San Sarv Bu Pm Tf 11 Sk 99Nātyastikākṛtasya

Exposition of the Nātyastikākṛtasya Sutta

Background

The Nātyastikākṛtasya Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, the body of legal teachings that governs the life of practice of bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs. The Vinaya Piṭaka is the disciplinary foundation of the Sangha, taught by the Buddha in order to maintain purity and harmony within the community of practice.

This sutta concerns rules about the act of lying in the ethical and disciplinary context of those who have gone forth. The words "Nātya" (lying), "astika" (capacity, or lack of truthfulness), and "kṛta" (done/made) suggest that this sutta focuses on the problem of practitioners lying or creating untruthful statements. This is one of the offenses treated most seriously in the Vinaya Piṭaka because it directly violates the unique quality of a purified mind.

The background for the composition of the Vinaya Piṭaka consists of specific incidents that occurred in the Sangha during the Buddha's time. When problems arose, the Buddha would issue rules to govern them, in order to protect the practice and the devotion of the great body of disciples.

Main Content

This sutta sets forth rules concerning actions related to lying and creating falsehoods in the community of monks and nuns. According to the Theravāda tradition, lying, especially lying about spiritual attainments or states of practice, is considered a Pārājika violation, the gravest kind of offense, leading to expulsion from the Sangha.

The sutta refers to preserving truthfulness (sacca) as a compulsory requirement. A monastic must not declare that he or she has attained meditative states (jhāna), supernormal knowledge (abhiññā), or merits that are not actually present. Doing so not only misleads oneself but also violates the discipline and harms the faith of devotees.

The specific situations in the sutta include cases in which monastics lie out of desire for fame, fear of criticism, or the wish to conceal shortcomings in practice.