Xct Mu Bu Vb Ss 13Difficult to Correct
Pāli / Sanskrit:Dubbaca
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Exposition of the Dubbaca Scripture (Difficult to Correct)
Context
The Dubbaca scripture is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the Bhikkhu Vibhaṅga, the detailed analysis of the rules of practice for bhikkhus. This is not a doctrinal discourse (Sutta), but a study of the Vinaya, intended to govern the Sangha community and protect the purity of the Sangha body.
The title "Dubbaca" means "difficult to correct" or "difficult to discipline," referring to the conduct and attitudes of bhikkhus who are very hard to teach, admonish, and bring back into accord with the Dharma and Vinaya. This scripture was compiled after the Blessed Buddha entered nirvana, when distant monastic communities needed clear principles for handling complex disciplinary issues.
The context of its formation combines specific events in the monastic community with the need to establish a common ethical standard for the entire early Buddhist Sangha.
Main Content
The Dubbaca scripture analyzes the nature of bhikkhus who are "difficult to correct," that is, those who refuse to listen to admonition, are difficult to reform, or stubbornly adhere to wrong views. The scripture identifies the characteristics of such people:
First, they do not acknowledge their faults, even when those faults are clearly proven. They always seek to deny or justify their own wrong actions.
Second, they refuse to listen to compassionate advice from elders or those of higher virtue. When corrected, they react with resistance instead of self-examination.
Third, they have no aspiration to improve themselves. Their attitude is to defend the self (attan), not to turn toward observation and the removal of defects.
The Vinaya Piṭaka lays down that when a bhikkhu has these qualities of being "difficult to correct," the Sangha has the right to apply measures according to degree, from gentle admonition (anusāsana), through the restriction of certain activities, to stricter measures intended to protect the purity of the Sangha body.
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