San Lo Mvu 11The Fourth Bhūmi

EXPLANATION OF THE SUTTA: THE FOURTH BHŪMI

Background

The Sutta on the Fourth Bhūmi is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in San Lo Mvu (Santhugana Lovarana Mvu), an important part of the Vinaya collection. These are not instructional suttas, but regulations of practice and disciplinary rules for the community of monks and nuns.

In the context of Theravāda Buddha-Dharma, “bhūmi” (ভূmি) means “ground” or a level of practice, used to indicate different degrees of discipline and responsibility within the Sangha, the community of monastics. This discourse concerns the rules of communal life at the fourth level, when the Buddha had established the Sangha with regulations gradually completed in order to maintain harmony, purity, and order.

The historical context shows that the Buddha did not establish the entire Vinaya (Pātimokkha) all at once, but adjusted it step by step according to situations arising within the community. The “bhūmis” reflect this development, with each level adding detailed regulations to respond to new practical problems.

Main Content

The Sutta on the Fourth Bhūmi treats the regulations concerning life and discipline at the next stage of development of the Sangha. At this point, monastics not only follow the basic rules but must also extend their attention to subtler forms of conduct.

The contents of this bhūmi commonly include: rules concerning conduct in the community, relationships among monastics of different ranks, and ways of handling disputes and violations of the Vinaya. It also concerns regulations for the validation of acts of practice, the process of confession (paṭidesanā), and the means of restoring purity for those who have committed violations.

In particular, the fourth bhūmi emphasizes that discipline is not merely formal obedience, but the cultivation of mind and conscious action. The regulations are established to protect the spiritual development of each individual and the whole Sangha, creating conditions for the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path (Ariya Aṭṭhaṅgika Magga) to proceed smoothly.