Lzh Mi Bu Pm As 6Majority Decision
Pāli / Sanskrit:Yebhuyyasikā
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Explanation of the Yebhuyyasikā Sutta (Decision by Majority)
Background
The Yebhuyyasikā Sutta is an important part of the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. This sutta records the rules for how Sangha communities make decisions on matters related to discipline, monastery management, and monastic disputes during the Buddha’s lifetime.
The Buddha saw that in a large monastic community, complete unanimity could not always be achieved. Therefore, he established lawful methods of decision based on principles of democracy and fairness, in order to protect the Sangha from conflicts and schism. These methods include decision by majority (yebhuyyasikā), the procedure used when the majority of Sangha members agree on a matter.
Main Content
The Yebhuyyasikā Sutta stipulates that when the Sangha needs to make a decision on matters related to the discipline, such as penalizing a monastic who has committed an offense or resolving a dispute, the majority method is to be applied. This means that if more than half of the Sangha members present, with the required quorum met, vote in favor of a decision, that decision is considered lawful and binding on the entire community.
This sutta also states the necessary conditions for a valid vote: the number of members attending the meeting must be sufficient, the quorum must be met; the members must be persons permitted to participate in the decision, ordained monastics, excluding those barred from participation and those newly ordained; and the voting process must be carried out openly and transparently.
This principle is not merely an administrative rule, but deeply reflects the Buddhist philosophy of equality and collective wisdom. Each member of the Sangha, whatever his position, has the right to vote, and his opinion is respected.
Practical Meaning
Decision by majority is a concrete expression of the principle of Sangha, community.
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