The 5 Gangsters found in the world.
Catutthapārājikasikkhāpada (Vinaya Pitaka)
“Monks, there are these five notorious gangsters to be found in the world.
“Pañcime, bhikkhave, mahācorā santo saṁvijjamānā lokasmiṁ.
What five?
Katame pañca?
There is the notorious gangster who thinks like this:
Idha, bhikkhave, ekaccassa mahācorassa evaṁ hoti—
‘When the heck will I walk about in villages, towns, and royal capitals, with a following of a hundred or a thousand men,
‘kudāssu nāmāhaṁ satena vā sahassena vā parivuto gāmanigamarājadhānīsu āhiṇḍissāmi
killing, destroying, and torturing?’
hananto ghātento chindanto chedāpento pacanto pācento’ti.
Then after some time, he does just that.
So aparena samayena satena vā sahassena vā parivuto gāmanigamarājadhānīsu āhiṇḍati hananto ghātento chindanto chedāpento pacanto pācento.
Just so, monks, a bad monk thinks like this:
Evameva kho, bhikkhave, idhekaccassa pāpabhikkhuno evaṁ hoti—
‘When the heck will I walk about in villages, towns, and royal capitals, with a following of a hundred or a thousand people,
‘kudāssu nāmāhaṁ satena vā sahassena vā parivuto gāmanigamarājadhānīsu cārikaṁ carissāmi
being honored, respected, and revered by both lay people and those gone forth, getting robes, almsfood, dwellings, and medicinal supplies?’
sakkato garukato mānito pūjito apacito gahaṭṭhānañceva pabbajitānañca, lābhī cīvarapiṇḍapātasenāsanagilānappaccayabhesajjaparikkhārānan’ti.
Then after some time, he does just that.
So aparena samayena satena vā sahassena vā parivuto gāmanigamarājadhānīsu cārikaṁ carati sakkato garukato mānito pūjito apacito gahaṭṭhānañceva pabbajitānañca, lābhī cīvarapiṇḍapātasenāsanagilānappaccayabhesajjaparikkhārānaṁ.
This is the first notorious gangster to be found in the world.
Ayaṁ, bhikkhave, paṭhamo mahācoro santo saṁvijjamāno lokasmiṁ.
Or a bad monk learns the spiritual path proclaimed by the Buddha and takes it as his own.
Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, idhekacco pāpabhikkhu tathāgatappaveditaṁ dhammavinayaṁ pariyāpuṇitvā attano dahati.
This is the second notorious gangster to be found in the world.
Ayaṁ, bhikkhave, dutiyo mahācoro santo saṁvijjamāno lokasmiṁ.
Or a bad monk groundlessly charges someone living a pure spiritual life with a sexual offense.
Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, idhekacco pāpabhikkhu suddhaṁ brahmacāriṁ parisuddhaṁ brahmacariyaṁ carantaṁ amūlakena abrahmacariyena anuddhaṁseti.
This is the third notorious gangster to be found in the world.
Ayaṁ, bhikkhave, tatiyo mahācoro santo saṁvijjamāno lokasmiṁ.
Or a bad monk takes valuable goods and requisites from the Sangha—
Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, idhekacco pāpabhikkhu yāni tāni saṅghassa garubhaṇḍāni garuparikkhārāni, seyyathidaṁ—
a monastery, the land of a monastery, a dwelling, the site of a dwelling, a bed, a bench, a mattress, a pillow, a metal pot, a metal jar, a metal bucket, a metal bowl, a machete, a hatchet, an ax, a spade, a chisel, a creeper, bamboo, a reed, grass, clay, wooden goods, earthenware goods—
ārāmo ārāmavatthu vihāro vihāravatthu mañco pīṭhaṁ bhisi bibbohanaṁ lohakumbhī lohabhāṇakaṁ lohavārako lohakaṭāhaṁ vāsi parasu kuṭhārī kudālo nikhādanaṁ valli veḷu muñjaṁ pabbajaṁ tiṇaṁ mattikā dārubhaṇḍaṁ mattikābhaṇḍaṁ,
and uses them to bribe and create a following among householders.
tehi gihiṁ saṅgaṇhāti upalāpeti.
This is the fourth notorious gangster to be found in the world.
Ayaṁ, bhikkhave, catuttho mahācoro santo saṁvijjamāno lokasmiṁ.
But in this world with its gods, lords of death, and supreme beings, in this society with its monastics and brahmins, its gods and humans, this is the most notorious gangster of all: one who claims to have a non-existent superhuman quality.
Sadevake, bhikkhave, loke samārake sabrahmake sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya ayaṁ aggo mahācoro yo asantaṁ abhūtaṁ uttarimanussadhammaṁ ullapati.
Why is that?
Taṁ kissa hetu?
Monks, you’ve eaten the country’s almsfood by theft.”
Theyyāya vo, bhikkhave, raṭṭhapiṇḍo bhutto”ti.
“Whoever should declare himself
Aññathā santamattānaṁ,
To be other than he truly is,
aññathā yo pavedaye;
Has eaten this by theft,
Nikacca kitavasseva,
Like a cheater who has deceived.
bhuttaṁ theyyena tassa taṁ.
Many ocher-necks of bad qualities,
Kāsāvakaṇṭhā bahavo,
Uncontrolled and wicked—
pāpadhammā asaññatā;
By their wicked deeds,
Pāpā pāpehi kammehi,
They are reborn in hell.
nirayaṁ te upapajjare.
It’s better to eat an iron ball,
Seyyo ayoguḷo bhutto,
As hot as a licking flame,
tatto aggisikhūpamo;
Than for the immoral and uncontrolled
Yañce bhuñjeyya dussīlo,
To eat the country’s alms.”
raṭṭhapiṇḍaṁ asaññatoti.
- I added this passage from the Vinaya Pitaka to illustrate the danger that the life of bhikkhus can represent on a spiritual level if someone has bad intentions. Monks who abuse lay people by taking advantage of them and being hypocritical face rebirth in the nirayas. Lord Buddha calls them gangsters. They accumulate more akusala than a psychopath or a mass murderer like King Leopold II. When I first read this, I was surprised. However, by analyzing we can see that it is the Sangha which is the guardian of the Sasana. If people lose confidence in the Sangha, the Sasana will disappear. People will insult monks and some of these monks may be ariyas. Insulting ariyas is an obstacle to attaining magga phala. With the disappearance of the Buddha Dhamma, people will have no chance of reaching Nibbāna, and worse, the vast majority of humans will find themselves in the 4 apayas for entire eons and these monks will suffer in the nirayas for a long time. The monks who caused the loss of trust in Sasana are far more dangerous than mass murderers. We need to be careful as laypeople not to get fooled by these types of monks.
It would be better for your bellies to be cut open with a sharp butcher’s knife than for you to talk up one another’s superhuman qualities to householders.
Varaṁ tumhehi, moghapurisā, tiṇhena govikantanena kucchi parikanto, na tveva udarassa kāraṇā gihīnaṁ aññamaññassa uttarimanussadhammassa vaṇṇo bhāsito.
Why is that?
Taṁ kissa hetu?
For although it might cause death or death-like suffering,
Tatonidānañhi, moghapurisā, maraṇaṁ vā nigaccheyya maraṇamattaṁ vā dukkhaṁ,
it would not cause you to be reborn in a bad destination.
na tveva tappaccayā kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ nirayaṁ upapajjeyya.