HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Pratimokṣa ( sa, प्रातिमोक्ष, prātimokṣa) is a list of rules (contained within the ''
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 rema ...
'') governing the behaviour of Buddhist monastics (monks or '' bhikṣus'' and nuns or '' bhikṣuṇīs''). ''Prati'' means "towards" and '' mokṣa'' means "liberation" from cyclic existence (
saṃsāra ''Saṃsāra'' (Devanagari: संसार) is a Pali/Sanskrit word that means "world". It is also the concept of rebirth and "cyclicality of all life, matter, existence", a fundamental belief of most Indian religions. Popularly, it is the c ...
). It became customary to recite these rules once a fortnight at a meeting of the
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 t ...
during which
confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
would traditionally take place. A number of prātimokṣa codes are extant, including those contained in the
Theravāda ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...
,
Mahāsāṃghika The Mahāsāṃghika ( Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha", ) was one of the early Buddhist schools. Interest in the origins of the Mahāsāṃghika school lies in the fact that their Vinaya recension appears in ...
,
Mahīśāsaka Mahīśāsaka ( sa, महीशासक; ) is one of the early Buddhist schools according to some records. Its origins may go back to the dispute in the Second Buddhist council. The Dharmaguptaka sect is thought to have branched out from Mahī ...
,
Dharmaguptaka The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, depending on the source. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas. The Dharmaguptakas had a pr ...
,
Sarvāstivāda The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy ...
and
Mūlasarvāstivāda The Mūlasarvāstivāda (Sanskrit: मूलसर्वास्तिवाद; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools of India. The origins of the Mūlasarvāstivāda and their relationship to the Sarvāstivāda sect still remain largely un ...
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 rema ...
s. Pratimokṣa texts may also circulate in separate ''pratimokṣa sūtras'', which are extracts from their respective vinayas.


Overview

The Pratimokṣa belongs to the
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 rema ...
of the Buddhist doctrine and is seen as the very basis of Buddhism. On the basis of the Prātimokṣa there exist in
Mahayana Buddhism ''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 ...
two additional set of vows: The Bodhisattva vows and the Vajrayana vows. If these two sets of vows are not broken, they are regarded as carrying over to future lives.


Texts

The Pratimokṣa is traditionally a section of the Vinaya. The Theravada Vinaya is preserved in the
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 t ...
in the ''Vinaya Piṭaka''. The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya is preserved in both the
Tibetan Buddhist canon The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined list of sacred texts recognized by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism. In addition to sutrayana texts from Early Buddhist schools (mostly Sarvastivada) and Mahayana sources, the Tibetan canon incl ...
in the ''
Kangyur The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined collection of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, comprising the Kangyur or Kanjur ('Translation of the Word') and the Tengyur or Tanjur ( Tengyur) ('Translation of Trea ...
'', 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 The Taishō Tripiṭaka (; Japanese: ''Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō''; “ Taishō Revised Tripiṭaka”) is a definitive edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon and its Japanese commentaries used by scholars in the 20th century. It was edited by ...
), and these include: * Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (T. 1421) * Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (T. 1425) * Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (T. 1428) * Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (T. 1435) * Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya (T. 1442)


Pratimokṣa in Buddhist traditions


Indian Buddhism

The
Dharmaguptaka The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, depending on the source. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas. The Dharmaguptakas had a pr ...
sect are known to have rejected the authority of the
Sarvāstivāda The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy ...
pratimokṣa rules on the grounds that the original teachings of the Buddha had been lost.Baruah, Bibhuti. ''Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism.'' 2008. p. 52


Theravada Buddhism

The Patimokkha is the
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'' Buddhi ...
equivalent of Pratimokṣa (
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the la ...
). It is being followed by the monks of the
Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...
lineage (Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos). It consists of 227 rules for fully ordained monks (
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 ...
s) and 311 for nuns ( bhikkhunis). The Patimokkha is contained in the Suttavibhanga, a division of the Vinaya Pitaka.


East Asian Buddhism

Buddhist traditions in East Asia typically follow the
Dharmaguptaka The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, depending on the source. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas. The Dharmaguptakas had a pr ...
Vinaya lineage of the pratimokṣa, and this is standard for the following Buddhist traditions: * Chinese Buddhism *
Buddhism in Vietnam Buddhism in Vietnam (''Đạo Phật'' 道佛 or ''Phật Giáo'' 佛教 in Vietnamese), as practiced by the ethnic Vietnamese, is mainly of the Mahayana tradition and is the main religion. Buddhism may have first come to Vietnam as early as th ...
*
Korean Buddhism Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, the ...
Some traditions of
Buddhism in Japan Buddhism has been practiced in Japan since about the 6th century CE. Japanese Buddhism () created many new Buddhist schools, and some schools are original to Japan and some are derived from Chinese Buddhist schools. Japanese Buddhism has had ...
and Korea also carry out full monastic ordination, but most do not. Instead, these traditions have priests and monastics who take the
Bodhisattva Precepts The Bodhisattva Precepts ( Skt. ''bodhisattva-śīla'', , ja, bosatsukai) are a set of ethical trainings (''śīla'') used in Mahāyāna Buddhism to advance a practitioner along the path to becoming a bodhisattva. Traditionally, monastics obser ...
instead of the traditional pratimokṣa vows.


Tibetan Buddhism

The pratimokṣa of the
Mulasarvastivada The Mūlasarvāstivāda (Sanskrit: मूलसर्वास्तिवाद; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools of India. The origins of the Mūlasarvāstivāda and their relationship to the Sarvāstivāda sect still remain largely u ...
lineage followed in
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in maj ...
is taken for life unless one or more of the four root vows are broken. In Tibetan Buddhism, there are eight types of Pratimokṣa vows:


Vows for laity

* Fasting Vows (''Upavasa'', nyungne) — 8 vows * Layperson's Vows (''skt.''
Upāsaka and Upāsikā Upāsaka (masculine) or Upāsikā (feminine) are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant". This is the title of followers of Buddhism (or, historically, of Gautama Buddha) who are not monks, nuns, or novice monastics in a Buddhist order, ...
, genyen) — 5 vows The lay pratimokṣa consists of five vows that are also known as the Five
Śīla Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on what Buddhists view as the enlightened perspective of the Buddha. The term for ethics or morality used in Buddhism is ''Śīla'' or ''sīla'' (Pāli). ''Śīla'' in Buddhism is one of three sections of ...
s: # To refrain from killing. # To refrain from stealing. # To refrain from false speech. # To refrain from sexual misconduct. # To refrain from using intoxicants. One is not obliged to take all five vows. The commentaries describe seven types of lay followers: # Promising to keep just one vow. # Promising to keep certain vows. # Promising to keep most of them. # Promising to keep all five. # Keeping all five and also promising to keep the pure conduct of avoiding sexual contact. # Keeping all five, pure conduct, and wearing robes with the promise to behave like a monk or a nun. # Lay follower of mere refuge. This person is unable to keep the vows but he promises to go for refuge to the triple gem until death.


Vows for monastics

# Novices' Vows (
śrāmaṇera 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 ...
getsul; śrāmaṇerī, getsulma) — 36 vows # Full Nun's Vows ( bhikṣuni, gelongma) — 364 vows # Full Monk's Vows ( bhikṣu, gelong) — 253 vows Only full monks and full nuns are seen as full members of the Buddhist monastic order. A group of four fully ordained monastics is seen as a
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 t ...
. The prātimokṣa tells also how to purify faults, how to solve conflicts, and deal with various situations which can happen in the sangha.


See also

*
Early Buddhist schools The early Buddhist schools are those schools into which the Buddhist monastic saṅgha split early in the history of Buddhism. The divisions were originally due to differences in Vinaya and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographi ...
*
First Buddhist council __NOTOC__ The First Buddhist council was a gathering of senior monks of the Buddhist order convened just after Gautama Buddha's death, which according to Buddhist tradition was c. 483 BCE, though most modern scholars place it around 400 BCE. T ...
* Second Buddhist council * Muzha (given name)


Bibliography


Indian Buddhism

*


Tibetan Buddhism

* Novice Vows: Lama Mipham's commentary to Nagarjunas "Stanzas for a Novice Monk" together with "Essence of the ocean of Vinaya" by Tsongkhapa (LTWA India) * Full Monk Vows: "Advice from Buddha Sahkyamuni" by HH the 14th Dalai Lama, (LTWA India) * Complete Explanation of the Pratimokṣa, Bodhisattva and Vajrayana Vows: "Buddhist Ethics" (Treasury of Knowledge: Book Five), Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye, , Snow Lion Publications * Monastic Rites by Geshe Jampa Thegchok, Wisdom Books, * Ngari Panchen: ''Perfect Conduct: Ascertaining the Three Vows'', Wisdom Publication, (Commentary on the three sets of vows by Dudjom Rinpoche)


Notes


External links


Sects & Sectarianism — The origins of Buddhist Schools


(Mulasarvastavada Lineage)



by Venerable Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron and Thich Nhat Hanh {{Buddhism topics Buddhist oaths Vinaya