Verified
Grammatical Analysis
Saṅghādisesa: [m.] An offense requiring the involvement of the Saṅgha in the beginning and the rest of the procedure. Formed by Saṅgha (the order) + ādi (beginning) + sesa (the rest).
Orthodox Definition
Saṅghādisesa is the second most severe class of monastic offenses, consisting of 13 rules for monks (and 17 for nuns). While a Pārājika results in permanent expulsion, a Saṅghādisesa offense is curable, but the rehabilitation process is extraordinarily rigorous and humiliating.
Offenses in this category include intentional emission of semen, lustful touching of a woman, building a hut without permission, acting as a matchmaker, or attempting to cause a schism in the Saṅgha.
If a monk commits this offense, mere confession is insufficient. He must undergo a formal disciplinary process:
- He is stripped of his seniority and placed on probation (parivāsa) for the exact number of days he concealed the offense.
- He then undergoes six days of discipline (mānatta).
- Finally, he must be formally rehabilitated (abbhāna) by a gathering of no less than twenty fully ordained monks.
Quote
yesaṃ bhikkhu aññataraṃ vā aññataraṃ vā āpajjitvā yāvatīhaṃ jānaṃ paṭicchādeti, tāvatīhaṃ tena bhikkhunā akāmā parivatthabbaṃ.
If a bhikkhu commits any one of these and knowingly conceals it for as many days, he must undergo parivāsa involuntarily for as many days.parivutthaparivāsena bhikkhunā uttari chārattaṃ bhikkhumānattāya paṭipajjitabbaṃ, ciṇṇamānatto bhikkhu yattha siyā vīsatigaṇo bhikkhusaṅgho, tattha so bhikkhu abbhetabbo.
After undergoing parivāsa, that bhikkhu must then undertake mānatta for six days. A bhikkhu who has undergone mānatta should be reinstated in an assembly of twenty bhikkhus.ekenapi ce ūno vīsatigaṇo bhikkhusaṅgho taṃ bhikkhuṃ abbheyya, so ca bhikkhu anabbhito, te ca bhikkhū gārayhā, ayaṃ tattha sāmīci.
If a Bhikkhu Saṅgha, consisting of fewer than twenty bhikkhus, performs the act of expulsion of that bhikkhu, and that bhikkhu is not (validly) expelled, then those bhikkhus are blameworthy. This is the proper course in this matter.— Kaṅkhāvitaraṇī (Dvemātikā)
Textual References
- Vinaya: Suttavibhaṅga (Saṅghādisesakaṇḍa) – Detailing the origin stories of these rules, heavily featuring the infamous group of six monks (chabbaggiyā).
- Commentary: Samantapāsādikā – The exact legal formulas required to impose probation and grant rehabilitation.
- Commentary: Kaṅkhāvitaraṇī (Dvemātikā-aṭṭhakathā) – Explaining the concluding penal procedures for Saṅghādisesa offenses.