Overview
The Saṅghādisesa offenses are the second most severe category of monastic rules (below the Defeats/Pārājikas). If a monk breaks one of these, he is not permanently expelled, but he is immediately suspended. To be rehabilitated, he must confess to the entire Saṅgha, undergo a strict probationary period (parivāsa and mānatta), and finally be formally reinstated by a gathering of at least twenty monks.
The List
- Intentionally emitting semen (except during a dream).
- Touching a woman with lustful intent.
- Speaking lewdly to a woman, talking about sexual intercourse.
- Demanding sex from a woman by claiming it is the highest form of religious offering she can make to a monk.
- Acting as a matchmaker, conveying messages between a man and a woman to arrange a marriage or affair.
- Building a small hut without the Saṅgha’s permission, or building it on a site lacking a clear space around it.
- Building a large vihāra without the Saṅgha’s permission, or building it on a site lacking a clear space.
- Falsely accusing another monk of a Pārājika (Defeat) out of anger, trying to get him expelled.
- Falsely accusing another monk of a Pārājika using a flimsy pretext (e.g., twisting a different situation to look like an offense).
- Actively agitating to cause a schism in a harmonious Saṅgha, and ignoring three formal warnings to stop.
- Supporting a schismatic monk, taking his side to divide the Saṅgha, and ignoring three formal warnings to stop.
- Being obstinate and difficult to admonish, refusing to accept lawful correction, and ignoring three formal warnings.
- Corrupting lay families by giving them gifts or acting inappropriately to gain their favor, and refusing to leave the area after three formal warnings.
Textual References
- Canonical: Suttavibhaṅga (Vinaya) – The 13 rules are exhaustively analyzed with origin stories and case law.