“Might one who causes a schism in the Sangha not be irredeemably destined to an eon in hell?” “He might.”

Schismatics destined to hell“What sort of person who causes a schism in the Sangha is irredeemably destined to an eon in hell?”

“In this case a monk proclaims what’s contrary to the Teaching as being in accordance with it. He has the view that what he says is illegitimate and the view that the schism is illegitimate. He misrepresents his view of what’s true, his belief of what’s true, his acceptance of what’s true, or his sentiment of what’s true. He makes a proclamation and distributes ballots, saying, ‘This is the Teaching, this is the Monastic Law, this is the Teacher’s instruction; take this, approve of this.’ When such a person causes a schism in the Sangha, he’s irredeemably destined to an eon in hell. Again, a monk proclaims what’s contrary to the Teaching as being in accordance with it. He has the view that what he says is illegitimate, but the view that the schism is legitimate. He misrepresents his view of what’s true, his belief of what’s true, his acceptance of what’s true, or his sentiment of what’s true. He makes a proclamation and distributes ballots, saying, ‘This is the Teaching, this is the Monastic Law, this is the Teacher’s instruction; take this, approve of this.’ When such a person causes a schism in the Sangha, he too is irredeemably destined to an eon in hell. Again, a monk proclaims what’s contrary to the Teaching as being in accordance with it. He has the view that what he says is illegitimate, but is unsure about the schism. He misrepresents his view of what’s true, his belief of what’s true, his acceptance of what’s true, or his sentiment of what’s true. He makes a proclamation and distributes ballots, saying, ‘This is the Teaching, this is the Monastic Law, this is the Teacher’s instruction; take this, approve of this.’ When such a person causes a schism in the Sangha, he too is irredeemably destined to an eon in hell.