Lzh Mi Bi Pm Pc 55Raising a Hand

Explanation of the Talasattika Sutta (Raising the Hand)

Background

The Talasattika Sutta (Raising the Hand) is a passage belonging to the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. The Vinaya Piṭaka is the canonical collection that lays down rules for practice and communal life for the fourfold disciples of the Buddha, especially bhikkhunīs and bhikkhus.

The background of this sutta lies in the regulations connected with the discipline of the monastic community. According to the Theravāda tradition, this sutta records an incident and the handling of an offense by nuns or monks, connected with the act of “raising the hand” in meetings or memorial ceremonies. This is part of the Pātimokkha, the basic prohibitions in the Vinaya Piṭaka.

Studying and clearly understanding the contents of the Vinaya Piṭaka is not for the purpose of seeking harsh rules, but for building a gentle shared dwelling place where monastics can concentrate on the process of liberation.

Main Content

In the rules of the Vinaya Piṭaka, the act of “raising the hand” is often connected with meetings of the Sangha or with the recitation of the Pātimokkha, the fortnightly ceremony of recollecting the code. When offenses need to be addressed or communal decisions need to be made, members of the Sangha may be asked to raise their hands to vote or confirm.

The Talasattika Sutta records specific rules concerning how to perform this action correctly and solemnly. It may be connected with cases in which a bhikkhunī or bhikkhu has committed an offense and is asked to stand up and raise the hand to publicly acknowledge the fault or for the Sangha to consider the matter. This act is not arbitrary, but follows specific protocols concerning time, place, and manner.

The details of this sutta may relate to specific cases in which the Buddha handled violations, from which rules were formed for later generations of monastics.