Abstract:
The Buddha’s main purpose was to show the path to all human beings to get rid of
suffering and attain Nibbāna. For forty-five years he preached the Dhamma out of
compassion, and many people entered the Sangha community in order to practice
and attain Arahant-ship. There were no Vinaya rules at the beginning of the Sangha
community, and consequently, there was no system of punishments available.
However, this situation was gradually changed. The Vinaya rules had to be enforced
and the violators had to be punished. Although we know that the Buddha
promulgated Vinaya rules and punishments to discipline his monastic disciples
(Bhikkhu-s and Bhikkhuni-s), he never promulgated disciplinary rules or
punishments for laypeople. Therefore, we have to discuss the scope and limit of
punishments within the monastic system. Once, the punishment was approved for
Bhikkhu Channa (Mahāparinibbāna-Sutta, Dīghanikāya). The Kesisutta
(Aṅguttaranikāya) clearly mentions how the Buddha treated those who did not
follow the Dhamma properly. The purpose of using punishments in Buddhism was
to regulate the ill behaviours of the wrong-doers. As we all know the Buddha was
known as the “incomparable trainer of men to be disciplined (anuttara
purisadammasārathi)” and it is very interesting to examine how the Buddha
disciplined his followers. The most serious punishment in the Buddhist community
is the loss of the higher ordination in the Buddhasāsana. The Buddha said to Kesi,
“Kesi, finally you killed the horses who cannot be trained, but I will not kill the
Bhikkhu-s who cannot be disciplined, I let them leave the order” (Kesisutta Aṅguttaranikāya). In addition to the monastic discipline to which punishment is
directly relevant, we can study the general attitude of Buddhism towards physical
punishment and capital punishment found in the legal system in general. The
objective of this paper is to discuss the Buddhist stance on punishment with
reference to the following issues: what is the primary intention of using
punishment?; whether Buddhism has justified punishment; if it has been justified, in
what circumstances?; and whether there is an ethical basis for the use of punishment.