Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Ss 12Difficult to Correct
Pāli / Sanskrit:Dubbaca
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Dubbaca Sutta: Those Who Are Difficult to Correct
Background
The Dubbaca Sutta (Pāli: dubbaca, meaning “difficult to correct, difficult to discipline”) is part of the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, where the rules of conduct and discipline of the community of monks and nuns are recorded in detail. The Vinaya was compiled after the Buddha’s parinirvana, based on the teachings and regulations he established throughout the Dharma dispensation.
This discourse appears in the context of the Sangha having to face members of difficult character, people who do not accept advice and do not seek to improve themselves. This is not a theoretical debate, but a practical issue of managing the monastic community, one of the enduring challenges of the Sangha body.
Main Content
The Dubbaca Sutta focuses on identifying the characteristics of monks or nuns whom the community regards as “difficult to correct” (dubbaca). Such people often commit disciplinary violations and do not observe the Pātimokkha rules, but when their faults are pointed out, they do not acknowledge them, do not apologize, and do not change their behavior.
According to the Vinaya Piṭaka, a monk who is “difficult to correct” is one who is obstinate, conceited, harsh, provocative in speech, and unwilling to listen to other members of the community. They may make oaths, make excuses, or deliberately build opposition to the decisions of the Sangha body. This discourse provides a legal framework so that the community can apply graded measures of intervention, from gentle reminders to isolation or other disciplinary penalties.
It is important that the Vinaya Piṭaka does not encourage hasty or arbitrary removal. Instead, it emphasizes a fair process: there must be multiple witnesses, there must be an official meeting of the Sangha body, and the accused must be heard and have an opportunity to defend themselves. The final purpose remains correction and restoration, not punishment for punishment’s sake.
Practical Meaning
The Dubbaca Sutta teaches us a profound lesson about the nature of the mind.
🌏 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.