San Sarv Bi Pm Tf 44 Sk 89Memorizing the Teaching
Pāli / Sanskrit:Padasodhamma
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
The Padasodhamma Discourse: The True Dharma of Words
Background
The Padasodhamma discourse, The True Dharma of Words, belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Pāli Canon of the Theravāda tradition, where the regulations for the life of practice of bhikkhu monks are meticulously recorded. The context of this discourse is connected with the preservation and transmission of the Buddhadharma in the Sangha community. When the Buddha saw that bhikkhus sometimes misunderstood or forgot the teachings, he laid down guidelines on how to remember and transmit the Dharma accurately.
Accurate recollection (sadhamma) is not merely a matter of memory, but the sacred responsibility of those who follow the Buddha, ensuring that the supreme teachings are transmitted intact through generations. This is the foundation for the continuity of Buddhism, because the Buddhadharma exists through accurate speech (pada), remembered word by word and taught onward.
Main Content
This discourse emphasizes the importance of remembering the Dharma according to the exact words and phrases (pada) uttered by the Buddha. "Padasodhamma" means accuracy in each word and each syllable of the Teaching. This is not only a purely linguistic requirement, but respect for the integrity of the meaning those words contain.
The Vinaya Piṭaka stipulates that bhikkhus should learn and remember the collections of Suttas as well as the portions of Vinaya through collective recitation (sangiiti). This shared recitation is a mechanism of verification and confirmation: when many people recite together, any error or omission is immediately detected and corrected.
The discourse teaches that the practitioner must remember every word (sabba-padena), understand the meaning (attha), and know how to teach it again to others. These are three inseparable elements: accurate words, profound meaning, and the ability to teach. A true bhikkhu is not only one who "hears" the Buddhadharma, but one who "preserves" and "transmits" it accurately.
🌏 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.