Lzh Mu Bi Vb Sk 88Na hastyārūḍhāya
Pāli / Sanskrit:Na hastyārūḍhāya
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Na hastyārūḍhāya Sutta — An Explanation of the Vinaya Piṭaka
Background
The Na hastyārūḍhāya Sutta (a title combining Sanskrit and Pāli, meaning “not riding an elephant”) is found in the Vibhaṅga section of the Vinaya Piṭaka, the collection that lays down disciplinary principles for the Buddhist monastic community of the Theravāda tradition. This is one of the detailed Vinaya texts, related to regulations on distinct forms of conduct for bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs.
The sutta was established on the basis of specific situations encountered by the Buddha Śākyamuni, for which he gave guidance. The Vinaya Piṭaka is not merely a set of dry prohibitions, but an expression of compassion, intended to preserve the purity of the Sangha, protect the Dharma, and help disciples practice toward nirvana. The purpose of each rule is to remove trouble, disputes, and distortions of the reputation of the Three Jewels.
Main Content
The Na hastyārūḍhāya Sutta concerns bodily action and the determination of whether the nature of that action constitutes a violation of the discipline. Specifically, this sutta examines situations in which a bhikkhu may take part in activities that outwardly appear to be violations, but the intentional quality (cetanā) of the action determines whether a fault is constituted.
The title “not riding an elephant” indicates ambiguous situations: if a bhikkhu is placed on the back of an elephant by someone else and does not himself ride it or request to do so, is this considered a violation? The Vinaya Piṭaka frequently distinguishes clearly between voluntary action, coerced action, unintentional action, and intentional action. Only actions with clear and voluntary intent constitute a complete offense.
Through this sutta, the Buddha emphasizes that the discipline is not an unconditional mechanism of imposition, but an ethical foundation based on understanding causes (kamma) and conscious action.
Practical Meaning
For those who practice in the Theravāda tradition, this sutta opens a deep way of seeing the ethical nature of action.
🌏 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.