Dilan Panchana Jayasinghe: Troubles Within an Unblemished Dispensation: The Transgressions That Lead to Decline (The Four Āsavaṭṭhāniya Dhamma)

The Āsavaṭṭhāniya Dhamma refer to the detrimental factors that lead to the decline and degeneration of the Buddha’s Dispensation (Sāsana). During the twelfth rainy season (Vassāna) residence in the city of Verañjā, the Venerable Sāriputta, the Great Arhat, approached the Blessed One and posed the following query:

“Venerable Sir, Blessed One, the Dispensation of which Buddhas endured for a long time, and the Dispensation of which Buddhas did not endure for a long time?” [1]

In response to the Elder Sāriputta’s inquiry, the Blessed One elucidated that the Dispensations of the Buddhas Vipassī, Sikhī, and Vessabhū did not endure for a long time, whereas the Dispensations of the Buddhas Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana, and Kassapa remained long-lasting. Upon being further requested by the Venerable Sāriputta to explain the underlying causes and conditions for this divergence, the Blessed One proclaimed as follows.

Causes for the Non-Endurance of the Dispensations of Buddhas Vipassī, Sikhī, and Vessabhū:

1. Exclusive Recitation of the Ovāda-Pātimokkha: They only delivered the exhortatory code of discipline.

2. Absence of Mandatory Precepts: They did not formulate specific training rules (Sikkhāpada) for their disciples.

3. Non-Institution of the Āṇā-Pātimokkha: They did not introduce the authoritative code of disciplinary injunctions.

4. Lack of Elaborate Exposition: They refrained from putting extensive effort into preaching the Dhamma in detail to their disciples.

5. Scarcity of the Ninefold Canonical Division: The ‘Sutta’ (Discourses / Sermons), ‘Geyya’ (Mixed Prose and Verse), ‘Veyyākaraṇa’ (Expositions / Grammatical Analyses / Explanations), ‘Gāthā’ (Verses / Stanzas), ‘Udāna’ (Inspired Utterances / Solemn Sayings), ‘Itivuttaka’ ("Thus-said" Discourses / Traditional Sayings), ‘Jātaka’ (Birth Stories), ‘Abbhutadhamma’ (Marvels / Wondrous Phenomena / Discourses on Extraordinary Faculties), and ‘Vedalla’ (Catechism / Miscellanies / Analytical Question and Answer Sessions) - (the Navāṅga-Satthu-Sāsana) were minimal in volume.

The Analogy of the Unbound Flowers:

Just as various kinds of flowers, when placed on a flat surface without being securely bound together by a thread, are scattered and destroyed by a gust of wind; similarly, due to the aforementioned reasons, upon the passing away of those Buddhas and their immediate, contemporary disciples, the subsequent generations of disciples—belonging to diverse names, clans, castes, and lineages—swiftly brought about the disappearance of that holy Dispensation.

Causes for the Long-Endurance of the Dispensations of Buddhas Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana, and Kassapa:

1. Recitation of the Ovāda-Pātimokkha: They delivered the exhortatory code of discipline.

2. Formulation of Precepts: They established specific training rules (Sikkhāpada) for their disciples.

3. Institution of the Āṇā-Pātimokkha: They introduced and recited the authoritative code of disciplinary injunctions.

4. Detailed Analytical Exposition: They preached the Dhamma to their disciples in an extensive and detailed manner.

5. Abundance of the Ninefold Canonical Division: The text of the Navāṅga-Satthu-Sāsana (the nine textual classifications) was widespread and abundant.

The Analogy of the Bound Flowers:

Just as various kinds of flowers, when properly and securely woven together with a thread, are not scattered or destroyed by the wind when placed on a surface; similarly, due to the aforementioned causes, when those Buddhas and their immediate disciples attained Parinibbāna, the subsequent generations of disciples—though belonging to diverse names, clans, and backgrounds—were held together by the thread of those established training rules, thereby preserving and ensuring the long-term endurance of their respective dispensations.

Hearing these revelations made by the Blessed One, the Venerable Sāriputta made a solemn request: “Venerable Sir, so that the Dispensation of the Blessed One may endure for a long time, may the Blessed One be pleased to formulate training rules for the disciples and institute the Āṇā-Pātimokkha.”

The Blessed One, however, informed the Elder Sāriputta that the present moment was not yet the appropriate time for such action. The Buddha stated that He would formulate training rules and institute the Āṇā-Pātimokkha only when the Āsavaṭṭhāniya conditions—the corruptions that engender defilements—arose within the Order (Saṅgha), specifically to eradicate those very corruptions.

The Āsavaṭṭhāniya Dhamma refer to the defilements of transgression (Vītikkama Dosa) which yield blame, corporal punishment, and remorse in this present life, and lead to the misery of the lower realms (Apāya) in the life hereafter. Essentially, it signifies the emergence of defilements that override the supreme authority of the Teacher.

There are four primary causes that precipitate the arising of such defilements:

1. Rattaññu-mahattatā (Greatness of Longevity/Seniority)

2. Vepulla-mahattatā (Greatness of Abundance/Expansion)

3. Lābhagga-mahattatā (Greatness of Gain and Requisites)

4. Bāhusucca-mahattatā (Greatness of Erudition/Learning)[2]

³ Note on Mahattatā: The term Mahattatā denotes the state of being vast, great, or exceeding in magnitude. Let us analyze these four conditions in detail:

● Rattaññu-mahattatā: Arriving at greatness by virtue of long-standing seniority; i.e., the passage of a long duration of time since ordination.

● Vepulla-mahattatā: The numerical expansion and vast growth of the Saṅgha into a massive community encompassing senior (Thera), mid-level (Majjhima), and novice (Navaka) monks.

● Lābhagga-mahattatā: Reaching the zenith of material gains and offerings, such as robes and other monastic requisites; a state where the community is overwhelmed by material prosperity.

● Bāhusucca-mahattatā: Greatness through extensive textual learning. While profound knowledge (Bahussuta) is highly praised in Buddhism, and ignorance is condemned, it becomes a source of decline under certain conditions. As expounded in the Kīṭāgiri Sutta, no matter how learned an individual may be, one must humbly accept the spiritual sovereignty of the Tathāgata, maintaining the humility that: “Satthā bhagavā, sāvakohamasmi; jānāti bhagavā, nāhaṃ jānāmī”[3] “The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am merely the disciple; the Tathāgata knows, I do not know.” Here, an abundance of learned scholars is cited as a cause for decline when individuals, despite mastering the Dhamma-Vinaya, lack self-discipline, become inflated with intellectual pride, and treat the Teacher’s Dispensation as something detached from true Dhamma and Vinaya (Doctrine and Discipline).

The aforementioned four Āsavaṭṭhāniya conditions are those expounded to the Elder Sāriputta in the Verañjā-Kāṇḍa of the Pārājika-Pāḷi within the Vinaya Piṭaka. However, with a slight variation in sequence and composition, the Bhaddāli Sutta of the Majjhima Nikāya enumerates five Āsavaṭṭhāniya conditions:

1. Mahattaṃ (Greatness of the Order's size)

2. Lābhaggaṃ (Greatness of material gains)

3. Yasaggaṃ (Greatness of fame and reputation)

4. Bāhusuccaṃ (Greatness of learning)

5. Rattaññuṃ (Greatness of seniority)[4]

Driven by these factors, the defilements of transgression (Vītikkama Dosa) begin to manifest within the Dispensation, resulting in censure, punishment, and remorse in this world, and suffering in the lower realms in the next. It is at this juncture that crises begin to emerge within a previously unblemished Dispensation. The Blessed One institutes training rules and introduces the Āṇā-Pātimokkha only when such crises manifest due to the arising of these Āsavaṭṭhāniya conditions.

This critical juncture arose exactly eight years after the aforementioned discourse was delivered to the Elder Sāriputta—precisely after the first twenty years of the Buddha’s Enlightenment. Prior to that, the Master's guidance was purely exhortatory:

“Monks, cultivate thoughts such as renunciation; do not cultivate thoughts of sensuality! Contemplate phenomena as impermanent; do not contemplate them as permanent! Eradicate these unwholesome qualities; attain and abide in these wholesome qualities!

This era of purely exhortatory discipline is encapsulated in the universal verse of all Buddhas: “Sabba pāpassa akaraṇaṃ...” (The non-doing of all evil), which reflects the Ovāda-Pātimokkha.

The first twenty years following the Enlightenment, during which the Ovāda-Pātimokkha alone sufficed for the Dispensation of our Gautama Buddha, is recognized as the First Period of Enlightenment (Paṭhama-Sambodhi-Samaya). During this era, the community of monks was devoid of crises, faultless, free from unvirtuous members, pure, well-established in virtue, composed of those who attained spiritual fruits beginning from Stream-entry, secure from falling into woeful states, destined for Nibbāna, and firmly anchored in supreme awakening.

However, the Venerable Sudinna, a monk of only eight years from higher ordination (Upasampadā) who was otherwise endowed with faith and virtue, succumbed to the pressure of his parents to ensure the continuity of his family lineage. In order to provide an heir, he engaged in sexual intercourse with his former lay-wife. This act initiated a major crisis within the hitherto pristine Dispensation of the Omniscient One, causing an uproar even among the devas and Brahmas. Consequently, the first grave training rule (Pārājikā) enforcing celibacy (Methuna-virati) was enacted.

Conclusion :

The Dispensation of our Gautama Fully Enlightened Buddha is one that is uniquely sustained for a long duration because all the factors of long-term endurance are perfectly present:

● Delivering the Ovāda-Pātimokkha (the exhortatory code of discipline);

● Formulating specific training rules (Sikkhāpada) for the disciples;

● Reciting formally the Āṇā-Pātimokkha (the authoritative code of disciplinary injunctions);

● Preaching the Dhamma in a detailed and analytical manner; and

● Preserving abundantly the Ninefold Canonical Division (Navāṅga-Satthu-Sāsana).

To inherit and exist within such a complete Dispensation is a supreme fortune not granted to the later disciples of every Buddha. Therefore, recognizing these Āsavaṭṭhāniya conditions and striving to eliminate them remains the paramount responsibility of every disciple training under the sublime Discipline of the Buddha (Sugata-Vinaya). It is, in essence, the safeguarding of the noble heritage of the Dhamma.

by Dilan Panchana Jayasinghe

Bibliography

1. Horner, I. B., trans. The Book of the Discipline (Vinaya-Pitaka).Vol.1, Suttavibhaṅga; London: Pali Text Society, 1938.

https://obo.genaud.net/resources/pdf/pts/vp/bod.01.horn.pts.pdf.

2. Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu, and Bhikkhu Bodhi, trans. The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya; Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995.

https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/Majjhima-Nikaya.pdf.

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[1]. I. B. Horner, trans., The Book of the Discipline (Vinaya-Pitaka), vol.1, Suttavibhaṅga (London: Pali Text Society, 1938), pp.14-19.

[2]. Ibid., pp.18-19.

[3]. Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, trans., The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995), p.583.

[4]. Ibid., p.548.