Bi Ss 99. Making a groundless accusation out of anger, using a pretext
Pāli / Sanskrit:Aññabhāgiya
A nun who in anger uses a ploy to falsely accuse another nun of an offense entailing expulsion is to be suspended.
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Commentary on the Aññabhāgiya (Bi Ss 9)
Background
The Aññabhāgiya belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically to the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga (the section on Rules for Nuns). In the original Pāli Canon, the Vinaya Piṭaka records historical events from the early period of the establishment of Buddhism, the conflicts that arose among monks and nuns, and the rules of training that the Buddha established in response to these situations in order to maintain discipline within the Saṅgha.
This text concerns a specific case: a nun who, out of anger (kodha), employs a pretext (aññabhāgiya, meaning "a matter belonging to another category") to falsely accuse another nun of having committed a pārājika offence — that is, the most grave transgression, which results in expulsion from the Saṅgha. This is an exceedingly serious breach of the rules, combining three unwholesome factors: anger, falsehood, and deliberate harm to another.
Principal Content
According to the original Vinaya Piṭaka, when a nun, out of anger, fabricates an accusation that another nun has committed a pārājika offence — when in truth she has not — the offending nun must undergo suspension, known as parivāsa or mānatta, that is, a period of re-training carried out under strict conditions.
This offence is distinct from ordinary lying. It is a deception that is premeditated in character, combined with anger (kodha), one of the three unwholesome roots (akusala mūla) in Buddhism. Such an act does not merely violate the honour of the one falsely accused; it also damages the trust within the Saṅgha community and undermines harmony (samaggatā).
In terms of Vinaya jurisprudence, the Aññabhāgiya offence is classified as a fourth-category personal offence (puggala-dukkaṭa) or as an offence entailing suspension, depending on the specific nature of the false accusation. A nun who commits this offence must undergo temporary exclusion from the community: she may not participate in communal recitations, may not receive the customary acts of respect, and remains in this condition until the process of rehabilitation (parivāsa) has been completed.
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