San Mu Bu Pm GBM 2 Pc 53Obstructing a Legal Procedure
Pāli / Sanskrit:Kammapaṭibāhana
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Discourse on Obstructing a Legal Procedure (Kammapaṭibāhana)
Background
The Kammapaṭibāhana discourse (Obstructing a Legal Procedure) is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka, an important component of the Pāli Canon that preserves the rules of communal life and discipline of the Sangha, the community of those gone forth. Unlike discourses that describe lofty doctrine, the Vinaya Piṭaka focuses on specific regulations, prohibited actions, and legal procedures that ensure the purity and harmony of the monastic community.
The context for this discourse concerns situations in which a monastic or a group deliberately argues against or obstructs the official legal procedures of the Sangha. These procedures are collective decisions carried out according to the rules, with the sole purpose of maintaining the discipline and protecting the purity of the community. Therefore, any act of obstruction or sabotage against these legal procedures is considered a serious fault, capable of leading to disciplinary penalties.
Main Content
The Kammapaṭibāhana discourse prescribes that any monastic who intentionally obstructs, sabotages, or causes a decision (kamma) of the Sangha to fail commits a serious fault. "Kamma" here is not merely an accidental action, but an official decision carried out through a legal process such as announcement, inquiry, approval, or voting within the Sangha.
Obstruction may include actions such as making noise, causing disorder during the legal act, or deliberately preventing the members from gathering in full. Conducting the legal procedure fully and properly is essential because it ensures that the decisions made reflect the true will of the community, not coercion, deception, or confusion.
This discourse also emphasizes that offenses connected with obstructing legal procedures have different degrees of seriousness, depending on the intention, manner, and result of the obstructive act. However, whatever the degree, if the obstruction is intentional, it is examined and dealt with as a violation of the discipline.
🌏 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.