San Mu Bu Pm GBM 3 Pc 45Seeing a Mobilized Army
Pāli / Sanskrit:Uyyuttasenā
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
The Uyyuttasenā Text: Seeing a Mobilized Army
Background
The Uyyuttasenā text (Uyyutta-senā, “a mobilized army”) is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, in the Pātimokkha section, the collection of basic training rules for Buddhist monastics. The Theravāda tradition holds that this content reflects a specific circumstance in the Buddha’s historical pedagogy, when the Tathagata was teaching the Dharma and needed to establish appropriate conduct for the management of the Sangha.
The situation occurred at a place outside the city, where a fully mobilized army, with cavalry, infantry, and war chariots, was arranged along a road. This sight became the setting for the Buddha to instruct his disciples about faults in practice and the governance of the Sangha.
Main Content
In the Vinaya Piṭaka context, this text records an event connected with the handling of inappropriate actions by members of the Sangha. The spectacle of a mobilized army is not used to praise military force, but to establish a comparison concerning organization, discipline, and collective responsibility.
The Buddha uses this image to illustrate that just as an army needs close coordination, unity of purpose, and discipline in order to gain victory, so too the Sangha needs strict observance of ethical rules (sīla) in order to maintain harmony and develop the Dharma. This text teaches that individual acts of noncompliance, violations of the Pātimokkha, will weaken the community, just as a fractured army cannot succeed.
The content of the text also emphasizes that seeing (diṭṭhā), or becoming aware of consequences, is the first step toward correction. When a monastic has the opportunity to recognize his own faults through this teaching, he has the opportunity to practice properly again.
Practical Meaning
For contemporary practitioners, this text bears a profound message about self-discipline and responsibility toward 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.