Lzh Mi Bu Vb Pc 16Throwing Out a Monastic
Pāli / Sanskrit:Nikkaḍḍhana
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The Nikkaḍḍhana Sutta: On Expelling a Monastic
Background
Nikkaḍḍhana, provisionally translated as “expelling a monastic,” is a training rule belonging to the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. This sutta lies in the Vibhaṅga section, the detailed regulations, of the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga, the analysis of rules for nuns, specifically in the Pārājika section, the grave offences.
The background of the sutta concerns cases in which the community of monks and nuns had to deal with members who seriously violated the precepts. In the Pāli Vinaya Piṭaka, expelling or excluding a member from the Sangha is not an arbitrary punishment, but a communal decision carried out through formal procedures in order to protect the purity of the Sangha and maintain the discipline of practice.
Main Content
This rule states the situations and conditions under which a monastic or nun may be removed from the Sangha. Specifically, when a member commits Pārājika offences, grave offences such as intentional killing, violent theft, sexual misconduct, or lying about superhuman attainments, that person is no longer able to continue living in the monastic community.
The process of expulsion must follow strict principles. First, the offence must be clearly verified through evidence or confession. Then the Sangha holds a formal council to consider the matter. A decision to exclude is made only when there is consensus or a majority vote from qualified Sangha members.
The sutta also emphasizes that expulsion is not a spontaneous or sudden punishment. The offender must be given the opportunity to know his or her fault, receive admonition, and have the chance to reform. Only when that person refuses to correct the conduct or continues to violate the rule is the formal process of exclusion carried out.
Practical Meaning
The principle of Nikkaḍḍhana reflects a profound conception in Theravāda Buddhism: the Sangha exists to protect and spread the Dharma.
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