Khandhaka is the second book of the

Theravadin ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' ( anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or '' Dhamma'' in ...

Vinaya Pitaka The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...

'' and includes the following two volumes: * Mahāvagga: includes accounts of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

's and the ten principal disciples'

awakenings ''Awakenings'' is a 1990 American biographical drama film written by Steven Zaillian, directed by Penny Marshall, and starring Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Stormare and Max ...

, as well as rules for

uposatha An Uposatha () day is a Buddhism, Buddhist day of observance, in existence since the Buddha's time (600 BCE), and still being kept today by Buddhist practitioners. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind, ...

days and monastic ordination. * Cullavagga: includes accounts of the First and

Second Buddhist council Since the Mahaparinirvana of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities, the "''sangha''", have periodically convened for doctrinal and disciplinary reasons and to revise and correct the contents of the Buddhist ...

s and the establishment of the community of bhikkhunis, as well as rules for addressing offenses within the

sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

(monastic community).

Origins

According to tradition, the Khandhaka was compiled at the first council, mentioned in the text, with the account of the first council added at the second and that of the second at the third. Scholars do not take this literally, but differ as to how far they disagree with it. Professor Erich Frauwallner argued in 1956 that the original version of this book was compiled at the second council, and this theory is still taken seriously by many scholars. For further scholarly opinions see

and

Pāli Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...

Outline

The Mahavagga has 10 chapters: # the first chapter is simply called the great chapter; it starts with a narrative beginning immediately after the Buddha's enlightenment and telling of the beginning of his preaching and foundation of the order of monks; it goes on to give rules on ordination and related matters # the second deals with the recitation of the Patimokkha, which is to take place every half month (at new and full moons) wherever there is a quorum of four monks # then comes provision for the retreat for three months in the rainy season, when monks are supposed to stay in one place except for specified reasons # at the end of the retreat they must invite their colleagues to say if they have any criticisms of their behaviour # the fifth chapter is called the chapter on hides and deals with various topics # the next chapter is on medicines; a passage authorizing inhalation of smoke through a tube is used by some modern monks to justify smokingRichard Randell, ''Life as a Siamese Monk'' # the next chapter is called '' kathina'', the process of making monastic robes, but is in fact about the exemptions granted monks from certain rules in consequence of this # robe material # a dispute between monks at Campa # a dispute at Kosambi The Cullavagga has 12 chapters: # the first deals with various procedures to be followed in dealing with badly behaved monks # the next deals with probation for monks guilty of certain offences (see '' Suttavibhanga'') # the next chapter deals with the case where a monk on probation commits a further offence # explanation of the seven rules for settling disputes (see ''Suttavibhanga'') # minor matters # lodgings # schism; this chapter starts with the story of

Devadatta Devadatta was by tradition a Buddhist monk, cousin and brother-in-law of Gautama Siddhārtha. The accounts of his life vary greatly, but he is generally seen as an evil and divisive figure in Buddhism, who led a breakaway group in the ear ...

, the Buddha's fellow clansman; he starts by inviting the elderly Buddha to retire and appoint him in his place; when this is refused he makes three attempts to assassinate the Buddha; when these fail he asks the Buddha to impose strict practices, including vegetarianism, on the monks; when this is refused he leads a schism # observances; various duties # a monk may suspend the recitation of the Patimokkha if another monk has an offence unconfessed # nuns; the Buddha, after being asked seven times, finally agrees to establish an order of nuns, but warns that it will weaken the teaching and shorten its lifetime, and imposes some rules organizing nuns' orders (more on this can be found in the Pali Canon, most notably the Kunala Jataka; for the other side see Therigatha) # shortly after the Buddha's death, Kassapa holds a council at which the teachings are recited; Upali answers questions on the vinaya and Ananda on the

dhamma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold'' or ''to support' ...

# a century later a dispute arises on various points, mainly on the acceptance of gold and silver; another council is held which agrees on the stricter position, after receiving advice from an aged pupil of Ananda

Translations

* ''Vinaya Texts'', tr T. W. Rhys Davids & Hermann Oldenberg, ''

Sacred Books of the East The ''Sacred Books of the East'' is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious texts, edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910. It incorporates the essential sacred texts ...

'', volumes XIII, XVII & XX, Clarendon/Oxford, 1881-5; reprinted Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi (&? Dover, New York
Vol. XIII, Mahavagga I-IVVol. XVII, Mahavagga V-X, Kullavagga I-IIIVol. XX, Kullavagga IV-XII
* ''The Book of the Discipline'', parts 4 & 5, tr I. B. Horner, Oxford 1951-2,

Pali Text Society The Pāli Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts." Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The ...

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Original pali Text Tipiṭaka (Devanagari)
on tipitaka.org (click on menu item चूळवग्गपाळि) retrieved 2018-09-04)]
"Mahavagga (selected texts)"
on www.accesstoinsight.org. Retrieved on 2007-05-14.

on www.accesstoinsight.org. Retrieved on 2007-05-14. {{Buddhism topics Vinaya Pitaka Theravada Buddhist texts