Lzh Sarv Bu Pm 2 Ss 8Making a Groundless Accusation Out of Anger
Pāli / Sanskrit:Duṭṭhadosa
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The Duṭṭhadosa Sutta: Groundless Accusation from a Mind of Hatred
Background
The Duṭṭhadosa Sutta (duṭṭha: bad, corrupt; dosa: hatred, aversion) is found in the section of disciplinary regulations for monks and nuns (Vinaya) in the Pāli Canon. These are lessons on the consequences of false speech, especially making claims of nonexistent offenses in order to humiliate another. The background arises from events in the monastic community, when a monk or nun, overcome by a burst of hatred, raised groundless accusations against a fellow practitioner.
The Vinaya does not only record restrictive rules, but also contains profound instructive stories about the causes and results of action. This sutta is intended to teach the Buddha’s disciples to understand clearly the danger of anger when it covers the luminous mind, leading to evil actions such as accusing the innocent.
Main Content
The focus of the Duṭṭhadosa Sutta is a warning about how dosa (hatred, aversion) transforms the quality of the mind. When aversion takes possession of consciousness, a person no longer recognizes the truth. The mind, made duṭṭha (bad, defiled), loses the ability to distinguish right and wrong, cause and effect. The act of groundless accusation, in other words, attacking with lies about immoral conduct, is regarded as one of the gravest faults in the community of practice.
The sutta records that when one gone forth speaks words of accusation without evidence, with the wish to belittle or insult another, that action arises from hatred not yet purified. It is a violation not only against the accused person, but also against oneself, because the liar harms pure faith and trust within the community.
This act carries a twofold consequence: first, it creates suffering for the person falsely accused; second, it diminishes the moral conduct of the accuser, because moral conduct is built on the foundation of truth (sacca) and loving-kindness (mettā). One who uses speech as a weapon to satisfy anger cannot possess a completely pure mind.
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