Lzh Mi Bi Pm Pc 56Scaring
Pāli / Sanskrit:Bhiṁsāpana
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Bhiṁsāpana Sutta (The Sutta on Fear)
Background
The Bhiṁsāpana Sutta is part of the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, specifically belonging to the Pātimokkha in the Pācittiya class. This sutta records actions by which bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs may cause fear or threaten others, thereby violating the basic ethical principle of the Buddhist Sangha.
The background from which the sutta arose concerns specific cases in which bhikkhus intentionally frightened innocent people or harmed the mental state of others. The Buddha, with unsurpassed wisdom, recognized that causing fear not only violates the principle of morality (sīla), but also undermines peace of mind and the faith of devotees. Therefore, he established a specific rule to prevent this conduct.
Main Content
The Bhiṁsāpana Sutta lays down that if a bhikkhu intentionally causes fear, threatens, or startles another person through actions such as suddenly jumping out, making a loud noise, dropping something from above, or using sharp words to lead to fear, that person commits a Pācittiya offense, a violation lighter than Pārājika but still requiring public confession and the prescribed corrective mechanism.
The important point is that the principle of bhiṁsāpana (causing fear) is not concerned with actual danger or criminal action in the legal sense, but with actions intended to disturb the mind or create a feeling of insecurity in another. This reflects the Buddhist philosophy that a peaceful mind (cittasanti) is the foundation of spiritual development.
This legal rule is also applied with different nuances according to the situation: whether the action actually caused fear in that person, whether there was only the intention to cause fear, or whether it was a harmless joke. These factors are carefully examined by the Sangha.
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