Lzh Mg Bi Vb Pc 55Legitimate Correction

SAHADHAMMIKA SUTTA — LEGITIMATE CORRECTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DHAMMA

Background

The Sahadhammika Sutta (Legitimate Correction in Accordance with the Dhamma) is found within the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, belonging to the series of rules concerning minor offenses (Pācittiya). The context from which it arose concerns situations in which bhikkhunīs (female monastics) within the Buddhist Saṅgha encounter conflict or dispute, or in which monastics fail to practice the Dhamma in the proper manner. The Blessed One established guidelines on how members of the Saṅgha may legitimately correct and admonish one another in a beneficial way, so as to assist one another in progressing along the path of practice.

This rule emphasizes that correction must be carried out in a spirit of sammā (rightness), grounded in the Dhamma rather than arising from resentment, greed, or conceit. It reflects a fundamental principle of the Buddhist Saṅgha: harmonious community life and mutual instruction in accordance with the Dhamma.

Principal Content

The Sahadhammika Sutta stipulates that when a monastic wishes to correct (to admonish, to criticize) another monastic on the grounds that the latter has violated the Vinaya or failed to practice the Dhamma, the one offering correction must observe five important standards:

First, the motivation must be pure—not arising from personal dislike of the other person, but from a genuine wish to help that person practice correctly. Second, the words used must be accurate; one must not spread the affairs of others unnecessarily. Third, the timing must be appropriate; one should not offer correction when the other person is inattentive or taken by surprise. Fourth, the manner must be gentle, neither harsh nor offensive. Fifth, the purpose must be that the one being corrected will amend their conduct and strive diligently in practice according to the Dhamma.

This rule further stipulates that the one who is corrected should listen with a bright and open heart (prasannavacana)—that is, with a receptive mind, neither resisting nor rigidly defending one's own position. If a transgression has truly been committed, one should acknowledge it, amend one's conduct, and offer apology. If no offense has in fact occurred, one should explain the matter calmly; and both parties should together seek a shared understanding grounded in the Dhamma.