Lzh Dg Bi Vb Sk 46Whole Hand

Exposition of the Sabbahattha Sutta (Whole Hand)

Background

The Sabbahattha Sutta is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka, in the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga, the rules of action and practice for bhikkhunīs (nuns). In the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka is the foundation of the Teaching, because it shows how the direct disciples of the Buddha practiced the Dharma through disciplined action.

This sutta was compiled after the Buddha allowed the establishment of the Sangha, when practical issues of collective management arose. Each rule (sutta) in the Vinaya is formed from specific situations encountered by the disciples, after which the Buddha gave guidance to avoid inappropriate actions and protect the shared spirit of practice.

Main Content

The Sabbahattha Sutta (Sabba = all; hattha = hand) concerns a specific rule about how to use the body in the life of practice of bhikkhunīs. The specific content of this sutta has not been fully translated in common materials; however, according to the context of the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga, rules concerning the use of body parts all aim to protect spiritual life and limit actions that could defile or diminish the faith of the lay community.

Rules concerning bodily action (kāya) in the Vinaya Piṭaka always follow these principles: (1) preventing actions unsuitable to the nature of disciplined practice; (2) preserving the good reputation of the Sangha in the eyes of the people; (3) educating bhikkhunīs in self-mastery and right mindfulness (sammāsati); (4) nurturing moral conduct (sīla) and concentration (samādhi).

With the Sabbahattha Sutta, although the specific details have not been broadly translated, we may understand that it concerns the regulation of how to use the hand, the most important instrument of human action, so that it always accords with ethical principles and the goal of liberation.