A Review from Buddhist Precepts about Disciplinary Procedures of the Reform Order

This paper is a reconsideration of the problems that the Reform Order, which appeared in 1994, showed in the process of punishing then-existing forces in the light of the Vinayapiṭaka. The impatient and harsh disciplinary punishments against some monks who did not support reform forces at the time is a representative issue that still hinders the harmony of the Saṃgha and creates conflicts. In this paper, the following three points, which are particularly problematic in the disciplinary process of the 1994 Reform Order, are reviewed in light of the rules of the Vinayapiṭaka. The first issue is about the National Monk Convention that was held on April 10, 1994 under the leadership of the Pŏm sŭngga jongdan gaehyŏk ch’ujinhoe. The Monk Convention is implicitly regarded to have extra-legal authority, and has played an important role in modern and contemporary Korean Buddhism. Second, there is the issue of the default judgment. In the process of the disciplinary action against opposing groups at the time, the Reform Order issued a judgment without the presence of the defendants. The third is an eternal expulsion. At that time, a total of five monks were given a severe punishment called Ch’et’al toch’ŏp. This is a punishment that completely deprives a monk of his status, the heaviest punishment among those that can be imposed on a bhikṣu or a bhikṣuṇī. By examining these three issues in the light of the Adhikaraṇa-samathā dhammā in the Vinayapiṭaka, I would like to clarify the problems inherent in the discipline of the Reform Order and suggest directions for improvement.