Lzh Sarv Bu Vb Pj 3Murder
Pāli / Sanskrit:Manussaviggaha
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Explanation of the Manussaviggaha Sutta (The Offense of Killing a Human Being)
Background
The Manussaviggaha Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, the collection of training rules established by Buddha Śākyamuni for the community of disciples who had gone forth (Bhikkhu Sangha). This Vinaya was recorded from occasions when the Buddha admonished bhikkhus who had committed offenses, from which the Pātimokkha rules, the basic precepts, arose.
This discourse concerns the first Pārājika offense, that is, faults leading to complete defeat (pārājika = being expelled from the Sangha). Specifically, Manussaviggaha concerns a bhikkhu intentionally killing a human being or harming human life. This is an absolute and irremediable violation in Buddhism because it directly contradicts the most basic principle: Ahiṁsā, non-harming.
Main Content
The rule concerning killing a human being states: if a bhikkhu, with the intention to kill a human being (manussassa jīvitenuppādo), deliberately takes a human life, this offense is Pārājika, and that person is no longer a Buddhist monastic.
The important issue here is not only the physical act of killing, but the intention (cetanā) behind it. Theravāda Buddhism considers action (kamma) on the basis of mental motivation. When the intention to kill a human being is formed, even if the person does not actually die, the fault is still considered to a certain degree. However, the Pārājika offense is fully completed only when life is actually taken.
This rule also includes secondary cases: indirect killing, such as through sexual misconduct or suicide, helping another person kill, or inciting another person to perform this act. Any involvement in taking human life falls within the scope of this strict rule.
Practical Meaning
The Manussaviggaha Sutta is not only an administrative rule for the bhikkhu community. It expresses a profound ethical principle: in Buddhism, human life is regarded as sacred and exceedingly precious.
🌏 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.