Factors of Offence (Theravada)

From Wikivinaya

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Many rules have specific factors of offence, which are enumerated in the Vibhanga. Five commonly found factors are:

• Object
• Perception
• Intention
• Effort (or action)
• Result

For some rules the Vibhanga enumerates all these factors as needing to be present for there to be an offence. For other rules it mentions only a few of these factors as being relevant, while for many less 'heavy' rules like pacittiyas and sekhiyas the Vibhanga does not mention specific factors. In this last case, the factors are frequently extrapolated from the actual rule in the commentaries.

Some rules contain factors which are different from the five factors mentioned above. Examples of this can be found in Parajika 2 and Sanghadisesa 5. Parajika 2 uses an additional factor of the value of the object, while Sanghadisesa 5 uses the additional factors of accepting (the request of one party to convey a proposal), inquiring (with the second party and learning the response), and reporting (the answer back to the first party).

When the factors are listed, all the listed factors must be fulfilled in order to commit the full offense. If only a few of the factors are fulfilled, there might be a derived offence, for example a thullacaya or a dukkata.