2.0 Discussion

All true Buddhists are indebted for the unbroken lineage of Sanga who have consistently upheld and protected the Vinaya rules for almost 2,600 years that we find ourselves today with the luxury of receiving the priceless teachings of Dhamma. Were it not for the Vinaya rules, specifically Patimokkha rules in vinaya pitaka, and for those who continue to abide by it's golden rules even today, there would be no Buddhism.

It should be noted here that, throughout the entire Pali Canon, the Buddha never refers to the spiritual path he taught as simply path. Rather, he defined it as "Dhamma-vinaya" -- the Doctrine (Dhamma) and Discipline (Vinaya) amalgamated together to suggest an integrated body of wisdom and ethical training. The Vinaya is thus an indispensible facet and foundation of all the Buddha's teachings, inseparable from the Dhamma, and worthy of study by all followers -- lay and ordained, alike.

Valuable practical lessons concerning human nature, guidance on how to establish and maintain a harmonious community or organization, as well as profound teachings of the Dhamma itself are included in Vinaya Pitaka. But its greatest value, perhaps, lies in its power to inspire the layperson to consider the extraordinary possibilities offered by a life of true renunciation, lived in harmony with the Dhamma.

Tipitaka (The Pali Canon)- Theravada Canon

The Tipitaka (Pali ti, "three," + pitaka, "baskets"), or Pali Canon, is the collection of primary Pali language texts which form the doctrinal foundation of Theravada Buddhism. Together with the ancient commentaries, they constitute the complete body of classical Theravada texts.
The three divisions of the Tipitaka are:

1) Vinaya Pitaka 2) Sutta Pitaka 3) Abhidhamma Pitaka

1) Vinaya Pitaka
The Vinaya Pitaka textual framework upon which the Sangha community is built. The Vinaya contains the code of rules by which monks and nuns are to conduct themselves individually (the Patimokkha), as well as the rules, procedures and forms of etiquette that are necessary to support harmonious relations, both among the monastics themselves, and between the monastics and their lay supporters, upon whom they depend.

The Vinaya Pitaka also includes the stories behind the origin of each rule, providing a detailed account of the Buddha's solution to the question of how to maintain communal harmony within a large and diverse spiritual community.

2.1 Reasons for introduction of Vinaya Pitaka in the First and Second Councils

Initially, during the time of Buddha, the Sangha lived in harmony without any codified rules of conduct and any regulatory guidelines. Over time, however, as the Sangha community grew into a more complex society, occasions inevitably arose when some members of the Sangha would act in unskillful and inexperienced ways. Whenever one of these cases was brought to the Buddha's attention, he would lay down a rule establishing a suitable punishment for the offense, as a deterrent to future misconduct. That was the beginning of the vinaya rules.

The Buddha's usual reprimand was itself a powerful corrective:

It is not fit, foolish man, it is not becoming, it is not proper, it is unworthy of a recluse, it is not lawful, it ought not to be done. How could you, foolish man, having gone forth under this Dhamma and Discipline which are well-taught, [commit such and such offense]?... It is not, foolish man, for the benefit of un-believers, nor for the increase in the number of believers, but, foolish man, it is to the detriment of both unbelievers and believers, and it causes wavering in some. (The Book of the Discipline, Part I, by I.B. Horner (London: Pali Text Society, 1982), pp. 36-7.)

Altogether, there are 227 Patimokkha rules (code of discipline) for the bhikkhus (monks) and 311 for the bhikkhunis (nuns). As the rules were established one by one, on a case-by-case basis, the punishments naturally range widely in severity, from simple confession (e.g., if a monk behaves disrespectfully) to permanent expulsion from the Sangha (e.g., if a monk commits homicide).

The Buddha, in laying down each rule, gave ten reasons for doing so: for the excellence of the Community, the peace of the Community, the curbing of the shameless, the comfort of well-behaved bhikkhus, the restraint of pollutants related to the present life, the prevention of pollutants related to the next life, the arousing of faith in the faithless, the increase of the faithful, the establishment of the true Dhamma and the fostering of discipline.

These reasons fall into three main types. The first two are external: to ensure peace and well-being within the Community itself, and to foster and protect faith among the laity, on whom the monks depend for their support. The third type of reason is internal: to help restrain and prevent mental pollutants within the individual monks. This last point quickly becomes apparent to anyone who seriously tries to keep to the rules, for they encourage mindfulness and circumspection in one's actions, qualities that carry over into the training of the mind.

Rules, however, are not the only way to express ethical norms, and the Buddha also made use of principles and models in teaching the virtues he wanted his following to develop. The rules thus function in a wider context than simple legality, and work together with the principles and models formulated by the Buddha to provide a complete training in behavior, with each side making up for the weaknesses of the other.

The Buddha did not set out a code of rules all at once. Instead, he formulated rules one by one, in response to particular incidents. The Canon reports these incidents in each case, and often a knowledge of these "origin stories" can help in understanding the reasons behind the rules. For instance, the origin story to the rule forbidding lustful conduct between monks and women shows that the Buddha did not view women as somehow inferior or unclean. Rather, the rule comes from an incident where a monk was fondling the wife of a Brahman who had come to visit his hut, and the Buddha wanted women to feel safe in the knowledge that when visiting monasteries they would not be in danger of being molested.

The Patimokkha as we now have it is embedded in a text called the Sutta Vibhanga. This presents each rule, preceded by its origin story, and followed by what permutations, if any, it went through before reaching its final form. The rule is then analyzed into its component elements, to show how the factors of effort, object, perception, intention and result do or do not mitigate the penalty assigned by the rule. The discussion then concludes with a list of extenuating circumstances for which there is no offense in breaking the rule.

2.2 The four divisions of the Vinaya Pitaka
(The Book of the Discipline, Part I, by I.B. Horner (London: Pali Text Society, 1982), pp.36-7.)
I. . Suttavibhanga
This section includes the complete set of rules for the Sangha, along with the "origin story" for each one. The rules are summarized in the Patimokkha, and amount to 227 rules for the bhikkhus, 311 for the bhikkhunis. The Patimokkkha rules are grouped as follows:
1. Parajika: rules entailing expulsion from the Sangha (Defeat) (4 for bhikkhus, 8 for bhikkhunis)
2. Sanghadisesa: rules entailing an initial and subsequent meeting of the Sangha (13, 17)
3. Aniyata (indefinite) rules (2, 0)
4. Nissaggiya pacittiya: rules entailing forfeiture and confession (30, 30)
5. Pacittiya: rules entailing confession (92, 166)
6. Patidesaniya: rules entailing acknowledgement (4, 8)
7. Sekhiya: rules of training (75, 75)
8 Adhikarana samatha: rules for settling disputes (7, 7)

II. Khandhaka (Mahavagga)

This includes several sutta-like texts, including the Buddha's account of the period immediately following his Awakening, his first sermons to the group of five monks, and stories about how some of the Buddha's great disciples joined the Sangha and themselves attained Awakening. Also included are the rules for ordination, for reciting the Patimokkha during uposatha days, and various procedures that monks are to perform during formal gatherings of the community.

III. Khandhaka (Cullavagga)

This section includes an elaboration of the bhikkhus' etiquette and duties, as well as the rules and procedures for addressing offences that may be committed within the Sangha. Also included is the story of the establishment of the bhikkhuni Sangha, plus detailed accounts of the First and Second Councils.

IV. Parivara

A recapitulation of the previous sections, with summaries of the rules classified and re-classified in various ways for instructional purposes. org

2.3 Penalties
The system of penalties the Buddha worked out for the rules is based on two principles. The first is that the training aims primarily at the development of the mind. Thus the factors of intention and perception often determine whether or not a particular action is an infringement of a rule. For instance, killing an animal accidentally is, in terms of the mind of the agent, very different from killing it purposefully, and does not count as an infringement of the rule against killing.

There are a few rules where the factors of intention and perception make no difference at all -- such as in the rule forbidding a monk to drink alcohol -- but they almost always deal with situations where one would be expected to be mindful and perceptive enough to know what's going on, and so these rules too help in the training of the mind.

In any event, the system of analyzing each offense into the factors of effort, object, perception, intention and result shows how adherence to the rules leads directly to the development of concentration and discernment. If a monk is careful to view his actions in terms of these factors, he is developing mindfulness, an analytical approach to events in the present, and persistence. These are the first three factors for Awakening, and form the basis for the remaining four: rapture, serenity, concentration and equanimity.

The second principle used in determining penalties is based on the Buddha's observation to Ananda, one of his chief disciples, that friendship and companionship with the good is the whole of the religious life. Anyone who approaches the Dhamma seriously should be wise enough to realize that without the opportunity of associating and learning from people who are experienced on the path, it is well nigh impossible to make any progress on one's own. The monks are thus expected to value their good standing vis a vis the well-behaved members of their group, and so the system of punishments worked out by the Buddha revolves entirely around affecting the offender's status within the Community.

The Patimokkha classifies its rules into seven levels:
· parajika, defeat;
· sanghadisesa, entailing Communal meetings;
· nissaggiya pacittiya, entailing forfeiture and confession;
· pacittiya, entailing confession;
· patidesaniya, entailing acknowledgement;
· sekhiya, trainings; and
· adhikarana samatha, the settlement of issues.

If a monk breaks one of the four most serious rules -- the parajikas (Pr) -- he is expelled from the Community for life. If he breaks one of the next most serious classes of the rules -- the sanghadisesas (Sg) -- he is put on probation for six days, during which time he is stripped of his seniority, is not trusted to go anywhere unaccompanied by four other monks of regular standing, and daily has to confess his offense to every monk who lives in or happens to visit the monastery. At the end of his probation, twenty monks have to be convened to reinstate him to his original status.

The next three levels of rules -- nissaggiya pacittiya (NP), pacittiya (Pc), and patidesaniya (Pd) -- entail simple confession to a fellow monk, although the NP rules involved an article that has to be forfeited -- in most cases temporarily, although in a few cases the object has to be forfeited for good, in which case the offender has to confess his offense to the entire Community.

If a monk commits an offense and refuses to undergo the penalty, the Community may decide how seriously they take the matter. Since there is no monks' police beyond the individual's conscience, it may often happen that no one else knows of the offense to begin with, and nothing is done. If however it becomes common knowledge, and the Community regards it as a serious matter, they should talk privately with the monk to help him see the error of his ways. If he is recalcitrant, they may strip him temporarily of his status, either by censuring him, stripping him of his seniority, driving him from the Community, or suspending him from the Order of monks as a whole. If the offender sees the error of his ways and reforms his behavior accordingly, the Community may return him to his former status.

Now of course there may be some hardened souls among the monks who are unfazed by punishments of this sort, but we should note that the Buddha saw no use for physical coercion in enforcing his rules. If a monk had to be physically forced into abiding by the training, his heart wouldn't be in it, and there is no way that he could benefit from it. Such monks the Buddha considered beyond the pale, although he allowed them to stay on in the Community in hopes that eventually their conscience would get the better of them. In the meantime, the law of karma would guarantee that in the long run, they would not be getting away with anything at all.

The final two levels of rules in the Patimokkha do not give a particular penalty. The sekhiya (Sk) rules -- dealing primarily with etiquette -- simply state that one should work at following them. The Sutta Vibhanga explains that if one oversteps them out of disrespect, one should confess the fact. The adhikarana samatha (As) rules are not so much rules as they are principles to follow in dealing with issues that arise in the Community. If monks try to settle an issue without following these principles, their decision is invalid, and they must confess their wrongdoing to other monks who took no part in the decision.

2.4 Suttavibhanga

Parajika - rules entailing expulsion from the Sangha

1. Should any bhikkhu -- participating in the training and livelihood of the bhikkhus, without having renounced the training, without having declared his weakness -- engage in the sexual act, even with a female animal, he is defeated and no longer in communion.

2. Should any bhikkhu, in the manner of stealing, take what is not given from an inhabited area or from the wilderness -- just as when, in the taking of what is not given, kings arresting the criminal would flog, imprison, or banish him, saying, "You are a robber, you are a fool, you are benighted, you are a thief" -- a bhikkhu in the same way taking what is not given is defeated and no longer in communion.

3. Should any bhikkhu intentionally deprive a human being of life, or search for an assassin for him, or praise the advantages of death, or incite him to die (thus): "My good man, what use is this wretched, miserable life to you? Death would be better for you than life," or with such an idea in mind, such a purpose in mind, should in various ways praise the advantages of death or incite him to die, he also is defeated and no longer in communion.

4. Should any bhikkhu, without direct knowledge, boast of a superior human state, a truly noble knowledge and vision as present in himself, saying, "Thus do I know; thus do I see," such that regardless of whether or not he is cross-examined on a later occasion, he -- being remorseful and desirous of purification -- might say, "Friends, not knowing, I said I know; not seeing, I said I see -- vainly, falsely, idly," unless it was from over-estimation, he also is defeated and no longer in communion.

2.5 Sanghadisesa - rules entailing an initial and subsequent meeting of the Sangha

1. Intentional discharge of semen, except while dreaming, entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

2. Should any bhikkhu, overcome by lust, with altered mind, engage in bodily contact with a woman, or in holding her hand, holding a lock of her hair, or caressing any of her limbs, it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

3. Should any bhikkhu, overcome by lust, with altered mind, address lewd words to a woman in the manner of young men to a young woman alluding to sexual intercourse, it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

4. Should any bhikkhu, overcome by lust, with altered mind, speak in the presence of a woman in praise of ministering to his own sensuality thus: "This, sister, is the highest ministration, that of ministering to a virtuous, fine-natured follower of the celibate life such as myself with this act" -- alluding to sexual intercourse -- it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

5. Should any bhikkhu engage in conveying a man's intentions to a woman or a woman's intentions to a man, proposing marriage or paramourage -- even if only for a momentary liaison -- it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

6. When a bhikkhu is building a hut from (gains acquired by) his own begging -- having no sponsor, destined for himself -- he is to build it to the standard measurement. Here the standard is this: twelve spans, using the sugata span, in length (measuring outside); seven in width, (measuring) inside. Bhikkhus are to be assembled to designate the site. The site the bhikkhus designate should be without disturbances and with adequate space. If the bhikkhu should build a hut from his own begging on a site with disturbances and without adequate space, or if he should not assemble the bhikkhus to designate the site, or if he should exceed the standard, it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

7. When a bhikkhu is building a large dwelling -- having a sponsor and destined for himself -- he is to assemble bhikkhus to designate the site. The site the bhikkhus designate should be without disturbances and with adequate space. If the bhikkhu should build a large dwelling on a site with disturbances and without adequate space, or if he should not assemble the bhikkhus to designate the site, it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

8. Should any bhikkhu, malicious, angered, displeased, charge a (fellow) bhikkhu with an unfounded case involving defeat, (thinking), "Surely with this I may bring about his fall from the celibate life," then regardless of whether or not he is cross-examined on a later occasion, if the issue is unfounded and the bhikkhu confesses his anger, it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

9. Should any bhikkhu, malicious, angered, displeased, using as a mere ploy an aspect of an issue that pertains otherwise, charge a bhikkhu with a case involving defeat, (thinking), "Surely with this I may bring about his fall from the celibate life," then regardless of whether or not he is cross-examined on a later occasion, if the issue pertains otherwise, an aspect used as a mere ploy, and the bhikkhu confesses his anger, it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

10. Should any bhikkhu agitate for a schism in a Community in concord, or should he persist in taking up an issue conducive to schism, the bhikkhus should admonish him thus: "Do not, Ven. sir, agitate for a schism in a Community in concord or persist in taking up an issue conducive to schism. Let the venerable one be reconciled with the Community, for a Community in concord, on complimentary terms, free from dispute, having a common recitation, dwells in peace."
And should that bhikkhu, admonished thus by the bhikkhus, persist as before, the bhikkhus are to rebuke him up to three times so as to desist. If while being rebuked up to three times he desists, that is good. If he does not desist, it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

11. Should bhikkhus -- one, two, or three -- who are followers and partisans of that bhikkhu, say, "Do not, Ven. sirs, admonish that bhikkhu in any way. He is an exponent of the Dhamma, an exponent of the Vinaya. He acts with our consent and approval. He knows, he speaks for us, and that is pleasing to us," other bhikkhus are to admonish them thus: "Do not say that, Ven. sirs. That bhikkhu is not an exponent of the Dhamma and he is not an exponent of the Vinaya. Do not, Ven. sirs, approve of a schism in the Community. Let the venerable ones' (minds) be reconciled with the Community, for a Community in concord, on complimentary terms, without dispute, with a common recitation, dwells in peace." And should those bhikkhus, thus admonished, persist as before, the bhikkhus are to rebuke them up to three times so as to desist. If while being rebuked up to three times by the bhikkhus they desist, that is good. If they do not desist, it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

12. In case a bhikkhu is by nature difficult to admonish -- who, when being legitimately admonished by the bhikkhus with reference to the training rules included in the (Patimokkha) recitation, makes himself unadmonishable (saying), "Do not, venerable ones, say anything to me, good or bad; and I will not say anything to the venerable ones, good or bad. Refrain, venerable ones, from admonishing me" -- the bhikkhus should admonish him thus: "Let the venerable one not make himself unadmonishable. Let the venerable one make himself admonishable. Let the venerable one admonish the bhikkhus in accordance with what is right, and the bhikkhus will admonish the venerable one in accordance with what is right; for it is thus that the Blessed One's following is nurtured: through mutual admonition, through mutual rehabilitation."And should that bhikkhu, thus admonished by the bhikkhus, persist as before, the bhikkhus are to be rebuke him up to three times so as to desist. If while being rebuked up to three times he desists, that is good. If he does not desist, it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

13. In case a bhikkhu living in dependence on a certain village or town is a corrupter of families, a man of depraved conduct -- whose depraved conduct is both seen and heard about, and the families he has corrupted are both seen and heard about -- the bhikkhus are to admonish him thus: "You, Ven. sir, are a corrupter of families, a man of depraved conduct. Your depraved conduct is both seen and heard about; the families you have corrupted are both seen and heard about. Leave this monastery, Ven. sir. Enough of your staying here."

14.And should that bhikkhu, thus admonished by the bhikkhus, say about the bhikkhus, "The bhikkhus are prejudiced by favoritism, prejudiced by aversion, prejudiced by delusion, prejudiced by fear, in that for this sort of offense they banish some and do not banish others," the bhikkhus are to admonish him thus: "Do not say that, Ven. sir. The bhikkhus are not prejudiced by favoritism, are not prejudiced by aversion, are not prejudiced by delusion, are not prejudiced by fear. You, Ven. sir, are a corrupter of families, a man of depraved conduct. Your depraved conduct is both seen and heard about, and the families you have corrupted are both seen and heard about. Leave this monastery, Ven. sir. Enough of your staying here."

And should that bhikkhu, thus admonished by the bhikkhus, persist as before, the bhikkhus are to rebuke him up to three times so as to desist. If while being rebuked up to three times he desists, that is good. If he does not desist, it entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community.

2.5 Rule summaries
Relevent rule summaries applicable to contesting bhikkhus

With this background, we may now look at the content of the rules. What follows is a list summarizing the basic meanings of the rules, organized into five major categories: dealing with Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Communal harmony and the etiquette of a contemplative. The first three categories -- the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path that make up the training in heightened virtue -- are especially useful for showing how the rules relate to the Buddhist path as a whole

Right Speech
Lying
Making an unfounded charge to a bhikkhu that he has committed a parajika offense, in hopes of having him disrobed, is a sanghadisesa offense.

Distorting the evidence while accusing a bhikkhu of having committed a parajika offense, in hopes of having him disrobed, is a sanghadisesa offense.

The intentional effort to misrepresent the truth to another individual is a pacittiya offense.

Making an unfounded charge to a bhikkhu -- or getting someone else to make the charge to him -- that he is guilty of a sanghadisesa offense is a pacittiya offense.

Divisive speech
Tale-bearing among bhikkhus, in hopes of winning favor or causing a rift, is a pacittiya offense.

Abusive speech
An insult made with malicious intent to another bhikkhu is a pacittiya offense.

Idle chatter
Visiting lay families -- without having informed an available bhikkhu -- before or after a meal to which one has been invited is a pacittiya offense except during the robe season or any time one is making a robe.

Entering a village, town or city during the period after noon until the following dawn, without having taken leave of an available bhikkhu -- unless there is an emergency -- is a pacittiya offense.

Right Livelihood
General
Deliberately lying to another person that one has attained a superior human state is a parajika offense.

Acting as a go-between to arrange a marriage, an affair or a date between a man and a woman not married to each other is a sanghadisesa offense.

Engaging in trade with anyone except one's co-religionists is a nissaggiya pacittiya offense.

Persuading a donor to give to oneself a gift that he or she had planned to give to the Community -- when one knows that it was intended for the Community -- is a nissaggiya pacittiya offense.

Telling an unordained person of one's actual superior human attainments is a pacittiya offense.

Persuading a donor to give to another individual a gift that he or she had planned to give to a Community -- when one knows that it was intended for the Community -- is a pacittiya offense

Communal Harmony
To persist in one's attempts at a schism, after the third announcement of a formal rebuke in a meeting of the Community, is a sanghadisesa offense.

To persist in supporting a potential schismatic, after the third announcement of a formal rebuke in a meeting of the Community, is a sanghadisesa offense.

To persist in being difficult to admonish, after the third announcement of a formal rebuke in the Community, is a sanghadisesa offense.

To persist -- after the third announcement of a formal rebuke in the Community -- in criticizing an act of banishment performed against oneself is a sanghadisesa offense.

When a trustworthy female lay follower accuses a bhikkhu of having committed a parajika, sanghadisesa or pacittiya offense while sitting alone with a woman in a private, secluded place, the Community should investigate the charge and deal with the bhikkhu in accordance with whatever he admits having done.

When a trustworthy female lay follower accuses a bhikkhu of having committed a sanghadisesa or pacittiya offense while sitting alone with a woman in a private place, the Community should investigate the charge and deal with the bhikkhu in accordance with whatever he admits having done.
Telling an unordained person of another bhikkhu's serious offense -- unless one is authorized by the Community to do so -- is a pacittiya offense.

Persistently replying evasively or keeping silent when being questioned in a meeting of the Community in order to conceal one's own offenses -- after a formal charge of evasiveness or uncooperativeness has been brought against one -- is a pacittiya offense.

If a Community official is innocent of prejudice, criticizing him within earshot of another bhikkhu is a pacittiya offense.

When one has set a bed, bench, mattress or stool belonging to the Community out in the open: Leaving its immediate vicinity without putting it away or arranging to have it put away is a pacittiya offense.

When one has spread bedding out in a dwelling belonging to the Community: Departing from the monastery without putting it away or arranging to have it put away is a pacittiya offense.

Encroaching on another bhikkhu's sleeping or sitting place in a dwelling belonging to the Community, with the sole purpose of making him uncomfortable and forcing him to leave, is a pacittiya offense.
Causing a bhikkhu to be evicted from a dwelling belonging to the Community -- when one's primary motive is anger -- is a pacittiya offense.

Sitting or lying down on a bed or bench with detachable legs on an unplanked loft in a dwelling belonging to the Community, is a pacittiya offense.

Saying that a properly authorized bhikkhu exhorts the bhikkhunis for the sake of personal gain -- when in fact that is not the case -- is a pacittiya offense.

Deliberately tricking another bhikkhu into breaking Pacittiya 35, in hopes of finding fault with him, is a pacittiya offense.

Speaking or acting disrespectfully when being admonished by another bhikkhu for a breach of the training rules is a pacittiya offense.

Agitating to re-open an issue, knowing that it was properly dealt with, is a pacittiya offense.
Not informing other bhikkhus of a serious offense that one knows another bhikkhu has committed -- either out of a desire to protect him from having to undergo the penalty, or to protect him from the jeering remarks of other bhikkhus -- is a pacittiya offense.

Acting as the preceptor in the ordination of a person one knows to be less than 20 years old is a pacittiya offense.

Refusing to give up the wrong view that there is nothing wrong in intentionally transgressing the Buddha's ordinances -- after the third announcement of a formal rebuke in a meeting of the Community -- is a pacittiya offense.

Consorting, joining in communion or lying down under the same roof with a bhikkhu who has been suspended and not been restored -- knowing that such is the case -- is a pacittiya offense.

Supporting, receiving services from, consorting or lying down under the same roof with an expelled novice -- knowing that he has been expelled -- is a pacittiya offense.

Saying something as a ploy to excuse oneself from training under a training rule when being admonished by another bhikkhu for a breach of the rule is a pacittiya offense.

Criticizing the discipline in the presence of another bhikkhu, in hopes of preventing its study, is a pacittiya offense.

Using half-truths to deceive others into believing that one is ignorant of the rules in the Patimokkha, after one has already heard the Patimokkha in full three times, and a formal act exposing one's deceit has been brought against one, is a pacittiya offense.

Giving a blow to another bhikkhu, when motivated by anger, is a pacittiya offense.
Making a threatening gesture against another bhikkhu when motivated by anger is a pacittiya offense.
Saying to another bhikkhu that he may have broken a rule unknowingly, simply for the purpose of causing him anxiety, is a pacittiya offense.

Eavesdropping on bhikkhus involved in an argument over an issue -- with the intention of using what they say against them -- is a pacittiya offense.

Complaining about a formal act of the Community to which one gave one's consent -- if one knows that the act was carried out in accordance with the rule -- is a pacittiya offense.

Getting up and leaving a meeting of the Community in the midst of a valid formal act -- without having first given one's consent to the act, and with the intention of invalidating it -- is a pacittiya offense.

After participating in a formal act of the Community giving robe-cloth to a Community official: Complaining that the Community acted out of favoritism is a pacittiya offense.

When the Community is dealing formally with an issue, the full Community must be present, as must all the individuals involved in the issue; the proceedings must follow the patterns set out in the Dhamma and Vinaya.

If the Community unanimously believes that a bhikkhu is innocent of a charge made against him, they may declare him innocent on the basis of his memory of the events.

If the Community unanimously believes that a bhikkhu was insane while committing offenses against the rules, they may absolve him of any responsibility for the offenses.

If a bhikkhu commits an offense, he should willingly undergo the appropriate penalty in line with what he actually did and the actual seriousness of the offense.

If an important dispute cannot be settled by a unanimous decision, it should be submitted to a vote. The opinion of the majority, if in accordance with the Dhamma and Vinaya, is then considered decisive.

If a bhikkhu admits to an offense only after being interrogated in a formal meeting, the Community should carry out an act of censure against him, rescinding it only when he has mended his ways.
If, in the course of a dispute, both sides act in ways unworthy of contemplatives, and the sorting out of the penalties would only prolong the dispute, the Community as a whole may make a blanket confession of its light offenses.