The Pratimokṣa () is a list of rules (contained within the ''

vinaya 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 ...

'') 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 Sanskrit word that means "wandering" as well as "world," wherein the term connotes "cyclic change" or, less formally, "running around in circles." ''Saṃsāra'' is referred to with terms or p ...

). It became customary to recite these rules once a fortnight at a meeting of 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 ...

during which confession would traditionally take place. A number of prātimokṣa codes are extant, including those contained in the Theravāda,

Mahāsāṃghika The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi script, Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha (Buddhism), Sangha", ) was a major division (nikāya) of the early Buddhist schools in India. They were one of the two original communities th ...

, Mahīśāsaka,

Dharmaguptaka The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools from the ancient region of Gandhara, now Pakistan. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas f ...

, Sarvāstivāda and Mūlasarvāstivāda

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 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 ...

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 ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...

two additional set of vows: The

Bodhisattva vow Gandharan relief depicting the ascetic Megha ( Shakyamuni in a past life) prostrating before the past Buddha Dīpaṅkara, c. 2nd century CE ( Swat_District.html" ;"title="Gandhara, Swat District">Swat Valley) The Bodhisattva vow is a vow (Sans ...

s 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 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 ...

in the ''Vinaya Piṭaka''. The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya is preserved in both the Tibetan Buddhist canon in the '' Kangyur'', 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), 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

sect are known to have rejected the authority of the Sarvāstivāda 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 Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

equivalent of Pratimokṣa (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

). It is being followed by the monks of the

Theravada ''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 ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

lineage (Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos). It consists of 227 rules for fully ordained monks (

bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the pratimok� ...

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

Vinaya lineage of the pratimokṣa, and this is standard for the following Buddhist traditions: *

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...

* Buddhism in Vietnam *

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, they ...

Some traditions of

Buddhism in Japan Buddhism was first established in Japan in the 6th century CE. Most of the Japanese Buddhists belong to new schools of Buddhism which were established in the Kamakura period (1185－1333). During the Edo period (1603–1868), Buddhism was cont ...

and Korea also carry out full monastic ordination, but most do not. Instead, these traditions have priests and monastics who take the Bodhisattva Precepts instead of the traditional pratimokṣa vows.

Tibetan Buddhism

The pratimokṣa of the Mulasarvastivada lineage followed in

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

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, genyen) — 5 vows The lay pratimokṣa consists of five vows that are also known as the Five

Śīla Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on the Enlightenment in Buddhism, enlightened perspective of the Buddha. In Buddhism, ethics or morality are understood by the term ''śīla'' () or ''sīla'' (Pāli). ''Śīla'' is one of three sections o ...

s: # To refrain from killing. # To refrain from stealing. # To refrain from sexual misconduct. # To refrain from false speech. # 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 getsul;

śrāmaṇerī A (Pali; ), is a novice male monk in a Buddhist context. A female novice nun is in , and in or . In Tibetan Buddhism, a female novice nun is known by the Lhasa Tibetan, Tibetan language term , and a male novice monk is a .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

. The prātimokṣa tells also how to purify faults, how to solve conflicts, and deal with various situations which can happen in the sangha.

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 Sakyamuni" 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

Overview

Texts

Pratimokṣa in Buddhist traditions

Indian Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism

East Asian Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Vows for laity

Vows for monastics

See also

Bibliography

Indian Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Notes

External links