San Sarv Bi Pm Tf 44 Pc 6Truthfully Announcing Superhuman Attainments
Pāli / Sanskrit:Bhūtārocana
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The Sutta on Truthfully Announcing Superhuman Attainments (Bhūtārocana)
An Explanation According to the Vinaya Pitaka - Theravada Tradition
Background
The Bhūtārocana Sutta (bhūta: truth; ārocana: announcement, declaration) is found in the Pāṭimokkha of the Vinaya Pitaka, specifically as disciplinary rule number 6 under Pācittiya, the rules concerning faults requiring confession. This is an important part of the Vinaya, the monastic legal system established by the Buddha to guide the community of monks and nuns.
The sutta is recorded in the context of the Buddha teaching his disciples about purity in speech, especially in declaring or announcing supernormal powers (abhiññā). This is not a long discourse, but a specific regulation intended to protect the honor of the Sangha and prevent fraudulent or self-exaggerating behavior.
Main Content
The core rule of this sutta concerns the act of “making an untrue declaration” regarding superhuman powers. Specifically, a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni is not permitted to declare that he or she has attained abhiññā, extraordinary powers such as psychic power (iddhiddhi), the divine ear (dibbasota), tha-citta-pariyāya-ñāṇa (the ability to know the minds of others), or any other transcendent attainment, if that declaration is not in accordance with the truth.
This rule does not prohibit the declaration of supernormal powers if they have truly been attained. Instead, it prohibits false claims, fraud, or self-exaggeration regarding spiritual attainments that the person has not actually realized. A violation of this rule is classified as Pācittiya, that is, a fault requiring confession and admission before the community.
The motivation of this rule is clear: to protect the trustworthiness of the Sangha in the Buddhist community and to prevent deceptive actions that could damage the precious Dharma. The Buddha saw that if monastics claimed supernormal powers that were not real, this would cause disappointment for those who sincerely followed the Dharma and would harm moral conduct.
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