Sacca-kiriya
Sacca-kiriyā (Pāli; Sanskrit: satya-kriya, but more often: satyādhiṣṭhāna)[2][3][note 1] is a solemn declaration of truth, expressed in ritual speech.
The sacca-kiriyā is a motif found in the scriptural stories from the Pāli Canon and its commentaries, as well as in post-canonical works such as the Milindapañhā and the Avadānas.
The principles underlying the sacca-kiriyā have also been connected with Mahatma Gandhi's ideal of non-violent resistance, and many other aspects of Asian culture and religious life.
[7][8] It is usually a truthful utterance with regard to having performed a certain virtue, followed by a command or resolution,[7][9] called a 'truth-command' (Pali: saccādhiṭṭhānaṃ, Sanskrit: satyādiṣṭhāna).
[12] It is generally made with a specific end in mind, such as to control a spirit, a physical object, or cause something to be done.
In another widely quoted Jātaka story, a quail is about to see its nest and fellow birds consumed by a forest fire.
[22][23] Another example raised by Indologist Richard Gombrich is that of the Sri Lankan King Duṭṭhagāmaṇi, who used a sacca-kiriyā in warfare.
[1] In some stories, as well as in aspirations recorded in inscriptions, mention is also made of merit (Pali: puñña; doing good works) as a force behind the miracles that occur.
[50] Lastly, at times, a sacca-kiriya may refer to the reality of certain natural phenomena, such as the sun or moon, or the characteristics of certain places, or simply a factual statement,[51][15] even a failure to do something or a mistake made.
[56][57] Certain people with an immoral reputation in the stories, such as the courtesan Bindumatī, are also depicted as being able to do miracles, based on a truthful statement they make.
Judging from the story of courtesan Bindumatī, religion scholar Malcolm Eckel concludes that the sacca-kiriyā's power is in its underlying intention, not its words.
[61] However, South Asian Studies scholar Choy Fah Kong argues that intention is not the major factor that explains the power of the sacca-kiriyā, but rather whether the statement made agrees with facts.
[62] In studying examples from Vedic texts, Thompson concludes that the emphasis on self-assertion is a common characteristic in sacca-kiriyā statements, and that they are not necessarily morally motivated.
Brown, as well as Indologist Heinrich Zimmer, described the sacca-kiriyā as such perfect and moral fulfillment of duty, referring to examples in Buddhist Scriptures and the Hindu Bhagavadgītā.
Kong, as well as Lüders, do concur that as early as the Rig Veda and Atharvaveda, a belief is attested with regard to the efficacy of utterances of truth.
[74][75] Drawing from textual analysis of Indic and other ancient Indo-European sources, Thompson also argues that the sacca-kiriyā was a pre-Buddhist practice, popular and widespread.
[12] Kong argues that the worship of relics in the early centuries of Buddhist history was based on the principle of sacca-kiriyā.
Thus, early Buddhists, as well as Theravādins, believed that a resolve made in front of the relics of an enlightened person could come true.
[88]Kong concludes that the teachings on the efficacy of merit-making activities and the transference of such merit is "promoted and sustained" by the belief in the sacca-kiriyā.
[94] Scholars have further linked the concept of sacca-kiriyā to Gandhi's ideal of non-violent resistance (Sanskrit: satyāgraha), literally meaning 'strict adherence to truth'.
[101][96] Brown argued that the idea of the sacca-kiriyā has not only influenced Gandhian philosophy, but has also inspired the national Indian motto Satyaṃ eva jayate, meaning 'Truth alone conquers', originating from the Muṇḍaka Upaniśad.
[102] Sacca-kiriyās may have been used as a device to prove someone's innocence or truthfulness during an ordeal, as has been recorded in ancient Indian epics and classical dramas.
This involved entering into a fire, and it was believed the innocent would survive the ordeal by the power of their truthfulness, expressed through a sacca-kiriyā.
[104] Brown did not think that such ordeals were actual sacca-kiriyā, though, as such passages merely teach "the widespread belief that Truth protects the righteous".
Thus, participants of debates are found to put their lives on the line in this manner in the Upaniṣads, in early Buddhist discourses, and in the accounts of the Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang (602–664 CE).
[107] For example, Asian Studies scholar Keller Kimbrough writes that 18th-century Japanese poems contain statements very similar to a sacca-kiriya.
[108] Apart from applications in religions that date from India, it has also been suggested some Zorastrianist texts can be explained as forms of sacca-kiriyā.
