Can a Bhikkhu yell at or beat a lay person under the vinaya?
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In the vinaya of the Theravāda, it is an offense for a monk to insult or be abusive to another monk (pacittiya 2). But I don’t see any reference to a prohibition from yelling at a lay person (and I know of some instances when some bhikkhus have behaved disgracefully in this regard).
For that matter, there seems to be no prohibition in the vinaya on beating the hell out of a lay person either without the use of a weapon (short of killing them).
Is that right or am I just missing the rule where this is prohibited?
**Notes**:
1. Please don’t reply with references to what is implied and what is common sense etc. I know that. The question is specific to whether there is a prohibition in the letter of the monastic code.
2. While the 5 lay precepts do guide against harsh speech, no prohibition on a lay person silently beating someone either. This is also not lost on me, so it’s not really useful to point out that “what about the lay precepts?” . The question is regarding the Vinaya in its role as community rules, not as guidelines for wholesome personal behaviour.
Asked by Gotamist
(601 rep)
Dec 21, 2017, 06:33 AM
Last activity: Jul 16, 2019, 04:49 AM
Last activity: Jul 16, 2019, 04:49 AM