Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Dh Pc 37Obstructing a Legal Procedure
Pāli / Sanskrit:Kammapaṭibāhana
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The Discourse on Obstructing a Kamma Procedure (Kammapaṭibāhana Pātimokkha)
Background
The Discourse on Obstructing a Kamma Procedure (Kammapaṭibāhana) is one of the important regulations belonging to the Pācittiya class, offenses requiring confession, in the Vinaya Pitaka of the early tradition. This body of rules records violations that bhikkhus must admit and confess, unlike heavier offenses that lead to dismissal from the Sangha.
This discourse arose from a specific situation in the community of monks and nuns, when the Buddha and his disciples established the system of kamma (formal act, collective decision) to resolve internal matters. Kamma is a religious legal process through which the Sangha makes decisions concerning discipline, confirmation of ordination, or other important events. An individual's obstruction of this process is considered a serious violation of communal harmony.
Main Content
The discourse states that a bhikkhu must not intentionally obstruct, interrupt, or sabotage a lawful kamma procedure of the Sangha. This includes actions such as speaking false words to alter a decision, advising others to withdraw from a meeting, seeking to delay or invalidate a formal act that has been properly performed.
A kamma procedure is considered lawful when it is carried out under specified conditions: a sufficient number of monastics must be present (a quorum), notification must be complete, it must occur in a recognized place, and the official procedural steps must be followed. When these conditions are met, obstructing that process is a Pācittiya offense.
The reason behind this regulation is to protect unity and order within the Sangha. If members could arbitrarily undermine collective decisions, the Sangha would fall into confusion and lose its ability for self-governance and self-discipline. Therefore, the teaching states that once a bhikkhu understands a kamma decision, he must respect it, even if he personally holds a different opinion.
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