CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Uposatha

In the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN 16) the Buddha lists seven conditions that will help prevent the decline of the Community. The first two are these: “(1) As long as the bhikkhus meet often, meet a great deal, their growth can be expected, not their decline. (2) As long as the bhikkhus meet in unity, adjourn from their meetings in unity, and conduct Community business in unity, their growth can be expected, not their decline.” The uposatha observance was formulated to help meet these conditions. It provides an opportunity on a fortnightly basis for the bhikkhus to meet with their fellows in the vicinity, to update their membership rolls, to deal with any wayward members, and to reaffirm their common adherence to the rules of the Vinaya. The act of observing the uposatha together is what defines common affiliation in any given territory.

Cv.IX.1 tells that the Buddha participated in the uposatha observance until one night when a sham bhikkhu sat in the meeting and, even when warned by the Buddha, refused to leave until Ven. Mahā Moggallāna had grabbed him by the arm and forcibly thrown him out. From that point onward, the uposatha was conducted entirely by the disciples.

The importance of the uposatha observance in the Buddha’s eyes is shown in Mv.II.5.5. Ven. Mahā Kappina, staying on the outskirts of Rājagaha after having attained arahantship, reflects that whether he goes to the uposatha observance or not, he is still purified with the highest purification and so he feels disinclined to go. The Buddha, staying nearby on Vulture Peak, reads his mind and—disappearing from Vulture’s Peak—appears right in front of him to ask, “If you brahmans (meaning arahants) do not revere, respect, esteem, and honor the uposatha, who is there who will revere, respect, esteem, and honor it? Go to the uposatha. Do not not go. Go as well to Community transactions. Do not not go.” Thus even arahants are not exempt from Community obligations in general, and the uposatha in particular.

A passage in MN 108 indicates the importance of the uposatha meeting in the governance of the Community after the Buddha’s parinibbāna, given the fact that the Buddha never appointed a successor to take charge of the Community after he was gone. Ven. Ānanda is speaking to the brahman Gopaka Moggallāna after the Buddha’s passing away:

Uposatha days

The term uposatha comes from the Vedic Sanskrit upavasatha, a day of preparation, usually involving special observances, for the Soma ritual. These preparation days were held on the days of the half-moon, full moon, and new moon—the eighth and (depending on the precise timing of the new and full moons) fourteenth or fifteenth days of the lunar fortnight. Non-Vedic sects, prior to Buddhism, used these days for observances of their own, usually meeting to teach their Dhamma. The Buddha adopted this practice, setting these days aside for bhikkhus to meet and teach the Dhamma as well. He also established a purely monastic uposatha observance, which he limited to the final day of the lunar fortnight. To enable the bhikkhus to determine the date of this observance, he relaxed the rule against their studying astrology (see Chapter 10), which in those days had not yet separated from astronomy, allowing them to learn as much astronomy as needed to calculate whether the full and new moons fell on the fourteenth or fifteenth of a particular fortnight. (“At that time people asked the bhikkhus as they were going for alms, ‘Which day of the fortnight is it, venerable sirs?’ The bhikkhus said, ‘We don’t know.’ The people criticized and complained and spread it about, ‘These Sakyan-son monks don’t even know enough to calculate the fortnight, so how will they know anything else that’s admirable?’”—Mv.II.18.1)

The monastic observance may be held in one of four ways, depending on the size of the Community in a particular territory: If four bhikkhus or more, they meet for a recitation of the Pāṭimokkha; if three, they declare their mutual purity to one another; if two, they declare their purity to each other; if one, he marks the day by determining it as his uposatha. In addition to these regular observance days, the Buddha gave permission for a Community to recite the Pāṭimokkha only on one other occasion: when unity has been reestablished in the Community. This, the Commentary says, refers only to occasions when a major dispute in the Community has been settled (such as a schism—see Chapter 21), and not to occasions when the uposatha has been suspended for minor reasons. Thus there are two occasions on which the bhikkhus are allowed to meet for the uposatha: the last day of the lunar fortnight and the day for reestablishing unity.

Location

In order to prevent confusion about where the uposatha will be held in an established monastery, only one building may be authorized as the uposatha hall within any given monastery. If the hall becomes unusable, the authorization may be revoked and another hall authorized. If the hall is too small for the number of bhikkhus who have gathered for the uposatha, they may sit outside around the hall as long as they are within earshot of the Pāṭimokkha recitation. If the Community wants to, it may also authorize an area in front of the uposatha hall, marked with boundary markers, specifically for this purpose, but this is an optional step. (The markers are to be determined in the same way as the markers for a territory. See Chapter 13. Also, see Appendix I for the statements used in the transactions for authorizing and revoking an uposatha hall, and for authorizing an area in front of it.)

If many monasteries share a common territory, all the bhikkhus residing in the monasteries must meet together for a common uposatha. The Canon states that this may (but does not have to) be at the monastery where the most senior bhikkhu in the territory is staying. The Commentary suggests meeting in the oldest monastery in the territory unless it is inconvenient (e.g., its uposatha hall is too small). As for the most senior bhikkhu, if the monastery where he is staying is convenient, the bhikkhus may meet there. If not, he should be invited to move to a more convenient one. If he refuses to move, the bhikkhus should take his consent and purity, and meet in a more convenient place (assuming, of course, that he cannot manage to get there himself).

If a full Community of bhikkhus is staying in a particular monastery but none of them know “the uposatha or the uposatha transaction, the Pāṭimokkha or the recital of the Pāṭimokkha,” then the Canon enjoins the senior bhikkhu to order one of the junior bhikkhus to go to a neighboring monastery immediately to master the Pāṭimokkha in brief (see below) or in full (for the sake of reciting it that very day, says the Commentary). If ordered in this way, and unless he is ill, the junior bhikkhu must go or else incur a dukkaṭa. If he manages to learn the Pāṭimokkha, either in brief or in full, well and good. If not, then all the bhikkhus should go to a monastery where the uposatha and Pāṭimokkha are known. Otherwise they all incur dukkaṭas.

Unity

As with all Community transactions, the uposatha observance must be held in unity. Unlike ordinary transactions, however, any bhikkhu residing in the territory who does not participate in the meeting must send his purity (together with his consent, if the bhikkhus are planning to conduct other business at the meeting as well). This will be discussed under the preliminary duties, below.

The Canon deals with three special cases that can interfere with the unity of the meeting: People seize one of the bhikkhus in the territory; bhikkhus arrive late to the meeting; and incoming bhikkhus arrive prior to the meeting. As these incidents are rare, and the procedures for dealing with them fairly complex, they will be discussed below in the section on special cases.

Excluded individuals

Because the act of performing uposatha together is what defines common affiliation in any given territory, the uposatha transaction is unusual among Community transactions in that only bhikkhus in good standing in the Community and in common affiliation are allowed to join in—i.e., sit within hatthapāsa of—the assembly. (The only other Community transaction with the same requirement is the Invitation.) Anyone who recites the Pāṭimokkha (this includes not only the reciter, but anyone who listens to the recitation) in an assembly that includes lay people, bhikkhunīs, female probationers, novices, female novices, ex-bhikkhus, paṇḍakas, or any other types of individuals absolutely forbidden from gaining full Acceptance, incurs a dukkaṭa. There is also a dukkaṭa for reciting the Pāṭimokkha in an assembly that includes a bhikkhu of a separate affiliation, although this penalty holds only if one knows that he is of a separate affiliation and the differences between the affiliations have not been resolved. Anyone who recites the Pāṭimokkha in an assembly that includes a suspended bhikkhu incurs a pācittiya under Pc 69.

Preliminaries

One of the duties of the senior bhikkhu in any monastery is to announce to the others that, “Today is the uposatha day.” The Canon recommends that he announce this in good time (very early in the morning, says the Commentary), but allows him to announce it whenever he remembers during the day (even in the evening, the Commentary says). At an agreed-on time, the Community should meet, with the senior-most bhikkhu coming first. If he doesn’t come first, the Commentary states that he incurs a dukkaṭa.

The Commentary divides the preliminary duties before the uposatha observance into two sets: pubba-karaṇa and pubba-kicca. Both terms mean “preliminary duty,” although the pubba-karaṇa are concerned with preparing the place for the meeting, whereas the pubba-kicca are activities that should be done first when the meeting has convened.

Pubba-karaṇa

The senior bhikkhu has the duty of supervising the other bhikkhus in sweeping the uposatha hall, preparing the seats for the bhikkhus, lighting lamps (if the meeting is held at night or in a dark place), and setting out drinking water and washing water. The senior bhikkhu may order junior bhikkhus to do these things. If, when ordered and not ill, they do not comply, they incur dukkaṭas. The Commentary recommends that the following bhikkhus not be ordered for any of these duties: those doing construction work, those helping with other work, Dhamma teachers, and expert chanters. Others, it says, should be ordered on a rotating roster.

Pubba-kicca

The bhikkhus, once they have met, should convey the consent and purity of any bhikkhus within the territory who have not joined the meeting. Then they should tell the season, count the number of bhikkhus, and arrange for the exhortation of the bhikkhunīs.

Conveying consent has already been discussed in Chapter 12. The rules for conveying purity are the same as those for conveying consent, with two differences: (1) The bhikkhu giving his purity says to the bhikkhu conveying it:

The Sub-commentary notes that a bhikkhu with any unconfessed offenses should first confess them before giving his purity in this way.

(2) The conveying of purity allows the assembly to conduct the uposatha observance, while the conveying of consent allows it to conduct other business. The Commentary notes that if a bhikkhu staying within the territory but not participating in the meeting sends his purity but not his consent, the assembly may perform the uposatha but may not conduct other Community transactions. If he sends his consent but not his purity, they may conduct all Community transactions including the uposatha; he, however, incurs a dukkaṭa for not participating in the uposatha. In other words, the Commentary assumes that while purity cannot take the place of consent in authorizing other communal business, consent can take the place of purity in allowing the Community to conduct the uposatha.

This, however, contradicts Mv.II.22.2, in which an uposatha where an absent bhikkhu has not sent his purity is said to be factional. More importantly, it misses the point of the uposatha, which is not merely to gain the Community’s consent but also to establish its purity. So a better interpretation would be that if the absent bhikkhu has sent his consent but not his purity, the Community may deal with other business but may not perform the uposatha. In the event that there are two or more bhikkhus within the territory who are too ill to give their purity/consent or even to be carried into the meeting, and they are too far apart from each other for the assembly to include them within its hatthapāsa and still have all the bhikkhus within earshot of the reciter, there is no need to conduct the uposatha on that day. Given that this situation could last a long time, preventing any Community transactions within the territory, this may have been one of the inspirations for the practice of designating small territories that do not cover an entire monastery.

The Canon contains an obscure rule stating that the uposatha should not be performed with a “stale” giving of purity unless the gathering has not gotten up from its seats. The Commentary gives two relevant examples of what this might mean: (1) The bhikkhus have met to recite the Pāṭimokkha, and while they wait for late arrivals, the dawn of the next day arrives. If they had planned to hold a 14th day uposatha, then they may go ahead and hold a 15th day uposatha. (If they had planned to hold a 15th day uposatha, then they shouldn’t hold the uposatha, as it is no longer an uposatha day.) (2) The bhikkhus meet, the purity of the bhikkhus not present is conveyed, the assembled bhikkhus change their mind about meeting that day, and then change their mind again. If this last decision comes before they get up from their seats, they may go ahead with the uposatha. If not, they shouldn’t perform the uposatha unless they send some of their members back to reobtain the purity of the bhikkhus not present.

The duty of telling the season is not mentioned in the Canon. The standard procedure is to state the season—hot, rainy, or cold—together with how many uposatha days have passed in the season and how many remain. Even in areas where there are four rather than three seasons, this is a useful way of reminding the bhikkhus of where they are in the lunar calendar so that they don’t lose track of such dates as the beginning of the Rains-residence or the ending of kaṭhina privileges.

The Canon does mention counting the bhikkhus in the assembly, allowing either that names be called or counting-slips be taken.

The exhortation of the bhikkhunīs is discussed in Chapter 23. As the discussion there makes clear, this is a duty preliminary to the Pāṭimokkha only in the sense that the bhikkhu who will exhort the bhikkhunīs is chosen or authorized before the Pāṭimokkha is recited. The actual exhortation takes place later, at a time and place that the exhorter announces to the bhikkhunīs.

Confession

Because a bhikkhu with an unconfessed offense is not allowed to listen to the Pāṭimokkha, the tradition has developed that bhikkhus confess their confessable offenses immediately prior to the meeting. The procedures for doing so, and for dealing with the situation in which all the bhikkhus present have fallen into the same offense, are discussed in BMC1, Appendix VII.

If, prior to listening to the Pāṭimokkha, a bhikkhu has doubt about an offense, he may say so to one of his fellow bhikkhus, promising that when his doubts are cleared up, and it turns out to be an actual offense, he will make amends. He may then listen to the Pāṭimokkha.

If, while listening to the Pāṭimokkha, a bhikkhu either recollects an unconfessed offense or has doubt about one, he should inform a neighboring bhikkhu. He may then continue listening to the Pāṭimokkha. The Commentary adds that if the neighboring bhikkhu is uncongenial, one may simply tell oneself, “When I leave here, I’ll make amends for the offense.”

If Bhikkhu X knows that Bhikkhu Y has an unconfessed offense, he may accuse him of the offense prior to the Pāṭimokkha or, during the motion, may cancel Y’s right to listen to the Pāṭimokkha. As this is a rare event, and the rules surrounding the procedure are complex, they will be discussed below in the section on special cases.

Reciting the Pāṭimokkha

An assembly of four or more bhikkhus observes the uposatha by listening to a recitation of the Pāṭimokkha. The recitation is the duty of the senior bhikkhu or of any junior bhikkhu he invites. A junior bhikkhu who recites the Pāṭimokkha uninvited incurs a dukkaṭa.

The transaction statement for the recitation is a motion that the reciter states at the beginning of the nidāna, the first section of the Pāṭimokkha. While reciting the Pāṭimokkha, the reciter must strive to the best of his ability to make himself heard. If he intentionally tries not to make himself heard, the penalty is a dukkaṭa.

The Canon allows five ways of reciting the Pāṭimokkha:

Normally, the Pāṭimokkha should be recited in full. However, if any of ten obstructions arise while the Pāṭimokkha is being recited, the remainder of the recitation may be given in brief. As the Commentary says, this means that if an obstruction arises in any of the parts covered by the second through the fourth modes of recitation, the recitation may be cut off in mid-section, with the section in question and all the remaining sections announced as “heard.” If the obstructions arise before the recitation, the Commentary says, the recitation should simply be delayed.

Note that neither the Canon nor the Commentary gives any allowance for breaking off the recitation in the middle of any rule sections from the nissaggiya pācittiya rules onwards.

The ten obstructions (with explanations from the Commentary in brackets) are:

The Canon does not specify how a rule section is to be announced as “heard.” The Commentary recommends the following formula for each “heard” section, replacing “cattāro pārājikā” with the appropriate name and number of the relevant rules in each case:

One then ends with the usual conclusion: Ettakantassa bhagavato… avivādamānehi sikkhitabbaṁ.

The Vinaya-mukha, however, correctly notes that this formula would be more idiomatic if it followed the form of the standard conclusion to the Pāṭimokkha, as follows (giving the example of breaking off in the middle of the saṅghādisesa section):

Mutual purity

In a group of only three bhikkhus, the Pāṭimokkha may not be recited. Instead, the bhikkhus must declare their mutual purity. To do this, they meet in the uposatha hall, and one of the bhikkhus gives the motion:

This means: “May the venerable ones listen to me, sirs [friends]. Today is the uposatha of the fifteenth [fourteenth]. If the venerable ones are ready, we should perform our uposatha of mutual purity.”

Then the most senior bhikkhu, with his robe arranged over one shoulder, gets into the kneeling position and, with hands raised in añjali, says three times:

This means: “I, friends, am pure. Remember me as pure.”

Then in descending order of seniority, the other two bhikkhus follow suit, saying (also three times):

Pārisuddho ahaṁ bhante. Pārisuddho’ti maṁ dhāretha.

This changes the “friends” to the more respectful “sirs.”

Purity

If there are only two bhikkhus in the group, they simply declare their purity to each other, without a motion. The more senior bhikkhu, with his robe arranged over one shoulder, gets into the kneeling position and, with hands raised in añjali, says three times:

This means: “I, friend, am pure. Remember me as pure.”

The junior bhikkhu follows suit, with the difference that he says (again, three times):

This changes the “friend” to “sir,” and the verb ending to the more respectful plural form.

Determination

If there is only one bhikkhu, he should go to the place where the bhikkhus normally meet for the uposatha—the uposatha hall, a pavilion, or the root of a tree—should sweep the place, should set out drinking water and washing water, should prepare a seat and light a lamp (if it is dark), and then sit down. If other bhikkhus happen to arrive, he should perform the uposatha with them. If not, he should make the following determination:

If he does not do this, he incurs a dukkaṭa. The Commentary notes that he may also add the word paṇṇaraso (the fifteenth) or cātuddaso (the fourteenth), as appropriate, to the end of the determination, but this is optional.

Borderline quorums

The Canon states that if there are four bhikkhus in the territory, the Pāṭimokkha is not to be recited by three after the purity of one has been conveyed. The Commentary to Mv.II.14.2 adds that the three should not perform a mutual purity uposatha. This leaves only one option: All four must gather—if necessary, in the dwelling of the bhikkhu who was planning to send his purity—and recite the Pāṭimokkha. Similarly, if there are two or three bhikkhus in the territory, all must attend the uposatha meeting; none of them may have their purity conveyed.

Traveling

On an uposatha day, bhikkhus are forbidden to travel to a place where there are no bhikkhus or where there are only bhikkhus of a separate affiliation. This is to prevent them from avoiding a more difficult form of the uposatha—e.g., reciting the Pāṭimokkha—in favor of an easier one. They are allowed, however, to go to such places if they go as a Community of four or more, or if there are obstructions in the place where they currently are—according to the Commentary, this is a reference to the ten obstructions listed above. The Canon also states that one may go from one monastery to another if the bhikkhus in the second monastery are of the same affiliation and one knows that one can arrive there within the day.

The Commentary states that the prohibitions against traveling do not apply after the uposatha observance has been held or if it has been canceled. However, if one is living alone in the forest and goes to a village for alms on the uposatha day, one should go straight back to one’s residence. If one stops off at another residence, one shouldn’t leave until one has performed the uposatha with the bhikkhus there.

Special cases: unity

As mentioned above, the Canon discusses three special cases that have a bearing on the unity of an uposatha meeting: what to do when a bhikkhu is seized in the territory; when resident bhikkhus arrive late; and when incoming, non-resident bhikkhus arrive prior to the recitation on the uposatha day. These cases will be discussed here.

When a bhikkhu is seized

If relatives, kings (government officials), robbers, mischief-makers, or opponents of the bhikkhus happen to seize a bhikkhu in the territory on the uposatha day, bhikkhus should ask them to release him at least long enough to participate in the uposatha. If they do, well and good. If not, the bhikkhus should ask them to stand aside long enough for him to give his purity. If they do, well and good. If not, the bhikkhus should ask them to take him outside the territory while the Community performs its uposatha. If they do, well and good. If not, the Community may not meet in that territory for the uposatha that day.

When bhikkhus arrive late

If bhikkhus, having assembled for the Pāṭimokkha, begin the recitation only to have others arrive while the recitation is in progress, then if the late-arriving group is larger than the initial group, the Pāṭimokkha should be recited again from the beginning. If the late-arriving group is the same size or smaller than the initial group, then what has been recited is well recited and all that needs to be recited to the full assembly is the remainder of the text.

If the late-arriving bhikkhus come after the Pāṭimokkha has been finished, then—regardless of whether the initial assembly has disbanded—if the late-arriving group is larger than the initial assembly, the bhikkhus should all hear the Pāṭimokkha again. If the late-arriving group is the same size or smaller than the initial group, then the late-arriving group should declare its purity in the presence of the initial group.

These rulings apply regardless of whether either group, initial or late-arriving, is composed of residents or incoming bhikkhus. In all of these cases, the recitation of the initial group is considered valid even though, according to Mv.IX.3.5, the transaction in many of these cases would technically be factional, given that there are other bhikkhus in the territory. However, the perception and intention of the initial group determine whether the bhikkhus in that group incur an offense. If they do not know that the other group is coming, they incur no offense. If they know, see, or hear that the other group is coming, is entering the territory, or has entered the territory, then if they go ahead with the recitation anyhow—perceiving that what they are doing is right even though factional, in doubt as to whether it is right, or with an uneasy conscience—they incur dukkaṭas. If, knowing of the other group, they go ahead with the recitation aiming at schism, they incur thullaccayas.

The fact that intention and perception play an explicit role here is unusual in Community transactions. There is some disagreement as to whether the allowance for these factors here should be read as a special case, applicable only to the recitation of the Pāṭimokkha (and to the Invitation, which follows the same pattern), or as an example of how the general rules concerning the validity of transactions should be interpreted across the board. In particular, it has been argued that, because the initial group’s transaction is valid and free of offense when conducted with no perception of late-arriving bhikkhus, other Community transactions performed with no perception of invalidating factors should be valid and free of offense even if, in fact, such invalidating factors exist.

This argument, however, misses the full implications of the allowances granted in this section. Here all the transactions are valid, even when the initial group knows of the late-arriving bhikkhus and begins the recitation with corrupt motives. If this pattern were applied to all validating factors connected with all Community transactions, there would be no such thing as an invalid transaction. The Canon’s detailed discussions of what invalidates a transaction would be for naught. Thus it seems preferable to regard the allowances here as special exemptions from Mv.IX.3.5 applicable only to the recitation of the Pāṭimokkha and to the Invitation, in recognition of the fact that these transactions are compulsory and take so long.

When non-resident bhikkhus arrive prior

When non-resident bhikkhus arrive prior to the recitation on the uposatha day, if it so happens that the resident bhikkhus and incoming bhikkhus calculate different dates for uposatha, then the proper course of action depends on whether one side sees the date calculated by the other as (1) the fourteenth or fifteenth of the fortnight or (2) as the first day of the next fortnight. In the first case, if the incoming group is larger than the resident group, the latter should accommodate themselves to the former; if not, the former should accommodate themselves to the latter. In the second case, if the resident group sees the date calculated by the incoming group as the first, then if they are smaller, they should either accommodate the incoming group or go outside the territory while the incoming group holds its own uposatha. If they are equal in number or larger than the incoming group, the incoming group should go outside the territory to hold its own uposatha. If, on the other hand, the incoming group sees the date calculated by the resident group as the first, then if they are equal in number or smaller than the resident group, they may either meet with the resident group or go outside the territory while the resident group meets. If they are larger, then the resident group should hold its own uposatha outside the territory.

If, on the uposatha day, incoming bhikkhus detect signs of resident bhikkhus (or vice versa), they are duty bound to search for them. If they don’t, and go ahead and hold their own uposatha, they incur a dukkaṭa. If they search but don’t find them, there is no offense in their holding their own uposatha. If they find them but go ahead and hold their own uposatha anyway, they incur a dukkaṭa. If they do so in order to create a schism, the penalty is a thullaccaya.

When incoming bhikkhus find resident bhikkhus of a separate affiliation but assume that they are of the same affiliation, this is another special case where perception plays a role: There is no offense in their performing the uposatha together. If they find out that the residents are of a separate affiliation and, without resolving their differences (see Chapter 21), perform the uposatha together, both sides incur dukkaṭas. If, without resolving their differences, they hold separate uposathas, there is no offense.

When incoming bhikkhus find resident bhikkhus of the same affiliation but assume that they are of separate affiliations, perception again plays a role: If they perform the uposatha together they incur dukkaṭas. If they resolve their apparent differences but go ahead and perform separate uposathas, they all incur dukkaṭas. If they resolve their differences and perform the uposatha together, there is no offense.

Special cases: accusations

If, when the Community has met for the uposatha, Bhikkhu X suspects Bhikkhu Y of having an unconfessed offense, he may bring up the issue before the Pāṭimokkha is recited. The usual pattern is first to make a formal motion, authorizing oneself or another bhikkhu to ask a question about the Vinaya in the assembly. Similarly, the bhikkhu answering the question must be authorized through a formal motion, made by himself or another bhikkhu. Before asking and answering the question, both the asker and the answerer should look over the assembly and assess the individuals present. Only if they sense no danger in speaking openly should they go ahead with their question. (In the origin story for this rule, some group-of-six bhikkhus took umbrage at the issue being discussed and threatened the other bhikkhus with harm.)

The motion to authorize oneself to ask questions about the Vinaya is:

The motion to authorize another person to ask questions about the Vinaya is:

The motion to authorize oneself to answer the questions is:

To authorize another person to answer the questions, say:

The purpose of asking and answering questions about the Vinaya in this context is fourfold: (1) The bhikkhu planning to make the accusation has a chance to make sure that his accusation is well-informed; (2) the rules in question can be discussed impartially, for no one as yet has been accused; (3) each bhikkhu is alerted to the fact that an accusation is in the air, has the chance to reflect on whether he has infringed the rules in question, and can make amends before an accusation is made; and (4) the entire Community becomes equally well-informed about the rules in question and can deal knowledgeably with the case. For instance, if the accused bhikkhu has actually broken a rule, admits to the act, but refuses to see it as an offense or to make amends, the Community is in a good position legitimately to suspend him from the Community at large.

After the Vinaya discussion has been brought to a conclusion, and Bhikkhu X still feels that Y has an unconfessed offense, he may either ask Y’s leave to make an accusation before the Pāṭimokkha begins, or—during the motion at the beginning of the recitation—cancel Y’s right to listen to the Pāṭimokkha (see below). (If X believes that Y is pure of an offense but asks leave anyhow, he incurs a dukkaṭa.)

The procedures for asking leave, making an accusation, and settling the issue are discussed in BMC1, under Sg 8 and in Chapter 11.

Special cases: canceling the Pāṭimokkha

To cancel the Pāṭimokkha for another bhikkhu, one must speak up during the motion at the beginning of the recitation and make a formal motion:

This means: ”May the Community listen to me, venerable sirs. [The individual named so-and-so] has an offense. I cancel his Pāṭimokkha (or: I put the Pāṭimokkha aside for him). The Pāṭimokkha is not to be recited when face-to-face with him.”

If, without grounds, one cancels the Pāṭimokkha for another bhikkhu, one incurs a dukkaṭa. The Canon contains long, extremely redundant lists of requirements that must be met for the cancelation of a bhikkhu’s Pāṭimokkha to be valid. Eliminating redundancies, the requirements come down to any one of the following:

Once the Pāṭimokkha has been canceled for Bhikkhu Y, an accusation may be brought against him, and the Community must settle the issue. If the meeting is interrupted because of any of the ten obstructions listed above, one may bring up the matter again later, either there or in another Community in Y’s presence, to have the matter investigated and settled. As long as the matter hasn’t been settled, one may continue canceling the Pāṭimokkha for Y again until it is.

Rules