Lzh Mu Bi Pm Pj 6Conceal Offenses
Pāli / Sanskrit:Vajjappaṭicchādikā
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Exposition of the Sutta on Concealing Faults (Vajjappaṭicchādikā)
Background
The Sutta on Concealing Faults (Vajjappaṭicchādikā) is an important part of the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda tradition, especially within the conditions (paccaya) relating to offenses and the handling of mistakes in the Sangha. This work appears in sections regulating prohibited faults and negative actions of bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs.
The context in which this text arose is connected with the need to manage discipline in the Sangha community from the time of the Buddha. As the Sangha developed, and as human nature is imperfect, concealing, denying, or deliberately failing to disclose faults became a serious ethical problem, because it undermines the purity and honesty of the Sangha, the monastic community.
Main Content
The Sutta on Concealing Faults chiefly addresses the issue of those who deliberately conceal, deny, or fail to disclose violations of the precepts, whether their own or those of others in the Sangha community. Such conduct is regarded as a “blameworthy fault” (dukkaṭa) or a “wrong action” (vajja).
According to the law of the Pāli Canon, concealing faults includes many forms: concealing one’s own offense, helping another conceal an offense, or actively denying what has occurred. In particular, concealing major offenses (parājika — acts leading to exclusion from the Sangha) or grave offenses (saṅghādisesa) is regarded as a distorted act, at times equal in seriousness to the offense itself.
The text emphasizes that openness, honesty, and willingness to admit fault are important foundations for maintaining the purity (sathara) of the Sangha. When someone honestly acknowledges a fault and asks for correction (pāpahetu sampadā — arising from an unwholesome cause), this gives the community an opportunity to support, guide, and help that person’s practice and realization.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.