Bu Pj 44. The training rule on falsely claiming a superhuman quality
Pāli / Sanskrit:Uttarimanussadhamma
A monk who falsely claims a profound spiritual attainment is expelled. In the origin story to this rule the Buddha declares that anyone who gets people to support him or her by lying about their spiritual attainments is the worst kind of thief.
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Patimokkha Commentary Bu Pj 4: False Claims Regarding Superhuman Qualities
Background
The Theravāda Vinaya records an event that took place at Sāvatthī, the city most favored by the Blessed One for his teaching ministry. There, a monk who had fallen into degenerate thoughts and conduct sought to win the trust of laypeople by falsely claiming that he had attained profound realizations of the noble path. He declared that he had attained Stream-entry (Sotāpanna), or even Once-returning (Sakadāgāmī), or even Non-returning (Anāgāmī), or even Arahantship. These false declarations were intended to inspire reverence and devotion among lay faithful, thereby securing greater material support, offerings, and personal service.
When the Blessed One came to hear of this, he pronounced that such conduct constituted the gravest form of false speech. Moreover, he likened such a monk to a thief — indeed, "the worst of thieves" (mahācora) — because such a person steals the faith and veneration of others and exploits it to satisfy his own material needs.
Principal Content
The rule of Uttarimanussadhamma (Superhuman Qualities) was established to prevent false claims regarding spiritual attainments. The Pātimokkha stipulates that if a monk or nun, knowing that he or she does not possess superhuman qualities (uttarimanussadhamma) — that is, lofty spiritual faculties such as the divine eye (dibba-cakkhu), the divine ear (dibba-sota), or verified realization of the noble path — nonetheless deliberately claims to others that he or she possesses such qualities, that person commits a Pārājika offense (a defeat). The consequence is expulsion from the Sangha and the permanent and irrevocable loss of monastic status.
Of particular importance is the emphasis this rule places on the distinction between honestly declaring what one has genuinely realized, as opposed to making a false claim. If a monk has truly attained spiritual accomplishments and declares this truthfully, no offense is committed.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.