The Notions Of Verbal Crimes In The Buddhist Doctrine Of Dasa Akusal

Introduction

By M.H.M.A.S. Gunawardane and P.I. Gamage –MARCH 30, 2021

Every citizen deserves to be protected by their legal system, and legal professionals must ensure that this occurs. People are affected in various ways by verbal crimes. Accordingly, a criminal offence is primarily based on physical (actus reus) and mental (mens rea) associations. But a crime can also happen through the “words”. This is because if the same result is obtained for different reasons, there is some connection between the reasons mentioned therein. This is well stated in the Doctrine of Dasa Akusal, which is a teaching of Buddha Damma. That is, it states that human beings are mainly done by the mind, body, and word. It seems words are too sufficient to trigger psychological and emotional pain, trauma and committing suicide, etc…Many countries have set a legal framework for crimes committed by word, but countries such as Sri Lanka do not set a legal framework for verbal crimes.

People are affected in various ways by crimes. Today a verbal crime also plays a vital role in the criminal offence sector as it can have a long-term impact on their self-esteem. It causes emotional and psychological damage, such as depression and low self-esteem. It may also make it difficult for them to concentrate and perform well in their everyday lives, as well as have it can lead to suicide and murder too. Some victims may be physically harmed as a result of the verbal abuse, but even if there is no physical damage, the long-term effects may be devastating.  So it seems Verbal abuse can lead to suicide attempts in extreme situations. These teachings are mainly included in Buddhism teachings under the doctrine of Dasa Akusal as known as in Ten Immoral deeds. Due to that, the wrong conduct of human being is capable of mainly in three sectors such as by body, mind and the word. A criminal offence also happens concerning two main elements, such as physical and mental. It seems both doctrines of Dasa Akusal and criminal offence are fulfilled with the same elements. But one element of a doctrine of Dasa Akusal may silent in the elements of a criminal offence. If one result may build up with different reasons, then how would the wrong conduct with words not include the elements of a criminal offence?

Today verbal crime can take many alternative forms – jokes, spreading rumors, threats, slander, and incitement of violence or hate. It aims at humiliating, dehumanizing and making an individual or group of individuals scared. Like any form of violence, verbal crime is sometimes very destructive for the person targeted: folks that experience hate speech often feels helpless and don’t know what to try and do. They feel uneasy, frightened, and that they lose self-confidence and sometimes even attempt suicide. It seems many different verbal statements are often crimes: Repeated verbal abuse may constitute harassment, which might result in civil penalties. Lies and misrepresentations may result in fraud charges or maybe perjury charges. In an exceedingly classic Supreme Court case, the court held that “Yelling fire falsely in an exceeding theatre” creating an unnecessary panic can be criminal. Furthermore, these threats can speak to intent in cases where an individual does commit against the law. While yelling “I’m visiting kill you!” might not always result in charges, it could increase the penalties someone faces if he or she does kill the victim. In Tennessee, premeditated murder – murder within the degree – can result in execution. If a jury believes that the verbal threats proved intent, then the perpetrator could find him or herself on the cellblock.

Accordingly, it appears that the “word” can cause crimes and as mention in Buddhism under the doctrine of Dasa Akusal. Many countries such as India, United States, Canada, Germany, and Russia etc. have developed legal frameworks for wrong conduct with words and also mentioned it in their penal codes. But in a Buddhist country like Sri Lanka, the lack of a separate legal framework for verbal crimes can be seen as a shortcoming in the Sri Lankan legal system.

This research is mainly qualitative carried out by the reference of Buddhism teachings, scholarly textbooks, journals, statues and conference papers. Open-domain data were used for the analysis. This is a logical twist of legal research. Further, the study has referred to the present penal code of Sri Lanka, the criminal procedure code of Sri Lanka and Tripitaka. Moreover, international jurisdictions, international legal instruments and judicial decisions were used for the comparative analysis of the study.

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