Lzh Mi Bi Pm Sk 30Arms Akimbo (2nd)
Pāli / Sanskrit:Dutiyakhambhakata
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
An Explanation of the Dutiyakhambhakata Sutta (The Second Case of Holding the Arms Across)
Background
The Dutiyakhambhakata Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, a sacred section of the collection of scripture and discipline regarded as a direct record of the Buddha’s teachings and regulations for the Sangha. The second case of holding the arms across is one of the regulations (sikkhāpada) concerning the bodily conduct of bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs in the Buddhist Sangha.
The regulations on bodily gestures in the Vinaya Piṭaka are not meaningless, but have a profound purpose: to help disciples in practice maintain mindfulness, diligence, and discipline in every daily action. This sutta appears in the context of the Buddha seeing a bhikkhu holding his arms across (khambhakata) and recognizing that this action could cause division in the Sangha or be unsuitable to the conduct of those gone forth. Therefore, he established a rule to correct it.
Main Content
In Dutiyakhambhakata, the Buddha warns that holding the arms across is unsuitable conduct for those who have gone forth, who have abandoned the habits of worldly people. This action expresses arrogance, lack of respect, or an unfriendly attitude toward those around one. For a monastic, refined, humble, and dignified gestures are basic qualities.
This regulation does not stand alone, but is part of the system of sikkhāpada, training rules for monks and nuns. Each rule has its reason and purpose: to cultivate mindfulness (sati), build courtesy, and maintain harmony (samaggī) in the community. When a monastic holds the arms across, the action may be regarded as defiant, expressive of dislike, or a sign of obstinacy.
The recording of this rule in the Vinaya Piṭaka shows that even the smallest details of bodily gesture were noticed by the Buddha, because mind gives rise to body, and the body also reflects the mind.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.