Lzh Sarv Bi Vb Pc 3Malicious Talebearing
Pāli / Sanskrit:Pesuñña
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Pesuñña Sutra (Malicious Talebearing)
Background
This text is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the section of rules for bhikkhunīs, female monastics. Pesuñña in Pāli means “divisive speech” or “malicious talebearing,” the deliberate act of speaking words that divide people and arouse enmity. This is one of the violations of the Pātimokkha, the monastic code, and the Buddha regarded it as serious because it destroys harmony within the monastic community (Sangha).
According to the Theravāda tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka was established not from a spirit of punishment but from compassion. Each rule arose from a real event, in which a certain bhikkhu committed an act that harmed the practicing community. After seeing the harmful results, the Buddha established a rule to protect his disciples and preserve harmony (samaggī).
Main Content
Pesuñña is clearly defined as the intentional act of speaking contrary words, seeking out the faults of one person in order to tell them to another, with the aim of creating division, producing hatred, or breaking the bonds of affection among members of the Sangha. Unlike “mūsāvāda,” false speech, or ordinary forms of wrong speech, pesuñña has the active character of destroying relationships.
This rule applies to all monastics, those who have gone forth. Engaging in talebearing is not only an ethical fault but also a violation of the Pātimokkha, requiring confession before the monastic community and the performance of penance within the community.
The conditions constituting pesuñña include: (1) the speech must truly be divisive words, (2) there must be an intention to cause division, and (3) it must be spoken for the purpose of damaging relationships. If one of these elements is absent, the act may be considered another form of wrong speech, but not pesuñña.
The Vinaya Piṭaka encourages positive ways of responding: if one discovers another person’s fault, one should speak privately with that person to help them correct themselves, rather than spreading the matter in order to create division.
🌏 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.