Vinaya Piṭaka
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The ''Vinaya Piṭaka'' (English: ''Basket of Discipline'') is the first of the three divisions of the
Pali Tripitaka The Pāḷi 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. Accor ...
, the definitive canonical collection of
scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...
of
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 ...
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
. The other two parts of the Tripiṭaka are the
Sutta Piṭaka The ''Sutta Piṭaka'' (also referred to as ''Sūtra Piṭaka'' or ''Suttanta Piṭaka''; English: ''Basket of Discourse'') is the second of the three division of the Pali Tripitaka, the definitive canonical collection of scripture of Therava ...
and the
Abhidhamma Piṭaka The ''Abhidhamma Piṭaka'' (English: ''Basket of Higher Doctrine;'' ) is the third of the three divisions of the Pali Tripitaka, the definitive canonical collection of scripture of Theravada Buddhism. The other two parts of the Tripiṭaka ...
. Its primary subject matter is the
monastic Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...
rules of conduct for
monks A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
and
nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of Evangelical counsels, poverty, chastity, and obedience in the Enclosed religious orders, enclosure of a monastery or convent.' ...
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 ...
''.


Origins

According to tradition, the
Tripiṭaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons.
was compiled at the First Council shortly after
the 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 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 Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a classical Middle Indo-Aryan language of 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 '' Therav ...
Vinaya consists of: *
Suttavibhaṅga Suttavibhanga (, Pali for "rule analysis") is the first book of the Theravadin Vinaya Pitaka. It is a commentary on the community rules ( Patimokkha). The general form of the commentary is that each rule is preceded by a story telling how the ...
:
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 (bhikkhuni, bhikkhuṇīs). It is contained in the Suttavibhanga, Suttavibhaṅga, a ...
and commentary ** Mahāvibhaṅga: rules for monks ** Bhikkhunīvibhaṅga: rules for nuns *
Khandhaka Khandhaka is the second book of the Theravadin ''Vinaya Pitaka'' and includes the following two volumes: * Mahāvagga: includes accounts of Gautama Buddha's and the ten principal disciples' awakenings, as well as rules for uposatha days and mona ...
: 22 chapters on various topics *
Parivāra Parivāra (Pāli for "accessory") is the third and last book of the Theravādin Vinaya Pitaka. It includes a summary and multiple analyses of the various rules identified in the Vinaya Pitaka's first two books, the Suttavibhanga and the Khandh ...
: analyses of rules from various points of view 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 ...
version of the Patimokkha contains 227 rules for
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 rules for bhikkhunis. The Vibhaṅga sections consist of commentary on these rules, giving detailed explanations of them along with the origin stories for each rule. The Khandhaka section gives numerous supplementary rules grouped by subject that also consist of origin stories.


Place in the tradition

According to the sutras, in the first years of the Buddha's teaching 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 ...
lived together in harmony with no vinaya, as there was no need, because all of the
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
's early
disciples A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...
were highly realized if not fully enlightened. As 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 ...
expanded, situations arose which the
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
and the lay community felt were inappropriate for
mendicant A mendicant (from , "begging") is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, Mendicant orders, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many i ...
s. The first rule to be established was the prohibition against sexual intercourse. The origin story tells of an earnest monk whose family was distraught that there was no male heir and so persuaded the monk to impregnate his former wife. All three—the monk, his wife and son, the latter of whom later ordained—eventually became fully enlightened
arhats In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth. The unde ...
. The Buddha called his teaching the "Dhamma-Vinaya", emphasizing both the philosophical teachings of Buddhism as well as the training in virtue that embodies that philosophy. Shortly before his death, the Buddha clarified to his disciples through
Ānanda Ānanda (Pali and Sanskrit: आनंद; 5th4th century BCE) was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts of ...
:


See also

*
Abhidhamma Pitaka The Theravada Abhidhamma tradition, also known as the Abhidhamma Method, refers to a scholastic systematization of the Theravada, Theravāda school's understanding of the highest Buddhist teachings (Abhidharma, Abhidhamma). These teachings are t ...
*
Access to Insight Access to Insight is a Theravada Buddhist website providing access to many translated texts from the Tipitaka, and contemporary materials published by the Buddhist Publication Society and many teachers from the Thai Forest Tradition. History Ac ...
*
Buddhist Publication Society The Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) is a publishing house with charitable status, whose objective is to disseminate the teachings of Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka, in 1958 by two Sri Lankan lay Buddhists, A.S. Karunaratn ...
*
Dhamma Society Fund Dhamma Society Fund, formally known as The M.L. Maniratana Bunnag Dhamma Society Fund under the Patronage His Holiness Somdet Phra Ñāṇasaṃvara the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, is a charitable organisation in the Buddhist Theravāda Tradit ...
*
List of suttas Suttas from the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon. * List of Digha Nikaya suttas * List of Majjhima Nikaya suttas * List of Samyutta Nikaya suttas * List of Anguttara Nikaya suttas * List of Khuddaka Nikaya suttas See also * Buddhist texts * I ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
Pariyatti (bookstore) Pariyatti is a nonprofit organization focused on the Theravadan tradition, based in Onalaska, Washington. It publishes, distributes, sells and donates books and media devoted to the teachings of the Buddha. It has been called "North A ...
*
Sutta Piṭaka The ''Sutta Piṭaka'' (also referred to as ''Sūtra Piṭaka'' or ''Suttanta Piṭaka''; English: ''Basket of Discourse'') is the second of the three division of the Pali Tripitaka, the definitive canonical collection of scripture of Therava ...
*
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 ...
* Upāli


References


Sources

*


Literature

* Davids, T. W. Rhys, Oldenberg, Hermann (joint tr): Vinaya texts, Oxford, The Clarendon press 1881
Vol.1Vol.2Vol.3
Internet Archive


External links


Pali Canon online: Vinaya Pitaka in English



Access to Insight translation

Translation by Isaline Blew Horner
{{Buddhism topics Theravada Buddhist texts