Factors of Offence (Theravada)
From Wikivinaya
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.
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. Some rules contain factors which are different from the five factors mentioned above; in this case (see the examples below) these factors affect the serious of the offence.
Examples concerning derived offences
Examples concerning additional factors and derived offences
Examples of how this works can be found in Parajika 2 and Sanghadisesa 5. Parajika 2 uses the additional factor of the value of the object. When the value of the stolen object is not high enough, there is a derived offence of either a thullacaya or a dukkata.
For Sanghadisesa 5 the additional factors are 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). All these factors refer to the factor of effort. If one undertakes all three roles one commits a sanghadisesa. If one undertakes any two of these roles one commits a thullacaya; undertaking any one role of these roles one commits dukkata.
