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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] |
Ordination Hall
The ordination hall is a Buddhist building specifically consecrated and designated for the performance of the Buddhist ordination ritual ('' upasampada'') and other ritual ceremonies, such as the recitation of the Patimokkha. The ordination hall is located within a boundary () that defines "the space within which all members of a single local community have to assemble as a complete Sangha () at a place appointed for ecclesiastical acts ()." The constitution of the ''sīmā'' is regulated and defined by the Vinaya and its commentaries and sub-commentaries. Burmese ordination halls In Burmese, ordination halls are called ''thein'' (), derived from the Pali term , which means "boundary." The ''thein'' is a common feature of Burmese monasteries (''kyaung''), although the ''thein '' may be not necessarily be located on the monastery compound itself. Shan ordination halls, called ''sim'' (သိမ်ႇ)'','' are exclusively used for events limited to the monkhood. The central imp ... [...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] |
Shinbyu
Shinbyu (; , also spelt shinpyu) is the Burmese term for a novitiation ceremony ( pabbajja) in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism, referring to the celebrations marking the sāmaṇera (novitiate) monastic ordination of a boy under the age of 20. Shinbyu is considered one of the Twelve Auspicious Rites in Burmese culture. It is deemed the most important duty that parents owe to their son by letting him go forth and embrace the legacy of Gautama Buddha, join the sangha and become immersed in the teachings of the Buddha, the Dhamma, at least for a short while, perhaps longer if not for the rest of his life. A boy may become a novice on more than one occasion, but by the age of twenty there will be another great occasion, the upasampada ordination, in which the boy becomes a fully ordained bhikkhu ( ''bazin''). Those who are not blessed with a male child will seek for an orphan boy or a boy from very poor families in order to receive this special dispensation by the Buddha and h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poy Sang Long
Poy sang long ( shn, ပွႆးသၢင်ႇလွင်း) is a rite of passage ceremony among the Shan peoples, in Myanmar and in neighbouring northern Thailand, undergone by boys at some point between seven and fourteen years of age. It consists of taking novice monastic vows and participating in monastery life for a period of time that can vary from a week to many months or more. Usually, a large group of boys are ordained as sāmaṇera (novitiate monk) at the same time. Etymology The Tai Yai name ''poy sang long'' is decomposed as follows: * ''poy'' (ပွႆး) meaning 'event', borrowed from Burmese ''pwe''; *''sang'' (သၢင်ႇ), thought to come from either ''khun sang'' ('brahman') or ''sang'' ('novice monk'); *''long'' (လွင်း), from ''along'' meaning Bodhisattva or 'king's lineage', borrowed from Burmese ''alaung'' (အလောင်း). ''Long'' (လွင်း), from Burmese ''laung'' (လောင်း), also means "stage before the final ... [...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] |
Buddhist Monasticism
Buddhist monasticism is one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism and one of the fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns, called bhikkhu (Pali, Skt. bhikshu) and bhikkhuni (Skt. bhikshuni), are responsible for the preservation and dissemination of the Buddha's teaching and the guidance of Buddhist lay people. Three surviving traditions of monastic discipline ( Vinaya), govern modern monastic life in different regional traditions: Theravada (Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia), Dharmaguptaka (East Asia), and Mulasarvastivada (Tibet and the Himalayan region). History and development Buddhism originated as a renunciant tradition, practiced by ascetics who had departed from lay life. According to Buddhist tradition, the order of monks and nuns was founded by Gautama Buddha during his lifetime between the fifth and fourth centuries BCE when he accepted a group of fellow renunciants as his followers. The Buddhist monastic lifestyle grew out of the lif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism.Stargardt, Janice. ''Tracing Thoughts Through Things: The Oldest Pali Texts and the Early Buddhist Archaeology of India and Burma.'', Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2000, page 25. Early in the language's history, it was written in the Brahmi script. Origin and development Etymology The word 'Pali' is used as a name for the language of the Theravada canon. The word seems to have its origins in commentarial traditions, wherein the (in the sense of the line of original text quoted) was distinguished from the commentary or vernacular translation that followed it in the manuscript. K. R. Norman suggests that its emergence was based on a misunderstanding of the compound , with being interpreted as the name of a particular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vinaya
The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remain in use by modern ''sanghas'': the Theravada (Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia), Mulasarvastivada (Tibetan Buddhism and the Himalayan region) and Dharmaguptaka (East Asian Buddhism). In addition to these Vinaya traditions, Vinaya texts of several extinct schools of Indian Buddhism are preserved in the Tibetan and East Asian canons, including those of the Kāśyapīya, the Mahāsāṃghika, the Mahīśāsaka, and the Sarvāstivāda 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 adopte ... [...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] |
