Vinaya

The Vinaya (a word in Pāli as well as in Sanskrit, with literal meaning 'leading out', 'education', 'discipline') is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or Sangha, based on the Template:Wiki texts called Vinaya Pitaka.

The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline.

Another term for Buddhism is dharmavinaya.

Extant vinaya texts including the Theravāda Vinaya, Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya, Mahīśāsaka Vinaya, Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, Sarvāstivāda Vinaya, and the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya.

Overview

At the heart of the Vinaya is a set of Template:Wiki known as Patimokkha (Pāli), or Pratimoksha (Sanskrit).

The Vinaya was orally passed down from The Buddha to his disciples.

Eventually, numerous different Vinayas arose in Buddhism, based upon geographical or Template:Wiki differences and the different Buddhist schools that developed.

Three of these are still in use.

The Vinayas are the same in substance and have only minor differences.

Texts

The Prātimokṣa is traditionally a section of the Vinaya.

The Theravada Vinaya is preserved in the Pali Canon, in the Vinaya Piṭaka section.

The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya is preserved in both the Tibetan Buddhist canon in the Kangyur, in a Template:Wiki edition, and in an incomplete Sanskrit Template:Wiki.

Some other complete vinaya texts are preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon (see: Taishō Tripiṭaka), and these include:

• Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (T. 1421)
• Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (T. 1425)
• Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (T. 1428)
• Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (T. 1435)
• Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya (T. 1442)

Traditions

Theravada

Template:SeeVinaya Pitaka

Buddhists in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand follow the Theravadin Vinaya, which has 227 Template:Wiki for the Bhikkhus and 311 for the bhikkhunis.

Template:Wiki Buddhism

Buddhists in China, Korea, Template:Wiki and Vietnam follow the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (四分律), which has 250 Template:Wiki for the Bhikkhus and 348 Template:Wiki for the bhikkhunis. Some schools in Japan technically follows this, but many monks there are married, which can be considered a Template:Wiki of the Template:Wiki.

Other Japanese monks follow the Bodhisattva Precepts only.

Tibetan Buddhism

Buddhists in Tibet and Mongolia follow the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, which has 253 Template:Wiki for the bhikshus and 364 Template:Wiki for bhikshunis.

(While the Dalai Lama has authorized followers of the Tibetan tradition to be ordained as nuns the issue Template:Wiki Template:Wiki as the Template:Wiki order has never been introduced in Tibet.)

In addition to these patimokkha Template:Wiki there are many supplementary Template:Wiki.

Interpretation

The Buddha constantly reminds his hearers that it is the spirit of the Template:Wiki that counts. On the other hand, the Template:Wiki themselves are designed to assure a satisfying life, and provide a Template:Wiki springboard for the higher attainments.

Monastics are instructed by The Buddha to live as "islands unto themselves". In this sense, living life as the vinaya prescribes it is, as one scholar puts it: "more than merely a means to an end: it is very nearly the end in itself."

Surrounding the Template:Wiki is a range of texts.

Some of these explain the origins of the Template:Wiki - it is possible to trace the development of the Template:Wiki from responses to specific situations or actions to a Template:Wiki codification.

There are also a number of sutta-like texts that are more Template:Wiki statements about Buddhist doctrine, or that give biographical details of some of the great disciples and their Enlightenment. Other sections detail how the Template:Wiki are to be applied, how breaches are to be dealt with, and how disputes amongst the monks are handled.

It is thought that originally there were no Template:Wiki and The Buddha and his disciples just lived in harmony when they were together.

Most of the time they would have been wandering alone, but every year, during the Template:Wiki season when traveling became impossible, the Bhikkhus would come together for a few months.

As The Sangha became bigger and started accepting people of lesser ability who remained unenlightened, it became necessary to begin having Template:Wiki.

It seems that initially these were quite flexible and were adapted to the situation. By the time of The Buddha's death there would have been a body of Template:Wiki Bhikkhus were expected to follow.

In the Mahaparinibbana Sutta The Buddha, as part of his last teaching, tells the Bhikkhus that they can abandon some minor Template:Wiki, but that they should stick to the major ones, but there appears to have been some Template:Wiki over which was which. It was therefore decided that they would keep all of the Template:Wiki.

Immediately after The Buddha's death there was a Template:Wiki, at which all of the teachings were recited, collected, and sorted.

Legend has it that the huge volume of teachings was recited from memory, with Ananda reciting the Dhamma and Upali reciting the Vinaya.

Template:W Template:NewSourceBreak Vinaya (Skt.; Tib. Template:BigTibetan, dulwa; Wyl. ‘dul ba) — one of the three pitakas or collections of the Buddhist scriptures, concerned primarily with monastic discipline.

External Links

Discipline Template:RigpaWiki