San Lo Mvu 14The Seventh Bhūmi

Commentary on the Sūtra: The Seventh Bhūmi

Background

The sūtra "The Seventh Bhūmi" is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, the earliest body of Buddhist disciplinary law gathered by the noble community after nirvana. In the context of the Vinaya Piṭaka, bhummi (bhūmi) means "class" or "level," referring to disciplinary matters classified according to their degree of seriousness.

In early Buddhist history, councils of the Dharma (Saṅgīti) were convened to standardize and record the Buddha's teaching. San Lo Mvu 14 (or Sañcaya) is the Vinaya section concerning the "surfaces" or "classes" for handling discipline within the Sangha. "The seventh bhūmi" refers to one of the specific disciplinary matters that bhikkhus must observe in communal monastic life.

The historical context shows that early Buddhism gave great importance to conduct that could be clearly classified. This was not because of harsh prohibition, but because clarity helps practitioners understand what should and should not be done on the path of training.

Main Content

Although it is called "The Seventh Bhūmi," this text concerns the classification of violations of the Pāṭimokkha, the 227 rules in the bhikkhu training discipline (bhikkhu-pāṭimokkha). Each "bhummi" (class) represents a type of conduct with different disciplinary consequences.

The seventh bhūmi is often connected with violations whose result is Pabbajjanīyakamma, a decision of expulsion from the Sangha. These are not minor faults that can be corrected through confession, but principal actions that break the basic discipline of the Buddhist monastic path.

The specific content of this bhūmi includes such acts as declaring the abandonment of the Buddha, the Dharma, or the Sangha; undertaking work similar to that of laypeople; or making statements wholly contrary to the Buddha's teaching. Such acts are regarded as irreparable within the framework of the Sangha, and therefore the offender must leave the Sangha.