BUDDHISM. 



155 



Seyyathapina'ma thalamatthakachchinno abhabbo puna wirul- 

 hiya. Ewamewa Bhikkhu papichchho ichchapakato asantan 

 abhutan uttari manussa Dhamman ullapitwa assamano hoti 

 asakyaputtiyo. Tena wuchchati Parajika hoti. 



" As in any way when the head of the Palmyra has been 

 cut off it cannot be raised to the same place, i. e., re-united, 

 so a Bhikkhu with a sinful aud premeditated desire having 

 declared that he possesses the Uttari Manussa Dhamma ( Su- 

 perhuman powers) which does neither belong to him nor 

 exists (as far as he is conerned), becomes excommunicate and a 

 non Sakya son. On this account he is said to become guilty 

 of a Parajika fault." 



From the above extracts it is evident that a Parajika is 

 an irremediable breach of discipline, and its meaning is that any 

 Bhikkhu who has thus become guilty can never in this life become 

 an Upasampada (superior) priest. Beside the Parajikas there 

 are lesser faults, the nature of which is determined by various 

 causes, as will subsequently appear. These are Sanghadisesa, 

 Thullachchaya, and the Dukkata faults, and can all be easily 

 remedied, the two latter especially, as after a fault of this kind 

 has been committed, the culprit has only to confess to his 

 Upajjha" (ordaining priest) without much delay, and is then 

 exempted from all evil consequences ; but the Sanghadisesa 

 being more serious (about half of a Parajika) a course of 

 penance has to be submitted to, and confession without delay 

 made to 25 superior Bhikkhus. The nature and extent of 

 these penances are not defined in the first book of the Winiya 

 Pitakas, but in others, to which reference will be made when 

 those books are brought under consideration. Suffice it to say, 

 that they can possibly have no deterring effect on crime, but 

 rather form loopholes through which most enormous and 

 disgusting misdeeds may be committed, and yet the pcrpctra- 



