Ka Bu Pm Ss 3Indecent Speech
Pāli / Sanskrit:Duṭṭhullavācā
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THE DISCOURSE ON INDECENT SPEECH - DUṬṬHULLAVĀCĀ
Background
The Vinaya Piṭaka records the disciplinary rules that the Buddha laid down for bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs in order to protect the discipline and the course of communal practice in the Sangha. The Duṭṭhullavācā Sutta (Indecent Speech) belongs to the section of “Minor Rules” in the Vinaya Piṭaka, reflecting the Buddha’s concern for purity in the speech and conduct of monastics.
This context arose when bhikkhus failed to uphold the highest ethical standard, using coarse, harsh, or indecent words inappropriate to the nature of one training in the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha, clearly understanding the power of speech in shaping consciousness, prescribed specific disciplines to educate the bhikkhus in restraint of language.
Main Content
This discourse addresses the strict prohibition against using duṭṭhula speech: indecent, coarse, or improper words. In the context of Theravāda Buddhist practice, speech is not merely an ordinary means of communication, but a direct expression of the speaker’s mind (citta) and intention (cetanā).
Indecent speech includes harsh, vulgar, improper, and offensive words that harm another person’s dignity, or participation in conversations unworthy of a monastic’s standing. Such speech creates fractures in the Sangha, breaking harmony (samavāya), one of the essential conditions for success in collective practice.
The rule preventing this conduct is not merely a matter of formal discipline, but reflects a profound principle: the Noble Eightfold Path (Ariyamagga) includes Right Speech (Sammāvācā), one of the central factors of cultivation. Right Speech means abstaining from four kinds of wrong speech: false speech (musāvāda), divisive speech (pisuṇavācā), harsh speech (pharusavācā), and idle or improper speech (samphappalāpa).
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