Lzh Mi Bu Pm Ss 10Causing Schism in the Saṅgha
Pāli / Sanskrit:Saṅghabheda
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Saṅghabheda Sūtra: The Schism of the Saṅgha
Background
The Saṅghabheda Sūtra (Causing Schism in the Saṅgha) is found within the Vinaya Piṭaka — the Book of Discipline — of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. The Vinaya Piṭaka is the body of scripture that regulates actions, speech, and intentions constituting ethical violations, with particular attention to grave offenses within the community of monastics.
Saṅghabheda concerns itself with one of the most serious offenses in the Vinaya — the offense of causing schism (saṅghabheda) within the Saṅgha, that is, the monastic community of Buddhist renunciants. This is a Pārājika offense, or at the very least a Saṅghādisesa offense — categories of transgression that may result in the expulsion or suspension of a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī.
The historical context of this scripture is bound up with events in which groups of monastics holding divergent views sought to divide the community. The scripture records specific behaviors and motivations leading to schism, thereby establishing rules of law to protect the unity and harmony of the Saṅgha.
Principal Contents
The Saṅghabheda Sūtra describes the various means by which schism in the Saṅgha may be caused, including such actions as: propagating views that deviate from the Dhamma, the Vinaya, or the Saṅgha for the purpose of dividing the community; forming separate factions within the Saṅgha; or provoking disputes over doctrine so as to divide those who hold faith.
According to the Vinaya, such conduct is regarded as exceedingly dangerous, for it strikes at the very foundation of the Buddhist community. The unity of the Saṅgha is considered essential for the preservation and propagation of the Dhamma. When the Saṅgha is rent by schism, the practice of the path, study of the teaching, and the spreading of the Dhamma all become difficult, and the collective strength of the community is weakened.
The scripture stipulates that any person — whether a bhikkhu, a bhikkhunī, or one who has aroused the aspiration for liberation — who harbors the intention of causing schism within the Saṅgha shall be subject to the penalties prescribed by the Buddha's rule of law.
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