San Bu Pm Qizil Sk 80Shaking the Hand
Pāli / Sanskrit:Hatthaniddhunaka
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
The Sutta on Shaking the Hand - Hatthaniddhunaka
Background
The Hatthaniddhunaka Sutta, or "Shaking the Hand," appears in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda Buddha Dharma tradition. It is one of the Vinaya episodes concerned with regulating the life of the Sangha, recording events and rules laid down by the Buddha to maintain discipline and harmony within the fourfold community.
According to the transmission of the Pāli Canon, this sutta records a situation that arose in the course of practice, related to rough actions or expressions of disrespect. Specifically, it raises the issue of gestures or actions that may cause obstruction in the community, especially expressions of anger or disrespect through the body. This context arose from disputes or conflicts among monastics, where the Buddha needed to intervene and give guidance.
Main Content
The Hatthaniddhunaka Sutta is directly related to controlling bodily actions within the monastic community. The phrase "shaking the hand" (hatthaniddhunaka) refers to gestures such as waving the hand or making forceful hand movements in a way that causes annoyance or expresses disrespect. In the Vinaya context, these are not minor acts but are regarded as breaches of the attitude of training.
In this sutta, the Buddha specified certain behaviors that a monastic should not perform, because such actions can create division and loss of harmony in the Sangha. They reflect impatience, internal violence, or conduct lacking respect toward fellow practitioners. This rule was established not out of fear of major forms of physical violence, but because small expressions of unwholesome habits can spread and break down the sacred character of the Sangha.
This rule also recognizes the difference between intentional actions and unintentional reactions, between gestures arising from anger and actions arising from lack of attention. The rule is not a means of punishment but an educational tool, helping monastics become aware of the effect of bodily action on the mind and the community.
🌏 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.