San Sarv Bu KamMonks’ Legal Proceedings

Source Status

The text Bhikkhu Kammavācā in the Comparative Vinaya — Sanskrit collection, belonging to the sectarian canonical tradition, comparative branch, currently does not have a complete original source text that has been directly compared and fully verified within the scope of the present materials. This explanation is therefore not a translation of the original scripture, but a general presentation based on the provided descriptive information, including title, identifier, tradition, and content summary. Readers and practitioners should consult the original texts or specialized scholarly editions for more accurate and complete comparison.

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Background

Kammavācā, rendered in Sino-Vietnamese as yết-ma, is a system of legal formulas widely used in the life of the Buddhist Sangha from the early period through later schools. The term kamma, action, here does not bear the ordinary meaning of cause and effect, but refers to formal action, that is, official acts with legal force within the community of bhikkhus.

In the context of the Vinaya Piṭaka, yết-ma is the instrument by which the Sangha makes collective decisions on important matters of the renunciant community, such as full ordination (upasampadā), adjudication and settlement of disputes, restoration of status for bhikkhus who have committed offenses, holding the uposatha, undertaking the pavāraṇā, or resolving matters related to Sangha discipline. These procedures require the presence of a sufficient number of qualified bhikkhus and must be carried out in the proper place and in the proper sequence of formulas in order to be considered valid.

The distinctive feature of the San Sarv Bu Kam collection is that this is a text belonging to the Sanskrit tradition, reflecting the transmission line of a specific Indian school, possibly related to the Sarvāstivāda tradition or a closely related branch, which accords with the Comparative Vinaya — Sanskrit collection to which the text is assigned. Comparing Kammavācā texts among multiple traditions, Pāli, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese, is one of the important methods of modern Buddhist scholarship for reconstructing the form of the early Vinaya Piṭaka.

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Content Identifiable from the Descriptive Information

Based on the provided summary, Bhikkhu Kammavācā is a collection of yết-ma formulas recited by monks in the official legal procedures of the Sangha. A noteworthy point is that these texts are extracted from the Vibhaṅga, that is, from the analytical section of the Vinaya Piṭaka, where each rule and the procedures for handling cases of violation are explained in detail.

This shows that Kammavācā is not an independent text composed from the beginning, but a deliberate anthology, intended to condense and systematize recitation formulas for convenient use in Sangha practice. When separated from the Vibhaṅga and arranged as an independent collection, these formulas function as a legal-ritual handbook for monks, especially useful in the context of transmission to new lands, where communities of bhikkhus need to perform important ceremonies without necessarily consulting the entire vast Vinaya Piṭaka.

The usual form of kammavācā consists of three basic parts: announcement (ñatti, declaring the matter before the Sangha), motion (one or more proclamations of the proposal), and conclusion through the consenting silence of the entire lawful Sangha. Depending on the nature of the matter, the number of proclamations may differ, producing different forms of yết-ma in terms of solemnity and legal force.

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Meaning for Study and Practice

The yết-ma system reflects a foundational principle in the organization of the Buddhist Sangha: collective decision-making based on consensus, not personal authority or arbitrary decision. Every important event in renunciant life, from ordination to the handling of violations of the precepts, must pass through a public, transparent yết-ma procedure witnessed by the community.

For renunciants, understanding and correctly practicing the kammavācā formulas is not only a ritual skill but also an expression of respect for Sangha law, preserving the purity and unity of the Sangha. For students of Buddhist studies, comparing Kammavācā texts across multiple traditions helps deepen understanding of the development and differentiation of the Vinaya Piṭaka in the history of Indian Buddhism.

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Comparative Note

The complete original source text of Bhikkhu Kammavācā in this Sanskrit tradition has not been directly compared within the scope of the present explanatory materials. Researchers wishing to study it more deeply should consult scholarly editions of Sanskrit Vinaya texts of the Indian schools, as well as comparative studies among the Kammavācā systems of different traditions, in order to gain the most comprehensive and accurate view of the position and content of this text.