Vinaya Pitaka
Encyclopedia
The is a Buddhist
scripture, one of the three parts that make up the Tripitaka
. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules for monks and nuns. The name () is the same in Pāli, Sanskrit and other dialects used by early Buddhists, and means basket of discipline.
In addition, portions of various versions survive in various languages.
shortly after the Buddha's death, and recited by Upali
, with little later addition. Most of the different versions are fairly similar, most scholars consider most of the Vinaya to be fairly early, that is, dating from before the separation of schools.
version of the Patimokkha
, the code of conduct that applies to Buddhist monastics, contains 227 major rules for bhikkhu
s and 311 major rules for bhikkhuni
s. The Vibhanga section(s) of Vinaya Pitaka constitute(s) a commentary on these rules, giving detailed explanations of them along with the origin stories for each rule. The Khandhaka/Skandhaka sections give numerous supplementary rules grouped by subject, again with origin stories. The Buddha called his teaching the "Dhamma-Vinaya", emphasizing both the philosophical teachings of Buddhism as well as the training in virtue that embodies that philosophy.
In the collected Chinese editions of the Scriptures the Vinaya pitaka has a broader sense, including all four Chinese vinayas listed above, parts of others, non-canonical vinaya literature, lay vinaya and bodhisattva vinaya.
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. As the sangha
expanded situations arose which the Buddha
and the lay community felt were inappropriate for samana
s. According to tradition, the first rule to be established was the prohibition against sexual acts. The origin story tells of an earnest monk whose family was distraught that there was no male heir and so persuaded the monk to impregnate his wife. According to tradition, all three, the monk, his wife and son who both later ordained, eventually became fully enlightened arahants.
The vinaya is very important to Buddhists -
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
scripture, one of the three parts that make up the Tripitaka
Tripiṭaka
' is a traditional term used by various Buddhist sects to describe their various canons of scriptures. As the name suggests, a traditionally contains three "baskets" of teachings: a , a and an .-The three categories:Tripitaka is the three main categories of texts that make up the...
. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules for monks and nuns. The name () is the same in Pāli, Sanskrit and other dialects used by early Buddhists, and means basket of discipline.
Surviving versions
Six versions survive complete, of which three are still in use.- The Pali version of the TheravadaTheravadaTheravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
, included in the Pali CanonPāli CanonThe Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
- SuttavibhangaSuttavibhangaSuttavibhanga is the first book of the Theravadin Vinaya Pitaka. It is a commentary on the community rules . 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...
: commentary on the PatimokkhaPatimokkhaIn Buddhism, the Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks and 311 for nuns . It is contained in the Suttavibhanga, a division of the Vinaya Pitaka.- Parajika :...
, with much of its text embedded- Mahavibhanga (mahā-) dealing with monks
- Bhikkhunivibhanga (bhikkhunī-) dealing with nuns
- KhandhakaKhandhakaKhandhaka is the second book of the Theravadin Vinaya Pitaka and includes the following two volumes:* Mahavagga:includes accounts of the Buddha's and his great disciples' awakenings, as well as rules for uposatha days and monastic ordination....
: 22 chapters on various topics - ParivaraParivaraParivara is the third and last book of the Theravadin Vinaya Pitaka. It includes a summary and multiple analyses of the various rules identified in the Vinaya Pitaka's first two books, the Suttavibhanga and the Khandhaka, primarily for didactic purposes...
: analyses the rules from various points of view
- Suttavibhanga
- 'Dul-ba, Tibetan translation of the Mulasarvastivada version; this is the version used in the Tibetan tradition
- Vinayavastu: 16 skandhakas (khandhakas) and the start of the 17th
- Pratimokshasutra of monks
- Vinayavibhanga of monks
- Pratimokshasutra of nuns
- Vinayavibhanga of nuns
- Vinayakshudrakavastu: rest of the 17th skandhaka and others
- Vinayottaragrantha: appendices, including Upaliparipriccha, which corresponds to a chapter of the Parivara
- Ssŭ-fen lü 四分律 (Taisho catalogue number 1428), Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka version; this is the version used in the Chinese tradition and its derivatives in Korea, Vietnam and the RitsuRitsuThe Ritsu school of Buddhism is one of the six schools of Nara Buddhism in Japan, noted for its use of the Vinaya textual framework of the Dharmaguptaka, one of the early schools of Buddhism...
school in Japan (most Buddhist clergy in Japan do not follow the Vinaya, but rather follow the MahayanaMahayanaMahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
[Bodhisattva] Precepts, a result of the successful TendaiTendaiis a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...
school campaign).- Bhikshuvibhanga dealing with monks
- Bhikshunivibhanga dealing with nuns.
- Skandhaka
- Samyuktavarga
- Vinayaikottara, corresponding to a chapter of the Parivara
- Shih-sung lü (T1435), translation of Sarvastivada version
- Bhikshuvibhanga
- Skandhaka
- Bhikshunivibhanga
- Ekottaradharma, similar to Vinayaikottara
- Upaliparipriccha
- Ubhayatovinaya
- Samyukta
- Parajikadharma
- Sanghavasesha
- Kusaladhyaya
- Wu-fen lü (T1421), translation of Mahisasaka version
- Bhikshuvibhanga
- Bhikshunivibhanga
- Skandhaka
- Mo-ho-seng-ch'i lü 摩訶僧祇律 (T1425), translation of Mahasanghika version (the nuns' rules have been translated by the late Professor Hirakawa in English as Monastic Discipline for the Buddhist Nuns, Patna, 1982)
- Bhikshuvibhanga
- Bhikshunivibhanga
- Skandhaka
In addition, portions of various versions survive in various languages.
Origins
It was compiled at the First CouncilBuddhist councils
Lists and numbering of Buddhist councils vary between and even within schools. The numbering here is normal in Western writings.-First Buddhist council Lists and numbering of Buddhist councils vary between and even within schools. The numbering here is normal in Western writings.-First Buddhist...
shortly after the Buddha's death, and recited by Upali
Upali
Upali was a monk, one of the ten chief disciples of the Buddha. Before joining the order, he worked as a barber. He asked the Buddha if a person of "low birth" such as he could join the order...
, with little later addition. Most of the different versions are fairly similar, most scholars consider most of the Vinaya to be fairly early, that is, dating from before the separation of schools.
Contents
The PaliPāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
version of the Patimokkha
Patimokkha
In Buddhism, the Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks and 311 for nuns . It is contained in the Suttavibhanga, a division of the Vinaya Pitaka.- Parajika :...
, the code of conduct that applies to Buddhist monastics, contains 227 major rules for bhikkhu
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...
s and 311 major rules for bhikkhuni
Bhikkhuni
A bhikkhuni or bhikṣuṇī is a fully ordained female Buddhist monastic. Male monastics are called bhikkhus. Both bhikkhunis and bhikkhus live by the vinaya...
s. The Vibhanga section(s) of Vinaya Pitaka constitute(s) a commentary on these rules, giving detailed explanations of them along with the origin stories for each rule. The Khandhaka/Skandhaka sections give numerous supplementary rules grouped by subject, again with origin stories. The Buddha called his teaching the "Dhamma-Vinaya", emphasizing both the philosophical teachings of Buddhism as well as the training in virtue that embodies that philosophy.
In the collected Chinese editions of the Scriptures the Vinaya pitaka has a broader sense, including all four Chinese vinayas listed above, parts of others, non-canonical vinaya literature, lay vinaya and bodhisattva vinaya.
Place in the tradition
According to the scriptures, in the first years of the Buddha's teaching the sanghaSangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
lived together in harmony with no vinaya, as there was no need, because all of the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
's early disciples
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
were highly realized if not fully enlightened. As the sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
expanded situations arose which the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
and the lay community felt were inappropriate for samana
Samana
-Dominican Republic:*Samaná Province*Samaná, Dominican Republic, or Santa Bárbara de Samaná, the capital of Samaná Province*Samaná Peninsula*Cape Samana on Samaná Peninsula*Samaná Bay, a body of water in the Atlantic next to the Samaná Peninsula...
s. According to tradition, the first rule to be established was the prohibition against sexual acts. The origin story tells of an earnest monk whose family was distraught that there was no male heir and so persuaded the monk to impregnate his wife. According to tradition, all three, the monk, his wife and son who both later ordained, eventually became fully enlightened arahants.
The vinaya is very important to Buddhists -
"Whatever Dhamma and Vinaya I have pointed out and formulated for you, that will be your Teacher when I am gone." (Mahaaparinibbaana Sutta, [D.16]).