Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Ss 10Causing Schism in the Saṅgha
Pāli / Sanskrit:Saṅghabheda
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Saṅghabheda Sutta: The Offense of Causing Schism in the Sangha
Background
The Saṅghabheda Sutta (Causing Schism in the Saṅgha) is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, where all the rules of training and standards of the Buddhist Sangha are contained. This discourse especially belongs to the Pārājika section, those acts regarded as the gravest faults, leading to the loss of monastic status.
The historical context of this discourse is connected with incidents of divisive discord in the Sangha during the Buddha’s lifetime. Persons such as Devadatta tried to create separate groups, deliberately and step by step undermining the unity and harmony of the monastic community. This was the greatest threat to the longevity and efficacy of the teaching. Therefore, the Buddha declared specific rules to protect the integrity of the Sangha.
Main Content
The Saṅghabheda Sutta defines actions that cause division (bheda) in the Sangha, the community of practitioners who have received ordination. This offense is regarded as Pārājika (pārājikā dhamma), that is, an action that “goes beyond the boundary” of training and cannot be repaired.
Causing schism in the Sangha is not merely creating a formally separate group, but deliberately undermining harmony in Dharma (dhamma) and discipline (vinaya) among the members. This includes preaching distorted teachings in order to draw monks and nuns in a direction different from the Buddha’s teaching, or organizing separate uposatha ceremonies, recitations of the code, with a divisive intention.
The purpose of this action must be intentional and destructive. The one who causes division deliberately separates a group of monastics from the main community of the Sangha, forming a faction competing with the intention of weakening the authority of the Buddha and the teaching.
Practical Meaning
The Saṅghabheda Sutta teaches us that unity and harmony (samaggi, ekodibhāva) are the life element of a healthy community of practice.
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