San Sarv Bu Pm Tf 11 Pj 4Laying False Claim to Superhuman Attainments
Pāli / Sanskrit:Uttarimanussadhamma
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Exposition of the Uttarimanussadhamma Sutta
Reproving False Claims to Superhuman Attainments
Context
The Uttarimanussadhamma Sutta (Qualities surpassing those of ordinary human beings) is an important text in the early Vinaya Piṭaka, especially in the Pārajika (offenses entailing defeat), belonging to the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha, the code voluntarily observed by female monastics. This text is presented in the context of events at Sāvatthi, where the Buddha often resided. It is not a discourse for developing wisdom, but a disciplinary regulation intended to protect the integrity of the Sangha and prevent acts that distort the Buddha-Dharma.
The basis of this rule arose from specific situations in which improper female monastics claimed that they had attained superhuman spiritual achievements that in fact they had never attained. This was an act of deception that the Buddha regarded as a violation of the ethics and honor of the Sangha.
Main Content
Uttarimanussadhamma concerns admonitions regarding false claims connected with siddhi (supernormal powers), samadhi (concentration), paññā (wisdom), vimutti (liberation), and other noble spiritual states. Specifically, this text forbids female monastics from declaring or asserting that they have attained achievements such as vidhu-rupa (seeing wondrous forms), sota-dhatu (hearing extraordinary sounds), mano-maya-kaya (mind-made body), or any other form of supernormal power.
This act is not merely lying, but also a distortion of the nature of Buddhist practice. According to the Pāli Canon, true attainments must be the result of purity, mindfulness, and right exertion in practice. False claims cause the Sangha to lose credibility in the eyes of the world and weaken the faith of those who study the Buddha-Dharma.
This text concludes by establishing that this is one of the pārajika offenses, an ultimate violation, within the rules for Buddhist monastics.
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