What Constitutes Slandering the Dharma?

In the Saṃyukta Āgama, it is recorded that when a non-Buddhist or a layperson inquired about the Dharma from one of the World-Honored One's disciples, the disciple, after answering, would wonder: "Does my response align with the World-Honored One's teachings? Have I contradicted or slandered him?" The disciple would then approach the World-Honored One and say: "Venerable Sir, a non-Buddhist asked me about the Dharma, and I answered thus. Have I slandered you?" The World-Honored One would reply: "Your answer was correct; you did not slander me." From this, we should understand that any speech or expression that does not accord with the truth constitutes slander. If a disciple conveys the Dharma in a way that does not align with the Buddha’s intent or contradicts the Buddha, it is slander of the Buddha. If the Buddha declares a certain teaching to be thus, and a disciple says it is not thus, this is slander of the Buddha and slander of the Dharma. Merely uttering a word of negation against the Dharma taught by the Buddha constitutes slander of the Buddha and the Dharma.

Slandering the Sangha, then, becomes equally grave. Slandering the Sangha is further divided into slandering ordinary monastics and slandering realized monastic disciples and Bodhisattva-monastics. The karmic offense of the former is relatively lighter, while that of the latter is exceedingly heavy, with unfathomable retribution. If you merely deny the Sagely Sangha, uttering a word like "no," "not so," or "incorrect" when the facts are otherwise, the offense of slander is established. Sentient beings often disregard this, thinking that negating others is no great fault, and casually say "no" or "not so." Yet this is not merely a matter of fault; it is a matter of karmic offense. Matters concerning fundamental principles often constitute offenses leading to hell, and in future lives, one will suffer the immense retribution for slandering the Sagely Sangha. When one truly experiences this retribution in a future life, they often remain unaware of why such suffering befell them. Thus, they ignorantly suffer the consequences and ignorantly create further karma. Sentient beings are so foolish and ignorant.