Sangha Restoration Offenses

Twenty-seven Sangha Restoration Offenses (Sanghavashesha)


1. A bhikshu who, when motivated by sexual

desire, touches the body of a woman or a man,

commits a Sangha Restoration Offense.


2. A bhikshu who, when motivated by sexual

desire, uses words which have the effect of

arousing a sexual feeling in the woman or man to

whom he is talking, commits a Sangha Restoration

Offense.


3. A bhikshu who, when motivated by sexual

desire, tells a woman or a man that it would be a

good thing for her or him to have sexual relations

with him, commits a Sangha Restoration Offense.


4. A bhikshu who verbally or in writing makes a

proposal to a nun or a monk to leave the monastic

life along with him, commits a Sangha Restoration

Offense.


5. A bhikshu who acts as a matchmaker or as a gobetween,

or makes the arrangements for a wedding

between two people, commits a Sangha

Restoration Offense.


6. A bhikshu who, out of anger or jealousy, falsely

accuses another bhikshu of a Degradation Offense,

with the intention of destroying that bhikshu’s

reputation, commits a Sangha Restoration Offense.


7. A bhikshu who, out of anger or jealousy, takes a

small mistake of another bhikshu and magnifies it

so that it seems to be a Degradation Offense, with

the intention of destroying that bhikshu’s

reputation, commits a Sangha Restoration Offense.


8. A bhikshu who uses political power to oppress

or threaten other members of the monks’ Sangha,

commits a Sangha Restoration Offense.


9. A bhikshu who becomes a member of a political

party or a political organization, whether secretly

or openly, commits a Sangha Restoration Offense.


10. A bhikshu who acts as a spy, taking

information from the Sangha and giving it to a

political party or a political organization, commits

a Sangha Restoration Offense.


11. A bhikshu who receives payment from the

government, a political party, or a political

organization, commits a Sangha Restoration

Offense.


12. A bhikshu who does not teach the Dharma to

the other monks, does not allow them to visit other

places to study the sutras and to have access to

clear and effective methods of practice and, as a

result, the monks’ study and practice remains

incorrect and ineffective, commits a Sangha

Restoration Offense.


13. A bhikshu who has only briefly read or heard

about a method of practice belonging to another

school of Buddhism or another tradition and has

not had a chance to study or put this method into

practice, yet publicly speaks or writes an article

opposing it, commits a Sangha Restoration

Offense.


14. A bhikshu who says that he does not owe any

gratitude to parents, teachers, friends, or

benefactors, commits a Sangha Restoration

Offense.


15. A bhikshu who cuts himself off from the

Sangha to set up a hermitage or temple of his own,

without the permission of the Sangha, commits a

Sangha Restoration Offense.


16. A bhikshu who builds a hermitage or temple

for himself without asking the Sangha about where

or in what style he should build it, builds it larger

than is necessary, and in such a way that it causes

inconvenience to others or obstructs a road or path

that people use, commits a Sangha Restoration

Offense.


17. A bhikshu who, when building a hermitage or

temple, becomes involved in a land dispute which

leads to a lawsuit, commits a Sangha Restoration

Offense.


18. A bhikshu who turns the practice of chanting

the sutra into a way of earning money by quoting a

price which should be paid to him for performing a

ceremony or a funeral service, commits a Sangha

Restoration Offense.


19. A bhikshu who uses money reserved for the

material necessities of the Sangha for construction,

while the monks in the temple do not have enough

food, drink, or medicine, commits a Sangha

Restoration Offense.


20. A bhikshu who lives in a careless and

disorderly manner causing the laypeople’s faith in

the Three Jewels to diminish, after having been

warned three times without listening deeply and

changing his way, commits a Sangha Restoration

Offense.


21. A bhikshu who spends all his time and energy

in work, organization, and management with the

result that he forgets that the aim of a monk is to

practice to liberate himself and other beings from

suffering, after having been warned three times

without listening deeply and changing his way,

commits a Sangha Restoration Offense.


22. A bhikshu who causes disharmony within the

Sangha by his way of speaking and acting, after

having been warned three times without listening

deeply and changing his way, commits a Sangha

Restoration Offense.


23. A bhikshu who contributes to forming

conflicting groups within the Sangha, so that the

energy of the practice and harmony of the Sangha

goes down, thereby creating the danger of a split in

the Sangha, after having been warned three times

without listening deeply and changing his way,

commits a Sangha Restoration Offense.


24. A bhikshu who contributes to forming a

splinter group within the Sangha, thereby creating

the danger of a split in the Sangha, after having

been warned three times without listening deeply

and changing his way, commits a Sangha

Restoration Offense.


25. A bhikshu who, out of discontentment, using

the support and power of the government, causes

disharmony in the Sangha, and without the

permission of the Sangha, cuts himself off from the

Sangha and persuades other members of the Sangha

to follow him to set up a new community, after

having been warned three times without listening

deeply and changing his way, commits a Sangha

Restoration Offense.


26. A bhikshu who refuses to listen to the advice

and instruction of other bhikshus regarding his

understanding and practice of the Sutra, the

Vinaya, and the Shastra, saying that he does not

want to be disturbed but to be left in peace, after

having been warned three times without listening

deeply and changing his way, commits a Sangha

Restoration Offense.


27. A bhikshu who gives teachings or leads people

in practices which are not in accord with the

teachings of transformation, healing, and liberation

presented in Buddhism, after having been warned

three times without listening deeply and changing

his way, commits a Sangha Restoration Offense.

From Freedom Wherever We Go by Thich Nhat Hanh