|
Bhikkhu
A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') 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 the age of 20 cannot be ordained as a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni but can be ordained as a śrāmaṇera or śrāmaṇērī. Definition ''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 adop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in the lineage of the Sinhalese Mahāvihāra. His best-known work is the ''Visuddhimagga'' ("Path of Purification"), a comprehensive summary of older Sinhala commentaries on Theravada teachings and practices. According to Sarah Shaw, in Theravada this systematic work is "the principal text on the subject of meditation." The interpretations provided by Buddhaghosa have generally constituted the orthodox understanding of Theravada scriptures since at least the 12th century CE. He is generally recognized by both Western scholars and Theravadins as the most important philosopher and commentator of the Theravada, but is also criticised for his departures from the canonical texts. Name The name Buddhaghosa means "Voice of the Buddha" (''Buddha' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UNGEGN
The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) is one of the nine expert groups of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and deals with the national and international standardization of geographical names. Every five years they hold the UNGEGN conference. The UNGEGN also publishes international guidelines. History The question of standardizing geographical names was raised by the United Nations Cartographic Section of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in the late 1940s. After discussions in the 1950s and ECOSOC resolution 715A (XXVII) of 1959, the first meeting of a group of experts was convened in New York City in 1960. This group recommended that a UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names be held. In 1967 this took place in Geneva, with the confirmation that national standardization should be the basis of international standardization. Mandate and tasks The remit of UNGEGN is to deal with the proble ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sangha
Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and has long been used by religious associations including the Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. Given this history, some Buddhists have said the tradition of the ''sangha'' represents humanity's oldest surviving democratic institution. In Buddhism, ''sangha'' refers to the monastic community of ''bhikkhu'' (monks) and '' bhikkhuni'' (nuns). These communities are traditionally referred to as the ''bhikkhu-sangha'' or ''bhikkhuni-sangha''. As a separate category, those who have attained any of the four stages of enlightenment, whether or not they are members of the monastic community, are referred to as the ''āryasaṅgha'' ("noble Sangha"). According to the Theravada school and Nichir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pratimokṣa
The Pratimokṣa ( sa, प्रातिमोक्ष, prātimokṣa) is a list of rules (contained within the ''vinaya'') governing the behaviour of Buddhist monastics (monks or '' bhikṣus'' and nuns or '' bhikṣuṇīs''). ''Prati'' means "towards" and ''mokṣa'' means "liberation" from cyclic existence (saṃsāra). It became customary to recite these rules once a fortnight at a meeting of the sangha during which confession would traditionally take place. A number of prātimokṣa codes are extant, including those contained in the Theravāda, Mahāsāṃghika, Mahīśāsaka, Dharmaguptaka, Sarvāstivāda and Mūlasarvāstivāda vinayas. Pratimokṣa texts may also circulate in separate ''pratimokṣa sūtras'', which are extracts from their respective vinayas. Overview The Pratimokṣa belongs to the Vinaya of the Buddhist doctrine and is seen as the very basis of Buddhism. On the basis of the Prātimokṣa there exist in Mahayana Buddhism two additional set of vows: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pāṭimokkha
In Theravada Buddhism, the Pāṭimokkha is the basic code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks (bhikkhus) and 311 for nuns ( bhikkhuṇīs). It is contained in the Suttavibhaṅga, a division of the Vinaya Piṭaka. Pārājika The four pārājikas (lit. "defeats") are rules entailing expulsion from the sangha for life. If a monk breaks any one of the rules he is automatically "defeated" in the holy life and falls from monkhood immediately. He is not allowed to become a monk again in his lifetime. Intention is necessary in all these four cases to constitute an offence. The four parajikas for bhikkus are: # Sexual intercourse: engaging in any sexual intercourse. # Stealing: the robbery of anything worth more than 1/24 troy ounce of gold (as determined by local law). # Killing: bringing about the death of a human being — whether by killing the person, arranging for an assassin to kill the person, inciting the person to die, or describing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upasampadā
Upasampadā (Pali) literally denotes "approaching or nearing the ascetic tradition." In more common parlance it specifically refers to the rite and ritual of ascetic vetting (ordination) by which a candidate, if deemed acceptable, enters the community as upasampadān (ordained) and authorised to undertake ascetic life. According to Buddhist monastic codes (Vinaya), a person must be 20 years old in order to become a monk or nun. A person under the age of 20 years cannot undertake upasampadā (i.e., become a monk (''bhikkhu'') or nun ('' bhikkhuni'')), but can become a novice (m. ''samanera'', f. ''samaneri''). After a year or at the age of 20, a novice will be considered for upasampadā. Traditionally, the upasampadā ritual is performed within a well-demarcated and consecrated area called ''sima'' (''sima malaka'') and needs to be attended by a specified number of monks: "ten or even five in a remoter area". [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samanera
A sāmaṇera (Pali); sa, श्रामणेर (), is a novice male monastic in a Buddhist context. A female novice is a ''śrāmaṇerī'' or ''śrāmaṇerikā'' (Sanskrit; Pāli: ''sāmaṇerī''). Etymology The ''sāmaṇera'' is a Pali language diminutive equivalent to the Sanskrit term ''śrāmaṇera'', which indicates an ascetic practitioner. Therefore, sāmaṇera might be said to mean "small or young renunciate". In some South and Southeast Asian Buddhist traditions, the term refers to someone who has taken the initial pravrajya vows but not the upasampada or full ordination. The pratimokṣa rules do not apply to them and they do not take part in the recital of the rules on uposatha days. The Sanskrit word ''śrāmaṇerikā'' is the feminine form of ''śrāmaṇera''. History The account provided in the literature of South Asian Buddhism (and adopted by other Buddhist sects) is that when Gautama Buddha's son Rāhula was seven years old, he followed the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pabbajjā
''Pabbajjā'' (Pali; Skt.: ''pravrajya'') literally means "to go forth" and refers to when a layperson leaves home to live the life of a Buddhist renunciate among a community of bhikkhus (fully ordained monks). This generally involves preliminary ordination as a novice (m. ''samanera'', f. ''samaneri''). It is sometimes referred to as "lower ordination". After a period or when the novice reaches 20 years of age, the novice can be considered for the upasampadā ordination (or "higher ordination") whereby the novice becomes a monk (''bhikkhu'') or nun ('' bhikkhuni''). In some traditional Theravada countries, such as Myanmar, boys undergo pabbajjā (Shinbyu) at the age of puberty. In Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ... countries such as China and Japan, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vinaya Piṭaka
The ' (Sanskrit, Pali; ) is a Buddhist scripture, one of the three parts that make up the Tipiṭaka (lit. ''Three Baskets''). The other two parts of the Tipiṭaka are the Sutta Piṭaka and Abhidhamma Piṭaka. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules of conduct for monks and nuns of the Sangha. Origins According to tradition, the Tripiṭaka was compiled at the First Council shortly after the Buddha's death. The Vinaya Piṭaka is said to have been recited by Upāli, 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.''New Penguin Handbook of Living Religions'', page 380 Contents The Pāli Vinaya consists of: ** Suttavibhaṅga: Pāṭimokkha and commentary *** Mahāvibhaṅga: rules for monks *** Bhikkhunīvibhaṅga: rules for nuns ** Khandhaka: 22 chapters on various topics ** Parivāra: analyses of rules from vario ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During the First Buddhist Council, three months after the parinibbana of Gautama Buddha in Rajgir, Ananda recited the Sutta Pitaka, and Upali recited the Vinaya Pitaka. The Arhats present accepted the recitations and henceforth the teachings were preserved orally by the Sangha. The Tipitaka that was transmitted to Sri Lanka during the reign of King Asoka were initially preserved orally and were later written down on palm leaves during the Fourth Buddhist Council in 29 BCE, approximately 454 years after the death of Gautama Buddha. The claim that the texts were "spoken by the Buddha", is meant in this non-literal sense. The existence of the bhanaka tradition existing until later periods, along with other sources, shows that oral tradition conti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eight Garudhammas
The Eight Garudhammas (Sanskrit: ,here "garu" or "guru" is used as an adjective, the wikilink points to the associated sanskrit noun.See The Pali Text Society's Pali-English dictionary entry for "garu": https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali_query.py?qs=garu&searchhws=yes translated as "rules of respect", "principles of respect", "principles to be respected"https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/bhikkhuni-controversy.pdf ) are additional precepts required of bhikkhunis (fully ordained Buddhist nuns) above and beyond the monastic rule (vinaya) that applied to monks. ''Garu'', literally means "heavy" and when applied to vinaya, it means "heavy offense that entails penance (mānatta) consisting of 2 weeks" as described in ''garudhamma'' rule No. 5. The authenticity of these rules is contested; they were supposedly added to the ( bhikkhunis) Vinaya "to allow more acceptance" of a monastic Order for women, during the Buddha's time. They are controversia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahapajapati Gotami
Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī (Pali; Sanskrit: महाप्रजापती गौतमी, ''Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī'') or Pajapati was the foster-mother, step-mother and maternal aunt (mother's sister) of the Buddha. In Buddhist tradition, she was the first woman to seek ordination for women, which she did from Gautama Buddha directly, and she became the first bhikkhuni (Buddhist nun). Biography Tradition says Maya and Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī were Koliyan princess and sisters of Suppabuddha. Mahāpajāpatī was both the Buddha's maternal aunt and adoptive mother, raising him after her sister Maya, the Buddha's birth mother, died. She raised Siddhartha as if he were her own child. Mahāpajāpatī died at the age of 120.DhammadhariniGoing Forth & Going Out ~ the Parinibbana of Mahapajapati Gotami - Dhammadharini "The story of the parinirvāṇa of Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī and her five hundred bhikṣuṇī companions was popular and widely transmitted and existed in multipl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
