Lzh Dg Bi Pm Pc 87Complaining About Others
Pāli / Sanskrit:Paraujjhāpanaka
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Paraujjhāpanaka Sutta — Groundless Accusations
Background
The Paraujjhāpanaka Sutta (Pāli: para- = another; ujjhāpanaka = accusing, complaining) is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, the collection of rules of practice intended to protect the monastic and lay communities. This text reflects a common situation in the community of monks and nuns, when practitioners are led by jealousy, resentment, or conditions of anger to make complaints and accusations about fellow practitioners that are not true.
In the context of early Buddhism, rules concerning speech were regarded as extremely important. The Buddha taught that wrong speech, especially baseless accusations, creates deep harm in the community of practice, destroys trust, and obstructs the path to liberation for many people.
Main Content
The Paraujjhāpanaka Sutta is intended to warn bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, and ordinary people about the fault of accusing others of actions that do not exist, or exaggerating the small faults of others with an evil intention. This is regarded as one of the acts that violate the Pātimokkha, the basic rules for Buddhist monastics.
Groundless accusations are classified according to the intention of the speaker. If someone accuses a monastic who is keeping the precepts, saying that the monastic has violated moral conduct, while in reality this is not so, with the intention of damaging that person’s reputation and shaking confidence in that person’s virtue, then this is a blameworthy act. This kind of accusation has the capacity to create division (saṅghabhedaka), fracturing the community of monks and nuns.
The Vinaya Piṭaka requires that anyone who intends to make an accusation must ensure the absolute truth of the words. The complainant must have clear evidence, or at least must have witnessed the event directly, not merely heard it from someone else’s mouth. If one accuses without firm basis, or speaks from an unwholesome intention (anger, greed, delusion), then one must bear the consequences according to the Vinaya.
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