San Sarv Bu Pm Finot Ss 13Difficult to Correct
Pāli / Sanskrit:Dubbaca
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
DUBBACA SUTTA - ON THOSE DIFFICULT TO CORRECT
Background
The Dubbaca Sutta (Pāli: Dubbaca, provisionally translated “difficult to correct”) is part of the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. The Vinaya Pitaka is the collection that establishes precepts and discipline for the community of monks and nuns, composed by the Buddha to maintain discipline, harmony, and the development of spiritual practice within the Sangha.
This section appears in the context of managing the community of monks and nuns, especially concerning monastics who are ill-disposed, difficult to admonish, or unwilling to obey instruction. The recorded context shows that the Buddha and senior monastics needed to handle cases of monastics who violated rules or showed resistance to correction. This text addresses lawful methods for dealing with such situations, in order to protect the integrity of the Sangha and maintain the true Dharma.
Main Content
Dubbaca, meaning “difficult to correct,” refers to monastics who are stubborn, negligent in practice, or disrespectful toward instruction. According to the Theravada Vinaya tradition, such monastics should be admonished by other monastics; if they refuse to listen, the community has the right to apply measures according to the Vinaya.
The text stipulates that when a monastic has been warned by the community but still does not amend their conduct, the monastics should assemble as the Sangha to discuss the matter. In this meeting, someone considered experienced and knowledgeable in the Vinaya presents the violation, after which the community decides the appropriate penalty. This may include sounding a drum as a warning, or applying spiritual penalties such as temporary isolation from the community until that monastic shows sincere correction.
The important point is that this text emphasizes the principle of equality in the Sangha: no one, whether monk or nun, stands outside communal oversight. The purpose is not punishment, but the correction of mistaken conduct, helping that monastic recognize their fault and return to the proper path of practice.
🌏 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.