Abstract:
Jurisprudence is the study and theory of law. Mahapadesas or Great Standards
are one theory of Buddhist law. The compound mahapadesa means Great
Standards or great authorities. They are used as guidelines in deciding if
uncertain circumstances accord with the Dhamma and Vinaya. There are two
separate types of Mahapadesas in Sutta and Vinaya Pitakas. The aim of this
paper was to examine the importance of those Mahapadesas in the study of law
in Buddhist perspective.
The study was based on the Sutta Pitaka where the descriptive and analytical
methods were applied. Mahapadesas in the Suttas refer to the sources from
whom a teaching might be accepted as the teaching of the Buddha. They are:
the Buddha himself, a whole monastic community (along with its elders and
experts) dwelling in a particular monastery, certain learned monks dwelling
in a particular monastery, or just one learned monk dwelling in a particular
monastery. For instance, If a monks says he has a certain teaching direct from
the Buddha himself, his statement should be compared with the rest of the
Vinaya and Dhamma; if these do not agree, it should be rejected; if they do,
accepted. According to Mahapadesas the authority should be the Dhamma and
the Vinaya. Here, Dhamma means justification or the yukti and Vinaya means
promulgated rules that lead to the righteousness. Therefore, Dhamma and
Vinaya should be the foundations of the Buddhist Jurisprudence.
