Intention, Knowledge, and Moral Responsibility in Theravāda Buddhist Ethics: A Philosophical Analysis of the Pāli Vinaya

Yen Sokne

Intention, Knowledge, and Moral Responsibility in Theravāda Buddhist Ethics: A Philosophical Analysis of the Pāli Vinaya

Author(s)	Mr. Yen Sokne
Country	India
Abstract	This article examines how intention, knowledge, perception, ignorance, mistake, and evidential judgment contribute to the attribution of moral and disciplinary responsibility in the Theravāda Pāli Vinaya. Rather than treating monastic discipline as a mechanical code in which an external act automatically produces a fixed result, the study argues that many Vinaya judgments depend upon a structured relation among a rule, relevant facts, mental conditions, exceptions, and valid communal procedure. The analysis is qualitative and philosophical, using selected Bhikkhu Pātimokkha rules, their Suttavibhaṅga explanations, and related procedural materials as primary evidence. It distinguishes technical Vinaya offence from broader moral evaluation and therefore avoids assuming that intention has the same function in every rule. The article develops a five-part model of disciplinary judgment: normative rule, established facts, relevant cognitive and intentional conditions, applicable exceptions, and disciplinary conclusion. It further shows that confession, testimony, investigation, and communal acts extend responsibility beyond private conscience into shared practices of truthful reporting and procedurally accountable judgment. The central conclusion is that the Pali Vinaya contains a sophisticated practical account of responsible agency in which action is assessed through both conduct and the epistemic conditions relevant to a particular rule. This approach contributes to Buddhist ethics by clarifying the relation between moral agency, knowledge, and institutional responsibility without reducing the Vinaya to a modern legal system.
Keywords	Theravada Buddhism, Vinaya Piṭaka, Cetanā, Moral Responsibility, Knowledge, Perception, Buddhist Ethics
Field	Sociology > Philosophy / Psychology / Religion
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-10-08

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Intention, Knowledge, and Moral Responsibility in Theravāda Buddhist Ethics: A Philosophical Analysis of the Pāli Vinaya

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