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43-618: The word Vinaya is derived from a Sanskrit verb that can mean to lead, take away, train, tame, or guide, or alternately to educate or teach. It is often translated as 'discipline', with Dhamma-vinaya , 'doctrine and discipline', used by the Buddha to refer to his complete teachings, suggesting its integral role in Buddhist practice. According to an origin story prefaced to the Theravada Bhikkhu Suttavibhanga , in

86-546: A Bhikṣu may take additional vows not related to ordination, including the Bodhisattva vows , samaya vows and others, which are also open to laypersons in most instances. The special dress of ordained people, referred to in English as robes , comes from the idea of wearing a simple durable form of protection for the body from weather and climate. In each tradition, there is uniformity in the color and style of dress. Color

129-456: A bhikkhu or bhikkhuni "fully ordained monastic" (Sanskrit: bhikṣu, bhikṣuṇī , Wylie : dge long (ma) ). Monastics take their vows for life but can renounce them and return to non-monastic life and even take the vows again later. A person can take them up to three times or seven times in one life, depending on the particular practices of each school of discipline; after that, the sangha should not accept them again. In this way, Buddhism keeps

172-639: A novitiate (śrāmaṇera or sāmanera) in a rite known as the "going forth" (Pali: pabbajja ). Sāmaneras are subject to the Ten Precepts . From there full ordination (Pali: upasampada ) may take place. Bhikkhus are subject to a much longer set of rules known as the Pātimokkha (Theravada) or Prātimokṣa (Mahayana and Vajrayana ). In the Mahayana monasticism is part of the system of "vows of individual liberation". These vows are taken by monks and nuns from

215-564: A question-and-answer format that recapitulates various rules in different groupings, as well as a variety of analyses. The Chinese texts include two sections not found in the Pali tradition, the Niddanas and Matrkas that have counterparts in the Tibetan tradition's Uttaragrantha. Relatively little analysis of these texts have been conducted, but they seem to contain an independent reorganization of

258-666: A women's march to Vesāli. and Buddha requested her to accept the Eight Garudhammas . So, Gotami agreed to accept the Eight Garudhammas and was accorded the status of the first bhikkhuni. Subsequent women had to undergo full ordination to become nuns. Theravada monasticism is organized around the guidelines found within a division of the Pāli Canon called the Vinaya Pitaka . Laypeople undergo ordination as

301-724: Is a highly charged topic within Theravadin communities: see ordination of women in Buddhism Buddhists in China , Korea , Taiwan and Vietnam follow the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (四分律), which has 250 rules for the bhikkhus and 348 rules for the bhikkhunis. Some schools in Japan technically follow this, but many monks there are married, which can be considered a violation of the rules. Other Japanese monks follow

344-530: Is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism . Male and female monastics (" nun ", bhikkhunī , Sanskrit bhikṣuṇī ) are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the prātimokṣa or pātimokkha . Their lifestyles are shaped to support their spiritual practice: to live a simple and meditative life and attain nirvana . A person under

387-465: Is donated to them. The robes of Tibetan novices and monks differ in various aspects, especially in the application of "holes" in the dress of monks. Some monks tear their robes into pieces and then mend these pieces together again. Upāsakas cannot wear the "chö-göö", a yellow tissue worn during teachings by both novices and full monks. In observance of the Kathina Puja , a special Kathina robe

430-493: Is made in 24 hours from donations by lay supporters of a temple. The robe is donated to the temple or monastery and the resident monks then select from their own number a single monk to receive this special robe. In English literature before the mid-20th century, Buddhist monks, particularly from East Asia and French Indochina, were often referred to by the term bonze . This term is derived from Portuguese and French from Japanese bonsō  'priest, monk'. It

473-506: Is often chosen due to the wider availability of certain pigments in a given geographical region. In Tibet and the Himalayan regions (Kashmir, Nepal and Bhutan), red is the preferred pigment used in the dyeing of robes. In Myanmar, reddish brown; In India, Sri Lanka and South-East Asia, various shades of yellow, ochre and orange prevail. In China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, gray or black is common. Monks often make their own robes from cloth that

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516-414: Is rare in modern literature. Buddhist monks were once called talapoy or talapoin from French talapoin , itself from Portuguese talapão , ultimately from Mon tala pōi  'our lord'. The Talapoys cannot be engaged in any of the temporal concerns of life; they must not trade or do any kind of manual labour, for the sake of a reward; they are not allowed to insult

559-568: Is the first book of the Theravadin Vinaya Pitaka . It is a commentary on the community rules ( Patimokkha ). The general form of the commentary is that each rule is preceded by a story telling how the Buddha came to lay it down, and followed by explanations. Sometimes this includes further stories acting as "judicial precedents". It is divided into two parts, covering the rules for monks and nuns , respectively. The monks' rules are divided as follows: The nuns' section has

602-435: Is the shortest portion of every Vinaya, and universally regarded as the earliest. This collection of rules is recited by the gathered Sangha at the new and full moon. Rules are listed in descending order, from the most serious (four rules that entail expulsion), followed by five further categories of more minor offenses. Most traditions include an explicit listing of rules intended for recitation, called Prātimokṣa-sutra , but in

645-505: Is their translation into Chinese around the 5th century CE. The earliest established dates of the Theravada Vinaya stem from the composition of Buddhaghosa 's commentaries in the 5th century, and became known to Western scholarship through 17th- and 18th-century manuscripts. The Mulasarvastivada Vinaya was brought to Tibet by Khenpo Shantarakshita by c.  763 , when the first Tibetan Buddhist monks were ordained, and

688-726: The Bodhisattva Precepts only, which was excerpted from the Mahāyāna version of Brahmajālasutra (梵網經). And the Bodhisattva Precepts contains two parts of precepts: for lay and clergy. According to Chinese Buddhist tradition, one who wants to observe the Bodhisattva Precepts for clergy, must observe the Ten Precepts and High Ordination [Bhikkhu or Bhikkhunī Precepts] first. Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet , Bhutan , Mongolia , Nepal , Ladakh and other Himalayan regions follow

731-558: The sangha became the community of ordained monastics who wandered from town to city throughout the year, living off alms and stopping in one place only for the Vassa , the rainy months of the monsoon season. In the Dhammapada commentary of Buddhaghoṣa , a bhikkhu is defined as "the person who sees danger (in samsara or cycle of rebirth)" (Pāli: Bhayaṃ ikkhatīti: bhikkhu ). Therefore, he seeks ordination to obtain release from

774-624: The Buddha. In the Pali tradition, a specific chapter of the Khandhaka deals with issues pertaining specifically to nuns, and the Mulasarvastivada tradition devotes most of one of the two volumes of its Ksudrakavastu to issues pertaining to nuns. Beyond this point, the distinct Vinaya traditions differ in their organization. The Pali Vinaya includes a text known as the Parivāra that contains

817-542: The Mahāyāna to reject the traditional rules of the Vinaya: If he thinks or says, "A future buddha has nothing to do with learning or observing the law of the Vehicle of the Śrāvakas ," he commits a sin of pollution ( kliṣṭā āpatti ). Louis de La Vallée-Poussin wrote that the Mahāyāna relies on traditional full ordination of monastics, and in doing so is "perfectly orthodox" according to the monastic vows and rules of

860-687: The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya was transmitted in Tibet by Shantarakshita, but did not survive the later persecution of Tibetan Buddhists undertaken by Udum Tsenpo . Afterwards, Tibetan nuns were getsunma (Tib. novice) nuns (Skt. śramaṇerīs) only, after taking the lay vows of eight or ten Precepts , see ordination of women in Buddhism . The Mahāyāna Bodhisattvabhūmi , part of the Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra , regards it an offense for monastics following

903-502: The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, which has 253 rules for the bhiksus (monks) and 364 rules for bhiksunis (nuns). In addition to these pratimokṣa precepts, there are many supplementary ones. The Tibetan Buddhist tradition of fully ordained bhikṣuṇī nuns officially recommenced in Bhutan on 23 June 2022, when 144 women were ordained. According to Nyingma school and Kagyu school scholars, the full ordination lineage of bhikkhuni for nuns within

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946-653: The Theravada tradition the Patimokkha rules occur in writing only alongside their exegesis and commentary, the Vibhanga described below. While the Prātimokṣa is preserved independent of the Vibhanga in many traditions, scholars generally do not believe that the rules it contains were observed and enforced without the context provided by an interpretive tradition, even in the early era- many of the exceptions and opinions of

989-540: The Vibhanga seem to stem from older customs regarding what was and wasn't permissible for wandering ascetics in the Indian tradition. The second major component of the Vinaya is the Vibhanga or Suttavibhanga , which provides commentary on each of the rules listed in the Prātimokṣa. This typically includes the origin of the rule in a specific incident or dispute, along with variations that indicate related situations covered by

1032-711: The Vinaya rules that may be an earlier strata of texts. The Theravada Vinaya is preserved in the Pāli Canon in the Vinaya Piṭaka . The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya is preserved in both the Tibetan Buddhist canon in the Kangyur , in a Chinese edition, and in an incomplete Sanskrit manuscript. Some other complete vinaya texts are preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon (see: Taishō Tripiṭaka ), and these include: Six complete versions are extant. Fragments of

1075-527: The age of 20 cannot be ordained as a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni but can be ordained as a śrāmaṇera or śrāmaṇērī . Bhikkhu literally means " beggar " or "one who lives by alms ". The historical Buddha, Prince Siddhartha , having abandoned a life of pleasure and status, lived as an alms mendicant as part of his śramaṇa lifestyle. Those of his more serious students who renounced their lives as householders and came to study full-time under his supervision also adopted this lifestyle. These full-time student members of

1118-408: The conclusion that they must stem from a common origin. Parallel and independent Prātimokṣa rules and Vibhnagas exist in each tradition for bhikkhus and bhikkhunis . The majority of rules for monks and nuns are identical, but the bhikkhuni Prātimokṣa and Vibhanga includes additional rules that are specific to nuns, including the controversial Eight Garudhammas whose authorship is not attributed to

1161-501: The cycle of rebirth. The Dhammapada states: [266–267] He is not a monk just because he lives on others' alms. Not by adopting outward form does one become a true monk. Whoever here (in the Dispensation) lives a holy life, transcending both merit and demerit, and walks with understanding in this world — he is truly called a monk. Buddha accepted female bhikkhunis after his step-mother Mahapajapati Gotami organized

1204-559: The early Buddhist traditions: From the disciplinary point of view, the Mahāyāna is not autonomous. The adherents of the Mahāyāna are monks of the Mahāsāṃghika, Dharmaguptaka, Sarvāstivādin and other traditions, who undertake the vows and rules of the bodhisattvas without abandoning the monastic vows and rules fixed by the tradition with which they are associated on the day of their Upasampad [full ordination]. Suttavibhanga Suttavibhanga ( -vibhaṅga , Pali for "rule analysis")

1247-477: The early years of the Buddha's teaching the sangha lived together in harmony with no vinaya, as there was no need, because all of the Buddha 's early disciples were highly realized if not fully enlightened. After thirteen years and as the sangha expanded, situations arose which the Buddha and the lay community felt were inappropriate for mendicants . According to Buddhist tradition, the complete Vinaya Piṭaka

1290-436: The existing manuscript traditions are from significantly later- most around the 5th century CE. While the early Buddhist community seems to have lived primarily as wandering monks who begged for alms, many Vinaya rules in every tradition assume settled monasticism to be the norm, along with regular collective meals organized by lay donors or funded by monastic wealth. The earliest dates that can be established for most Vinaya texts

1333-409: The five upāsaka and upāsikā vows ( Wylie : dge snyan (ma) , "approaching virtue"). The next step is to enter the pabbajja or monastic way of life (Skt: pravrajyā , Wylie : rab byung ), which includes wearing monk's or nun's robes. After that, one can become a samanera or samaneri "novice" (Skt. śrāmaṇera , śrāmaṇeri , Wylie : dge tshul, dge tshul ma ). The final step is to take all the vows of

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1376-517: The major themes of the 250 precepts: celibacy, non-harming, no intoxicants, vegetarian eating and reducing labor for gain. After twelve years, monastics would then use the Vinaya precepts as a provisional or supplemental, guideline to conduct themselves by when serving in non-monastic communities. Tendai monastics followed this practice. During Japan's Meiji Restoration during the 1870s, the government abolished celibacy and vegetarianism for Buddhist monastics in an effort to secularise them and promote

1419-842: The newly created State Shinto . Japanese Buddhists won the right to proselytize inside cities, ending a five-hundred year ban on clergy members entering cities. Currently, priests (lay religious leaders) in Japan choose to observe vows as appropriate to their family situation. Celibacy and other forms of abstaining are generally "at will" for varying periods of time. After the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910 , when Japan annexed Korea, Korean Buddhism underwent many changes. Jōdo Shinshū and Nichiren schools began sending missionaries to Korea under Japanese rule and new sects formed there such as Won Buddhism . The Temple Ordinance of 1911 ( Korean :  사찰령 ; Hanja :  寺刹令 ) changed

1462-422: The ordinary sangha, in order to develop personal ethical discipline. In Mahayana and Vajrayana, the term "sangha" is, in principle, often understood to refer particularly to the aryasangha ( Wylie : mchog kyi tshogs ), the "community of the noble ones who have reached the first bhūmi ". These, however, need not be monks and nuns. The vows of individual liberation are taken in four steps. A lay person may take

1505-566: The practice of celibacy varies. The two sects of Korean Seon divided in 1970 over this issue; the Jogye Order is fully celibate while the Taego Order has both celibate monastics and non-celibate Japanese-style priests. In Tibet , the upāsaka, pravrajyā and bhikṣu ordinations are usually taken at ages six, fourteen and twenty-one or older, respectively. Tibetan Vajrayana often calls ordained monks lama . In Mahayana traditions,

1548-587: The procurement and distribution of robes. The final segment of this division, the Ksudrakavastu ("Minor division") contains miscellanea that does not belong to other sections, and in some traditions is so large that it is treated as a separate work. Strong agreement between multiple different recensions of the Skandhaka across different traditions and language with respect to the number of chapters (generally 20) and their topics and contents has led scholars to

1591-1065: The remaining versions survive in various languages. The first three listed below are still in use. Buddhism in Myanmar , Cambodia , Laos , Sri Lanka , and Thailand followed the Theravadin Vinaya, which has 227 rules for bhikkhus and 311 for bhikkhunis . As the nun's lineage died out in all areas of the Theravada school, traditionally women's roles as renunciates were limited to taking eight or ten Precepts : see women in Buddhism . Such women appears as maechi in Thai Buddhism, dasa sil mata in Sri Lanka, thilashin in Burma and siladharas at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England. More recently, women have been undergoing upasampada as full ordination as bhikkhuni , although this

1634-504: The rule, as well as exceptions that account for situations that are not to be regarded as violations of a more general rule. The third division of the Vinaya is known as the Vinayavastu, Skandhaka, or Khandhaka, meaning 'divisions' or 'chapters'. Each section of these texts deals with a specific aspect of monastic life, containing, for instance, procedures and regulations related to ordination, obtaining and storing medical supplies, and

1677-586: The same sections apart from the third. Since many of the nuns' rules apply to monks too and these are not usually repeated in the Suttavibhanga, the numbers of rules actually appearing in some sections of the nuns' analysis are less than the totals given at the beginning and end. The Book of the Discipline , tr I. B. Horner, parts 1–3, Oxford 1938–40 Pali Text Society [1] Bhikkhus A bhikkhu ( Pali : भिक्खु, Sanskrit : भिक्षु, bhikṣu )

1720-574: The traditional system whereby temples were run as a collective enterprise by the Sangha, replacing this system with Japanese-style management practices in which temple abbots appointed by the Governor-General of Korea were given private ownership of temple property and given the rights of inheritance to such property. More importantly, monks from pro-Japanese factions began to adopt Japanese practices, by marrying and having children. In Korea,

1763-534: The vows "clean". It is possible to keep them or to leave this lifestyle, but it is considered extremely negative to break these vows. In 9th century Japan, the monk Saichō believed the 250 precepts were for the Śrāvakayāna and that ordination should use the Mahayana precepts of the Brahmajala Sutra . He stipulated that monastics remain on Mount Hiei for twelve years of isolated training and follow

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1806-470: Was recited by Upāli at the First Council shortly after the Buddha 's death. All of the known Vinaya texts use the same system of organizing rules and contain the same sections, leading scholars to believe that the fundamental organization of the Vinaya must date from before the separation of schools. While traditional accounts fix the origins of the Vinaya during the lifetime of the Buddha, all of

1849-583: Was translated into Chinese by the 8th century. Earlier Sanskrit manuscripts exist from the 5th to the 7th century. Scholarly consensus places the composition of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya in the early centuries of the first millennium, though all the manuscripts and translations are relatively late. The core of the Vinaya is a set of rules known as Patimokkha in Pāli and Prātimokṣa in Sanskrit. This

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