Apratipatti and duṣpratipatti in the Dambadeni Katikāvata and Mahāparākramabāhu Katikāvata

This paper investigates various aspects of monastic life in Sri Lanka, specifically by considering monks’ misbehaviors (apratipatti) and inappropriate behaviors (duṣpratipatti) that caused the enactment of the Katikāvatas of both Polonnaruwa and Dambadeniya periods. It is recorded that the Sri Lankan monks in those priods, engaging in corrupt practices, ignored and misused certain rules of the monastic disciplines, as a result of which the Order (saṅgha) underwent rapid changes. Under such circumstances, due to the corruption of monastic discipline, kings were unable to control the Order, so that they had to resort to the assistance of the chief monks by enacting Katikāvatas, which were aimed at regulating the monks’ life according to the monastic discipline as taught in the Vinaya Piṭaka. Both Dambadeni Katikāvata and Mahāparākramabāhu Katikāvata emphasize that the monks should be careful when they associate with lay people and behave in a good manner both inside and outside the monastery. Managing the property of monasteries is also the important point that is mentioned in these Katikāvatas. The fact that the kings enacted similar rules in these two different periods indicates the existence of consistent misbehaviors of monks and helplessness of the kings who were unable to administrate monasteries. Furthermore, these Katikāvatas show the political influence on the Buddhist Order in mediaeval Sri Lanka.