The Buddha considers a layman who pretends to be a monk to be a very serious offence. Such a person is barred for life from being granted ordination. The Mahavagga, Vinaya Pitaka states 11 types of people who cannot be ordained, and if ordained in ignorance, are considered invalid. Thus they are virtual Pārājikas. They are:
1. A paṇḍaka (essentially, a eunuch or a person born neuter ),
2. A “non‑human” being, such as a nāga or yakkha, that can assume human form,
3. A hermaphrodite,
4. A person who poses as a bhikkhu without having been ordained,
5. A monk who has ordained in another sect or religion without first giving up his status as a monk;
6. A person who has murdered his father,
7. A person who has murdered his mother,
8. A person who has murdered an arahant,
9. A person who has sexually violated a bhikkhunī,
10. A person who has injured a Buddha to the point of causing him to bleed,
11. A person who has caused a schism in the Sangha.
Thus by discouraging this practice, we are doing both the Sasana and the scammer a great favour.
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