Error arises from insufficient knowledge and foresight — a shortcoming of wisdom (paññā).
Lapse arises from a moment of inattention — a shortcoming of mindfulness (sati).
But that which reaches the level of true wrongdoing and base conduct is of an entirely different order — for it occurs when one knows full well that an act is wrong, knows full well that harm shall ensue, and yet proceeds in willful defiance. To act wrongfully with full and conscious knowledge is what is meant by unwholesome and base conduct.
One who is to grow and flourish within the Buddhist Dispensation must possess one essential quality: they must be the kind of person who will not consent to unwholesome conduct, who will not consent to become a person of base character. When they have erred, they acknowledge the error openly. When they have lapsed, they acknowledge the lapse openly. But having erred or lapsed once, they will not permit themselves to err or lapse in the same manner again — for they understand that to do so is to descend into genuine unwholesomeness and moral baseness.
Should any bhikkhu or sāmaṇera hold this principle in constant and wakeful remembrance, their aspiration toward the study of the Dhamma and Vinaya shall grow ever stronger, and their heart shall be progressively elevated. The purity of body, speech, and mind shall increase as an inseparable shadow following its owner. And the resolve to build merit and cultivate the perfections shall arise with a strength and courage that stakes nothing less than one’s very life upon the endeavor.
