San Mg Bu Pm Pc 92Deception

Deception — Mohana

San Mg Bu Pm Pc 92 | Comparative Vinaya — Sanskrit

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Source Status

The full source text of this disciplinary item has not yet been directly collated in the Inti Dharma database. The explanation below is constructed entirely from the provided descriptive information, including the sectarian tradition, collection name, rule number, Vietnamese title, English title, and original Sanskrit term. Therefore, this is not a translation of the original scripture, does not reproduce the full text, and does not pretend to have access to the Sanskrit source document. All explanations are presented at a general level, based on the meaning of the term and the structural framework of the sectarian Vinaya that the descriptive information permits us to identify.

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Background

This disciplinary item belongs to the Comparative Vinaya — Sanskrit, a collection with the character of comparing and collating Vinaya texts of various early Buddhist schools transmitted in Sanskrit. The code San Mg Bu Pm Pc 92 allows the position of this rule to be identified within the classification system: Bu indicates bhikkhu, meaning that the subject of application is male monastics gone forth; Pm may be understood as the Pātimokkha section or its equivalent, that is, the code of precepts recited regularly in the Sangha community;

Pc indicates the group of rules belonging to the Pācittiya category, precepts of the “to be dealt with” or “to be confessed” class, violations requiring confession but not leading to the gravest offenses such as pārājika or saṅghādisesa; and the number 92 is the order of the rule within that group.

The Pācittiya group is one of the important groups of precepts in the Pātimokkha, regulating lesser wrong actions in the daily life of bhikkhus in order to maintain personal purity and harmony in the Sangha. The ninety-second rule in this group, named Mohana, meaning “deception” or “causing delusion,” is one of the rules near the end of the Pācittiya list, often related to violations in communication, conduct, or relationships between monastics and laypeople or among members of the Sangha.

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Content Identifiable from the Descriptive Information

The Sanskrit term Mohana derives from the verbal root muh, meaning to be bewildered, mistaken, or deceived. In the context of the Vinaya Piṭaka, mohana usually refers to the deliberate act of creating misunderstanding in another person, not necessarily a blatant lie, but possibly ambiguous speech, actions that create a false impression, or calculated conduct intended to deceive the other party. This distinguishes mohana from musāvāda (false speech, direct lying): while false speech is a statement contrary to fact, mohana emphasizes the effect of the action, leading others into a state of delusion, misunderstanding, or mistaken belief.

In Vietnamese, the title “Lừa Dối” captures the core of this term. Rule Pc 92 in the Sanskrit tradition of this sectarian group very likely concerns the prohibition against bhikkhus carrying out deceptive acts, whether by speech, intentional silence, or gesture and conduct, in a way that produces negative consequences for others or harms trust between monastics and the surrounding community. However, because the full source text is not available for comparison, the exact content, persons involved, circumstances of the rule’s origin, and specific adjudicative details cannot be presented with certainty.

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Meaning for Training

The presence of a separate rule for “deception” or “causing delusion” in the Vinaya Piṭaka reflects a profound awareness on the part of the compilers: the life of brahmacariya requires not only avoiding lies but also a comprehensive transparency in one’s whole manner of conduct. A practitioner may refrain from false words and yet create a false impression, and that too is a form of harm to truth.

In terms of practice, this is closely connected with Right Speech in the Noble Eightfold Path, not only speech that is factually true, but also speech that does not cause division, does not cause harm, and is timely and appropriate. At the same time, mohana is also related to purifying the mental factor of intention (cetanā): what is the intention behind the act? If there is calculation so that another person will misunderstand, then even if the words are not false in a literal sense, the action may still violate the discipline and create karmic consequences.

For students of the Dharma, this rule reminds us that cultivating truthfulness is not only an ethical practice but also the foundation for building trust, an indispensable foundation both for the communal life of the Sangha and for the individual journey toward liberation.

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Comparative Note

Because this is a text belonging to the Comparative Vinaya — Sanskrit, researchers who wish to study it more deeply should consult Sanskrit Vinaya materials of the relevant schools that have been reconstructed and published by international scholarship, and compare them with the equivalent Pācittiya rules in traditions preserved in full. Comparison among schools at the same rule number may help determine the standard content and sectarian differences related to this Pc 92 rule on deception.