Lzh Mi Bu Pm Pc 77Making Stains

The Dubbaṇṇakaraṇa Discourse (Making Stains)

Background

This discourse is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the Pāṭimokkha, the basic code of the Theravāda Buddhist Sangha. The Pāṭimokkha is the collection of rules that bhikkhus and bhikkhunis must observe, recited twice each month on the Uposatha day.

The Dubbaṇṇakaraṇa discourse, Making Stains, belongs to the category of Pācittiya violations, faults of a lesser nature but requiring purification through confession before the Sangha. The word "dubbaṇṇa" means "stained," "ugly," or "disreputable," while "karaṇa" means "making" or "creating." This discourse concerns actions that can stain one’s reputation and honor, or harm the faith of lay supporters (upāsakas and upāsikās) toward the Sangha.

Main Content

Although the specific content of this discourse has not yet been fully translated in existing sources, based on the Theravāda Vinaya context, the Dubbaṇṇakaraṇa discourse usually concerns actions that bhikkhus and bhikkhunis should not perform because they stain their own reputation or that of the teaching.

In the Pāli Vinaya Pitaka, Pācittiya-type violations often include speaking inappropriate words in public, displaying improper attitudes, or acting in ways that reduce the community’s respect for oneself. Specifically, this may relate to renunciants taking part in activities, conversations, or forms of conduct that could arouse suspicion or damage the reputation of the Sangha in the eyes of lay people.

The basic principle of this rule is this: what renunciants do should accord with the spirit of Buddhism; they must keep body, speech, and mind clean, and especially preserve the reputation of the teaching, so that lay people may trust, revere the Sangha, and practice the Buddhadharma.