Lzh Mi Bi Pm Ss 2Making a Groundless Accusation Out of Anger
Pāli / Sanskrit:Duṭṭhadosa
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Duṭṭhadosa Sutta: Groundless Accusation from an Angry Mind
Background
The Duṭṭhadosa Sutta appears in the Vinaya Piṭaka, the collection that regulates the discipline of the Theravāda Buddhist Sangha. Unlike the suttas of the Sutta Piṭaka, which focus on Dharma principles and mental cultivation, the Vinaya Piṭaka records events, disputes, and rules of conduct in the community of those gone forth.
This sutta was taught to illustrate a serious offense in the Sangha: accusing someone of something without basis, merely because of anger, jealousy, or hostility. This is an act that violates the principle of truthful speech (sacca) and greatly harms harmony in the Sangha. This episode is recorded so that disciples may clearly understand the consequences of false speech and be warned of the danger of a hateful mind that has not yet been purified.
Main Content
The Duṭṭhadosa Sutta centers on the case of a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī who, because of resentment, dissatisfaction, or anger toward another monastic, makes a completely unsubstantiated accusation. This accusation targets one of the most serious offenses in the Pātimokkha, in order to harm the honor and standing of the other person in the Sangha.
Through this sutta, the Buddha or the elders point out that this groundless accusation is a "pāpañña," an unwholesome state, because it violates the ethics of "abhāyavāda," speech that does no harm. The motive behind it, "duṭṭho dosa," a defiled mind of anger, is the root of the fault. Anger covers judgment and causes the speaker to lose the intuitive sense of right and wrong.
The Vinaya Piṭaka records that if the accusation is proven completely false, the accuser must bear consequences, including declaring the fault again, making supplementary amends, and usually being carefully examined by the community. This is not punishment in a worldly sense, but a mechanism for retraining the mind and ethics.
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