Parajika - Consequences

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Dharmasherab
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Parajika - Consequences

Post by Dharmasherab »

Near the end of 2019, a friend of mine committed a Parajika offence. Since then I have been wanting to know about the consequences of Parajika in this life as well as the form of rebirth that which one takes.

So far all I know is that one will not reach the Magga Pala of the Dhamma as well as take rebirth in a Hell realm (Naraka) is the next life.

Please feel free to correct me on this or fill in any gaps in my knowledge (the lack of it).
“When one does not understand death, life can be very confusing.” - Ajahn Chah
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confusedlayman
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Re: Parajika - Consequences

Post by confusedlayman »

Parajika means suspension for breaking 4 major rules?

I think they can ask apology and do dhamma practice in normal life .. do prajika affects magga phala? Or rebirth in hell? What if he becomes sotaoanna in laylife after ejection from monkhood?
I may be slow learner but im at least learning...
dharmacorps
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Re: Parajika - Consequences

Post by dharmacorps »

In case you forgot, you already posted this topic:

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=36019&p=538906#p538906

A parajika offense is for monks only. Is your friend a monk? Then its up to the sangha to decide how to handle that.

I am not sure it matters though-- speculating about people's kammic destination is a road to befuddlement. Unless you are a Buddha, it is unknowable. Why speculate?
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Dhammanando
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Re: Parajika - Consequences

Post by Dhammanando »

Dharmasherab wrote: Mon Jun 28, 2021 4:21 pm Please feel free to correct me on this or fill in any gaps in my knowledge (the lack of it).
Just to clarify, has your friend already returned to lay life or does he continue to wear the robe?
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
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Dharmasherab
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Re: Parajika - Consequences

Post by Dharmasherab »

Dhammanando wrote: Mon Jun 28, 2021 9:09 pm Just to clarify, has your friend already returned to lay life or does he continue to wear the robe?
No he does not. He admitted it to the Sangha he used to belong to and he is a lay person ever since.
“When one does not understand death, life can be very confusing.” - Ajahn Chah
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Dhammanando
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Re: Parajika - Consequences

Post by Dhammanando »

Dharmasherab wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 1:07 pm
Dhammanando wrote: Mon Jun 28, 2021 9:09 pm Just to clarify, has your friend already returned to lay life or does he continue to wear the robe?
No he does not. He admitted it to the Sangha he used to belong to and he is a lay person ever since.
:thumbsup:

Well, that's good news.
Dharmasherab wrote: Mon Jun 28, 2021 4:21 pm So far all I know is that one will not reach the Magga Pala of the Dhamma as well as take rebirth in a Hell realm (Naraka) is the next life.

Please feel free to correct me on this or fill in any gaps in my knowledge (the lack of it).
Neither of your statements are supported in the Pali texts, but rather seem to reflect notions common in Chinese folk Buddhism, where it's typically held that a pārājika monk is either entirely beyond hope for the rest of his present life, or, that his only hope lies in submitting himself to Amitabha or Kwan Yin or some other imaginary entity from the Mahayana pantheon.

The correct position is this...

• The four pārājika offences are all instances of akusala kammapathas.

• Any of the ten akusala kammapathas may be the cause for birth in the lower realms if it happens to be the particular kamma that gets to determine your next birth.

• Since a pārājika offence is an especially weighty instance of an akusala kammapatha, there is a higher than usual chance that it will be the kamma that gets to determine your next birth.

So that's the bad news. As for the good news....

• A "higher than usual chance" doesn't mean an inevitability. If the defeated monk has done the honourable thing and disrobed, and if he repents and is earnest in his pursuit of puñña, then the likelihood of his misdeed being the determinant of his next birth can be attenuated or even voided. In other words, provided you haven't killed your parents or an arahant, a pārājika offence is not an anantariyaka kamma.

• The door to stream-entry in the present life remains open. Although the texts acknowledge obstruction by weighty akusala kamma as one of the things that can prevent attainment in the present life, none of the lists of these types of kammas mentions pārājika offences. The lists include the five anantariyakas, apostasy committed while one is still ordained as a monk, committing a sanghādisesa offence and not having yet undergone penance and rehabilitation for it, and living "in communion by theft". The last category would include pārājika bhikkhus who remain in the robes, knowingly concealing their guilt, but it doesnt include those, like your friend, who have confessed their offence and returned to lay life.
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
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Dharmasherab
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Re: Parajika - Consequences

Post by Dharmasherab »

Dhammanando wrote: Fri Jul 02, 2021 4:23 am Neither of your statements are supported in the Pali texts ......
Thank you Venerable Dhammanando for this detailed comprehensive answer. Sadhu :anjali:
“When one does not understand death, life can be very confusing.” - Ajahn Chah
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