Bi Ss 1616. Being difficult to correct
Pāli / Sanskrit:Dubbaca
A nun who refuses to be corrected about breaches of the monastic code is to be suspended.
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Explanation of the Dubbaca Sutta (Being Difficult to Correct)
Background
The Dubbaca Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, situated within the system of monastic discipline for bhikkhunīs (Bhikkhunī Vinaya). It forms part of the body of rules governing the conduct and attitudes of female monastics within the early Buddhist community.
The context of this sutta arises from a practical necessity: the maintenance of discipline and harmony within the Saṅgha (the community of monastics). The Buddha established these rules not out of arbitrariness, but to safeguard the spiritual development of each individual and the stability of the community. The Dubbaca Sutta specifically addresses the case of a bhikkhunī who has transgressed the Pātimokkha (the basic code of monastic rules) yet refuses correction and admonition from her fellow practitioners and senior monastics.
Principal Content
The term dubbaca means "difficult to correct" or "hard to admonish" (du = difficult; vaca = speech, instruction). This sutta stipulates that when a bhikkhunī transgresses the rules of ethical conduct (sīla) but refuses to acknowledge her fault or amend her behavior, the disciplinary acts of Tajjanīya-kamma (an act of censure) or Nissaya-kamma (an act of dependence) are to be applied against her.
Specifically, when other bhikkhunīs or the presiding officer of the assembly discover a transgression, they proceed to admonish (ovāda) the offender. If the one admonished not only fails to comply but also becomes "difficult to correct" (dubbaca)—that is, continues to refuse amendment—then disciplinary measures are applied. These may include the suspension or restriction of certain privileges until such time as her attitude changes.
The crucial point here is not the initial act of transgression itself, but rather the refusal to acknowledge the fault and to change. The ethics of Theravāda Buddhism place particular emphasis on truthfulness, self-examination, and the capacity for correction.
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