Justice
Administration of Justice. Certain statutes regarding the
administration of justice, were set up by the Buddha for the
benefit of bhikkhus, in order to facilitate the dispensation of
moral justice according to sound judgment, whenever the occasion
arose. By this act the Buddha ensured that the spirit of moral
justice which enables us to interpret laws correctly, unlike the
imperfect expression of certain aspects of our present day legal
administration. At the time of the Buddha and even later, there
were kings who took advantage of, and made use of these laws to
supplement their own. The judicial procedure adopted by the Buddha
is clearly illustrated in the case of the Arahant Theri Kumara
Kassapa's mother, who unaware of her pregnant condition,with her
husband's consent left her home and entered the Bhikkhuni order.
Later, finding her in an advanced state of pregnancy, the bhikkhuni
was charged with a serious allegation of misconduct and summoned
before a religious court of appeal. The Buddha ordered Upali Thera,
foremost among His Arahant disciples in knowledge of Vinaya
matters, (and thus equal to that of the Chief Justice of today), to
preside, try the innocent victim and to deliver judgment on her.
The audience consisted of bhikkhus, bhikkhunis and laymen,
including the laywoman Visakha. She screened the victim from the
presence of the Buddha and the rest. After careful examination and
intimate questioning declared that she was quite innocent. The
Arahant Upali on hearing the evidence absolved the bhikkhuni of any
transgression.
Administration of Justice.
