Bu Pc 6666. Traveling with thieves
Pāli / Sanskrit:Theyyasattha
A monk who travels by arrangement with thieves must confess the offense.
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The Theyyasattha — Traveling with Thieves
Background
The Theyyasattha (Theyyasattha Pācittiya) is a part of the Pācittiya — the code of rules pertaining to offenses that require confession (pācittiya, that is, offenses requiring acknowledgment). In the traditional Theravāda Vinaya, these regulations are recorded to maintain discipline within the Sangha and to protect the honor of Buddhism in the eyes of society.
The historical backdrop of this rule reflects the context of ancient India, where trade routes and roads harbored the ever-present danger of highway robbers. Monastics, when traveling between monasteries, naturally needed to make arrangements for their journeys. However, the Buddha's teaching requires disciples to maintain ethical purity — not only in their personal conduct but also in their associations with those around them, even in difficult circumstances.
Main Content
The Theyyasattha rule states clearly that: a monastic who arranges (sannipatikā) or voluntarily agrees (sammatikā) to travel together with a group that he knows to be thieves (theyyasattha), or who allows himself to travel along with them by intention or agreement, commits a Pācittiya offense.
The nature of the offense lies in intention and awareness. It is not a matter of accidentally encountering robbers on the road, or being compelled to travel with them due to urgent circumstances. Rather, the rule specifically warns against the case of a monastic who actively arranges a journey together with thieves, or who even simply allows himself to fall into such a situation without raising any objection.
The distinction between sannipatikā (joint arrangement) and sammatikā (agreement) indicates that whether the plan was made in advance or consented to afterward, the intention behind such an action is what is censured. The term theyyasattha is rendered as "those of thieving character" or "those who live by plunder," referring specifically to persons whose orientation or habit is one of robbery, not merely those who have made an isolated momentary error.
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