates for ordination

The problem about ordination which confronts the candidates
Qualifications for messengers
The order of ceremonies
(I understand 1 and 2 to be narrative elements; 3 and 4 to be legal elements.)
Pli Vinaya
Wufen l
Sifen l
Ahaks, a nun who was

formerly a courtesan.
*Ardhak (), who

was a courtesan.
Nuns from the *kya

and *Koliya clans
().
She could not go to Svatth

to be ordained in the
Buddhas presence because
of rogues besetting the way.
She could not go to the

wilderness () to be
ordained after going forth
because of rogues besetting
the way.
They were attacked by

rogues along the way to
the Order of monks for
ordination.
An experienced, competent
nun; not a monk,
probationer, novice,
woman novice, or ignorant,
inexperienced woman.
An Order composed of ten

nuns led by a preceptress
( *updhyy) and a
teacher ( *cry).75
A nun who is pure and

without faults ()
followed by two or three
nuns as guards.
a) The arrival of the

messenger in the Order of
monks
a) The ordination in the

Order composed of ten nuns
a) The japtidvitya-karman
with the purpose of
nominating a nun as a
messenger
b) The statements requesting b) The arrival of the Order of b) The arrival of the
ordination by the messenger nuns led by a preceptress
messenger (and her guards)
(repeated three times)
and a teacher in the
in the Order of monks
wilderness
75
There are no words meaning a messenger in this passage.
248
yao
(cont.)
Pli Vinaya
Wufen l
Sifen l
c) Ordination through
the atticatuttha-kamma
made by an experienced,
competent monk
d) A notice of the date and
time of this ordination
c) The statements requesting

ordination made by
a (bhiku) officiant
(repeated three times)
d) Ordination through the
japticaturtha-karman made
by a bhiku officiant
c) Her statements repeated

three times
e) Chanting together
(sagti)
e) The return of the Order of

nuns to the original place
f) Instructions to nuns to
explain the three resources
to her and the eight things
which are not to be done
f) Informing the candidate

of the completion of the
japticaturtha-karman
d) Inquiries about the

name of the candidate and
other details made to the
messenger and the guards by
the monks
e) Ordination through the
japticaturtha-karman made
by an officiant
f) The return of the
messenger to the nunnery,
informing the candidate
of the completion of the
ordination76
g) Explanation for the

candidate of the eight things
which are not to be done,
the four allegories, the eight
important rules, and the four
supports by the officiant
76
Ordaining someone because of faces of no importance is prohibited (See note 67).
249
Shisong l
The Mlasarvstivda Vinaya
A brhmaa widow, whose beauty was of

*Dharmadinn (/chos sbyin), who was a
value of a half of K ( *ardhak). daughter of a householder.
After her going forth in the kings garden,

rogues planned to abduct her on the way at
the time of ordination.
She was not permitted to go forth and be

ordained by her parents due to the promise
of marriage.
There are no clear statements about the

qualifications for a messenger in this
passage.
There are no clear statements about the

qualifications for a messenger in this
passage.
a) The statements requesting ordination

made by the messenger in the Order
of monks (repeated three times)
b) The motion made by a monk
announcing his following inquiries
c) Inquiries about the purity of the
candidates and other details made
to the messenger by that monk
d) Ordination through the
japticaturtha-karman made by that monk
e) The return of the messenger to the
nunnery, informing the candidate of the
ceremony and explanation of the three
supports and the eight things that are not to
be done77
Utpalavar goes to Dharmadinns house

and tells her to accept the three refuges and
the five precepts. Having informed her
that she is now a lay devotee, Utpalavar
gives her the ten precepts of a novice and
the six dharmas and six anudharmas of a
probationer in succession. After the two
years of probation, Utpalavar goes to give
Dharmadinn the consent to enter the holy
life. Then the two Orders are summoned by
nanda and the ordination is performed.
Utpalavar goes to tell Dharmadinn that
the ordination has been completed.
77
The permission for the ordination by messenger is clearly generalized as a rule for candidates with a graceful form.
250
yao
Mohesengzhi l
The Bhikuvinaya of the

Mahsghika-Lokottaravda
A disciple of bhiku *Dharmadinn

().
Two disciples of bhiku Dharmadinn.
When she was to be ordained, Anpoluo

, a young man of the Licchavi clan,
planned to violate her chastity outside the
nunnery and interrupt her ordination.
When the disciples are to be ordained,

Apraarka,78 a young man from the Licchavi
clan, planned to violate their chastity.
Two or three bhikus who are capable [of

Similar to the Mahsghika Vinaya
performing the karman], not a group [of four
or more] ( *gaa)
a) Ordination in the Order of nuns

b) The arrival of Dharmadinn at the
Order of monks and her request to
them for ordination by messenger
c) The motion made by an officiant
in order to get the agreement of the
Order to ordination by messenger
d) The preceptress request to
the Order for the ordination by
messenger (repeated three times)
e) The japticaturtha-karman with the
purpose of nominating two or three monks
as messengers, made by an officiant
f) The arrival of the
messengers at the nunnery
g) The candidates request to the messengers
for ordination (repeated three times)
h) The arrival of the preceptress with the
messengers at the order of monks and her
request for the ordination (repeated three
times)
78
(a) to (g): Similar to the Mahsghika

Vinaya
h) The arrival of the preceptress with the

messengers at the order of monks and her
request for the ordination (repeated three
times), followed by that of the messengers
Roth notes that it may be a distortion of Apakaraka. See Roth 1970, 70 n. 2.
251
Mohesengzhi l
The Bhikuvinaya of the

Mahsghika-Lokottaravda
i) Ordination through the

(i) to (j): Similar to the Mahsghika
japticaturtha-karman made by the officiant Vinaya79
j) The return of the preceptress with the
messengers to the nunnery and her
informing the candidate of the completion of
ordination
Appendix 2. A Comparative Table of Types of Ordination

Texts
vk
VSat
VSac
Mt
t. 1441
h
AKBh
t. 1552
t. 1562
t. 1435
79
80
Vinayakrik translated in Tibetan and Chinese (d 4123, Shu3b4

4a3; t. 1459, 24.618b922)
Vinayasagraha translated in Tibetan (d 4105, Nu242b57)
Vinayasagraha translated in Chinese (t. 1458, 24.599a412)
Mtk in the Uttaragrantha (d 7, Pa 234b7235b3)
*Sarvstivdavinayamtk (Sapoduobu pini modeleqie
) (t. 23.594a18b9)
Hoernle Sanskrit manuscript fragment no. 149/x20 (Hoernle 1970,
13)80
Abhidharmakoabhya and its Chinese translation Apidamo jushe
lun (AKBh 212.39; t. 1558, 29.74b25c5)
*Mirakbhidharmahdaya (Za apitan xin lun ) (t.
28.890c2428)
*Nyynusrin (Apidamo shunzhengli lun ) (t.
29.551a27b10)
Shisong l (t. 23.410a426)
The rules are generally similar to the Mahsghika Vinaya, other than the number of
the candidates in the incident that resulted in the establishment of rules of ordination by
messenger.
Because of the fragmentary state of the manuscript, types of ordination cannot be numbered.
252
yao
t. 1440
t. 1425
Mv
Sp
t. 1462
t. 1461
t. 1463
*Sarvstivdavinayavibh (Sapoduo pinipiposha

) (t. 23.511a26b4)
Mahsghika Vinaya (Mohesengzhi l ) (t. 1425,
22.412b2324)
Mahvastu (Mv i: 2.1516)
Samantapsdik (Sp i: 241.9242.13)
Shanjian lpiposha (t. 24.718b5c1)
Lershiermingliao lun (t. 24.668c1624)
Pinimu jing (t. 24.801b3803c8)
Types of Ordination
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
m.
Ordination of the Buddha

Ordination of the first five disciples of the Buddha
Ordination of Mahkyapa through acceptance of the teaching
Ordination of Udyin through the Buddhas query and his explanation
Ordination through the Buddhas saying, Come, monk
Ordination through declaration of the three refuges
Ordination by an Order composed of five monks including a vinaya master in a border area
Ordination by an Order composed of ten or more monks in the middle
country
Ordination of Mahprajpat Gautam through acceptance of the eight
important rules
Ordination by messenger
Ordination of nuns in both Orders
Ordination by a japticaturtha-karman
Ordination by hearing the Dharma from the Buddha and attaining arhatship
253
vk81
fc
g/h
i/g
l/i
ij
b
VSac
a
VSat
bd
Mt82
c
h
t1441
AKBh
e
t1552
t1562
t1435
g
c
t144083
t1425/Mv
lh
Sp/t1462
j
t1461
l
t146384
81
82
83
84
There are two possible divisions of types of ordination in vk.

My numbering is based on the appearance in Tib. translation of the word for ordained
bsnyen par rdzogs pa, and is given only for the purpose of harmonizing the number of
categories with the clearly stated number ten, but this is open to question. As we see in the
above table, most of the other lists separate ordination by means of the eight important
rules and ordination by messenger, and in some lists it seems to be ambiguous as to
whether ordination in a border area and that in the middle country are separate categories
or not.
The difference between the third and fourth items in the list, namely, ordination through
three words and ordination through declaration of the three refuges
, is not clear. See Hirakawa 19992000, ii: 171172.
The first five (em) represent types of ordination for monks and the second five (im) for
nuns.

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Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

The Story of Dharmadinn

koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2015 | doi: 10.1163/15728536-05800062

the story of dharmadinn

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

the story of dharmadinn

The Mlasarvstivda Vinaya: the Kudrakavastu5

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The Story of Dharmadinn in the Kudrakavastu

D6, Da100a3187b3/t. 24.350b7374c28.

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

the story of dharmadinn

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

the story of dharmadinn

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Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

the story of dharmadinn

Ordination by Messenger in the Extant Vinayas

(Da109a34) and that, Dharmadinns story notwithstanding, permission from parents is

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

the story of dharmadinn

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

the story of dharmadinn

Monastic Codes or Avadnas

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

Notably, there is evidence to suggest that this understanding of this story

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

the story of dharmadinn

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

Kudrakavastu. However, notably enough, this part of the story includes no

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

the story of dharmadinn

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

Universal Rules or Specific Events

Hirakawa 19992000, ii: 167178.

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

the story of dharmadinn

t. 1458, 24.599a412; d 4105, Nu242b57.

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

ordination of the Buddhas and pratyekabuddhas without a teacher;

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

the story of dharmadinn

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

In contrast, the Shisong l authorizes candidates who find themselves in

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

the story of dharmadinn

The Mtk in the Uttaragrantha has a marked correspondence with the

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Abhidharmakoabhya (Pradhan 1967)

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the story of dharmadinn

Divyvadna (Cowell and Neil 1987)

. 2014a. Family Matters in Indian Buddhist Monasticisms. Honolulu: University

the story of dharmadinn

Indo-Iranian Journal 58 (2015) 216253

Krey, Gisela. 2010. On Women as Teachers in Early Buddhism: Dhammadinn and

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the story of dharmadinn

the Tortoise-jtaka and the Lizard-jtaka]. Journal of Kobe Womens University