Abstract:
Ukkhepaniya Karmaya, which comes in the Vinayapiṭaka, is a punishment that was
executed by the Buddha, under the law of Mahāsangha. According to Vinayapiṭaka,
the Buddha executed this punishment on Channa Thero due to his reluctance to
accept his impermissible behavior. With the punishment which included 43 rules,
the rest of the Bhikkhu community was advised to subject Channa Thero to complete
isolation and rejection within the community to allow him to reflect on his
inappropriate behavior. Buddhist history reports that this punishment brought
positive consequences, as it allowed the subjects to reflect upon their wrongdoings.
However, the objective of this study is to discuss only the psychological impacts
which can occur to a Bhikku by being a subject of Ukkhepanīya Karmaya while
focusing on social rejection and isolation according to the perspectives of modern
psychology. The results of social psychological experiments, Kip Williams’s
neuroimaging study, and the ball-tossing paradigm were used in the analysis of this
study. The application of the methodology reflected the result that social rejection
and isolation can stimulate similar types of sensations that are caused by physical
pain in a human being. Furthermore, it was clarified that social rejection and
isolation can increase the likelihood of aggression in human beings. Therefore, as
the conclusion, it can be said that according to the discoveries of modern social
psychology, Ukkhepaniya Karmaya can effectuate aggression in the Bhikkhu who is
being subjected, in contradiction to the expectations of executing the punishment.
Moreover, the aforementioned conclusion solidifies that the respective punishment
possesses the ability to cause negative psychological impacts on human beings.
