Bu Ss 1212. Being difficult to correct
Pāli / Sanskrit:Dubbaca
A monk who refuses to be corrected about breaches of the monastic code is to be suspended. The narrative setting features the monk Channa who was particularly proud and difficult to deal with.
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Dubbaca (Being Difficult to Correct)
Background
The Dubbaca is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon of the Theravāda tradition, within the Bhikkhu Samuggaha (rules pertaining to the Saṅgha). The background of this text originates from events involving the bhikkhu Channa, who was well known for his arrogance and resistance to receiving correction.
Channa was a bhikkhu who possessed knowledge of the Dhamma yet harbored unwholesome qualities of mind. He consistently opposed the corrections offered by senior monks and even those coming from the Blessed One himself. Rather than reflecting upon his own faults, Channa repeatedly spoke harshly, refused to listen, and stubbornly defended his own views. This situation affected not only himself but also caused disruption throughout the Saṅgha.
These events prompted the Blessed One to establish an additional rule of training to address bhikkhus who are "difficult to correct" (dubbaca), in order to protect the harmony and discipline of the Saṅgha.
Main Content
The Dubbaca rule stipulates that any bhikkhu who, upon being shown that he has transgressed one of the rules of the Pātimokkha, continues to refuse correction and will not acknowledge his fault, is to be regarded as "difficult to correct." Such correction must be carried out in the proper manner, typically by senior bhikkhus or by the Saṅgha acting as a body.
When such a bhikkhu remains steadfastly unwilling to listen even after having been corrected multiple times and in various ways, the Saṅgha is empowered to apply the disciplinary measure known as "Tagganukodana" (a penalty of suspension). This means that the bhikkhu is temporarily deprived of certain rights and privileges within the Saṅgha until he reforms his attitude and acknowledges his fault. This penalty is not permanent expulsion, but rather a measure to compel the bhikkhu to reflect upon his conduct.
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