Lzh Mi Bu Pm Pj 3Murder
Pāli / Sanskrit:Manussaviggaha
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Manussaviggaha Sutta — Murder
Background
The Manussaviggaha Sutta is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, specifically in the Pātimokkha, the basic code that all ordained monks and nuns must keep. This sutta concerns the gravest issue in practice: the act of killing a human being, considered the most serious violation (pārājika) for those gone forth.
The context for the arising of this sutta is connected with the early history of the Sangha, when newly joined monks and nuns did not yet clearly understand the basic rules. The Buddha had to issue clear regulations to protect the vigor of the Sangha and to ensure that anyone who committed the offense of killing a human being could not continue to remain in the community of those practicing in search of liberation.
Main Content
The Manussaviggaha Sutta clearly defines the offense of killing a human being, manussaviggaha (man: human being; viggaha: killing). According to the Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka, this offense includes any intentional act causing the death of a human being from the fetal stage until natural death.
An important point in this sutta is that it does not only consider direct actions such as using a knife, poison, or violence. It also includes indirect acts such as instructing, encouraging, or creating conditions for someone else to kill a human being. Even if a monk or nun merely instructs someone in a method of suicide, they violate this rule.
The act must involve three factors: (1) the object is a living human being, (2) there is the intention to kill (cetanā), and (3) death occurs as a result of that action. If any of these factors is absent, the offense may be reconsidered, but in the case of actual murder, the consequence is very grave.
According to the Vinaya Piṭaka, any monk, nun, or bhikkhunī who violates this pārājika is expelled from the Sangha, cannot return to monastic practice as a monk or nun, and must bear the karmic result (karmavipāka) brought about by that act. This is not an artificially imposed punishment, but the natural working of karma and result.
Practical Meaning
The Manussaviggaha Sutta is not only a basic prohibitive rule, but also a profound teaching on the value of life.
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