Adinnādāna in Pārājikasikkhāpada : The Problem and Ways out for the Problem in Thai Society

Abstract

In the Bhikkhus’ Discipline, the second Pārājikasikkhāpada (stealing is forbidden) is the gravest of the four offences, that is, stealing is regarded as one of the gravest of the four offences. Adinnādāna (to abstain from stealing) is one of the four gravest offences. Any monk who violates this rule receives the heaviest punishment, expulsion from the monkhood. In practice, Sikkhāpada is used to indicate that the monetary unit of one Pāda is equal to fi ve māsakas, according to the currency in the Buddha’s time. When this criterion is applied to Thai society, a problem arises of how to convert the monetary units into the present Thai Baht currency. Scholars’ and researchers’ efforts to tackle this question lead to vastly different answers. In addition, the Sangha and the organizations do not have a clear rule for this issue. The study shows that this problem is serious and related to the gravest offence. Therefore, the Sangha should provide a clear exchange rate to convert monetary units to Thai Baht currency. More importantly, a working group should be set up to study this problem and determine an exchange rate or a formula for calculating the appropriate value to provide a standard for judging the Adinnādāna offence. The standard may be announced as a directive or rule of practice for present Thai society.