Bu Pc 7474. Hitting in anger
Pāli / Sanskrit:Pahāra
A monk who in anger strikes another monk must confess the offense.
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Pahāra (Striking)
Vinaya Piṭaka — Pātimokkha
Background
The Pahāra rule belongs to the Pācittiya (offenses requiring confession) section of the Theravāda Pātimokkha, which records the regulations governing the pure conduct of bhikkhus. The Vinaya Piṭaka, though distinct from the discourses that expound the Dhamma, is itself a direct expression of the Buddha Gotama's teaching on ethics and mental training.
The situation that gave rise to this rule arose from an incident within the early community of bhikkhus. A bhikkhu, moved by anger, struck another bhikkhu. This action produced harmful consequences within the Saṅgha — discord, a loss of trust among laypeople, and a deterioration of communal discipline. The Buddha, recognizing this, laid down the rule in order to protect the purity of the Saṅgha and to cultivate the character of those who have gone forth.
Principal Content
The Pahāra rule determines that if a bhikkhu, on account of a mind of anger (kodha), intentionally strikes another bhikkhu, that action constitutes a Pācittiya offense — one that must be confessed. That is, the offending bhikkhu must openly acknowledge the transgression before another bhikkhu of the community.
The word Pahāra means "a blow" or "a strike." It does not refer to severe violence; nevertheless, this very act — arising from aversion (sāna) and giving slight expression to a coarse and violent nature — violates the spirit of maintaining the wholeness and health of one's inner life. The offense does not fall at the grave level of a Pārājika (a defeat entailing expulsion from the Order), but rather at the level that calls for correction of character through confession and practice.
The essential point is this: the motivating mind. Only when the act of striking is carried out with a mind of anger and hostility does it constitute an offense. This demonstrates that the Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka consists not of merely external rules, but of inner laws — standards for cultivating the mind, for relinquishing actions born of greed, aversion, and delusion.
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