PATIMOKKHA
PRESENTED BY:
the Wanderling
PATIMOKKHA, also Pratimoksa, is the name given to a set of two hundred and twenty seven rules to be observed by members of the Buddhist Order. The rules are not ethical but mainly economic, regulating the behaviour of the members of the Order towards one another in respect of clothes, dwellings, furniture, etc., held in common. In four cases out of the two hundred and twenty seven the punishment for infringement of a rule is exclusion from the Order; in all the remaining cases, it is merely suspension for a time. The Buddha also delivered the Ovada-Patimokkha Gatha --- or Patimokkha Exhortation --- a summary of sorts of the main points of the Dharma which the Buddha delivered to assembled monks before sending them out to proclaim the Doctrine (that summary appears below toward the bottom of the page).
The rules are arranged in seven sections
- Parajika********************(defeat)
- Sanghadisesa*************(entailing Communal meetings)
- Nissaggiya Pacittiya*****(entailing forfeiture and confession)
- Pacittiya*******************(entailing confession)
- Patidesaniya**************(entailing acknowledgement)
- Sekhiya********************(trainings)
- Adhikarana Samatha****(the settlement of issues)
corresponding very roughly to the degree of weight attached to their observance.
If a monk breaks one of the four most serious rules -- The Parajikas -- he is expelled from the Community for life.
- Should any bhikkhu -- participating in the training and livelihood of the bhikkhus, without having renounced the training, without having declared his weakness -- engage in the sexual act, even with a female animal, he is defeated and no longer in communion.
NOTE:
From the Five Precepts, No. 3:
Kamesu micchacara veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct.
From the Ten Grave Precepts, No. 3
"There is no sexual misconduct."
For some, this might mean celibacy, particularly for monks of the Northern Mountain Order. In other cases, not. The point is that all is original purity and dignity. In the light of this, how can we seduce or coerce another against their will? How can we sink our awareness into obsessiveness over glands and glamour? Sexual love arises clearly and purely between two persons. It is openness and warmth and communication. How can we choose to defile such an act with pettiness? How can we take something so simple and attach to it images of coersion, dominance and power and submission?
Bodhidharma: Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the ungilded Dharma, not creating a veneer of attachment is called the Precept of Not Misusing Sex.Dogen Zenji: The Three Wheels are pure and clear. When you have nothing to desire, you follow the way of all Buddhas.
CAN HOUSEHOLDERS INDULGE IN SENSUOUS PLEASURES?
The TEXT(*) only says that 'one who has gone forth from the worldly life should not indulge in sensuous pleasures'. The question, therefore, arises whether ordinary householders who remain amidst the worldly surroundings could freely pursue sensuous pleasures without any restraint. Since the gratification of sense desires is the pre-occupation of common people, it would be pointless to enjoin them from doing so. But the householder intent on practising the Noble Dharma, should advisedly avoid these pleasures to the extent necessary for the practice. Observance of The Five Precepts requires abstaining from any participation in sexual misconduct. Likewise, possession of worldly goods should not be sought through killing, theft or deceit.
SEE ALSO: TOWARD A NEW SPIRITUAL ETHIC
(*)THE GREAT DISCOURSE ON THE WHEEL OF DHAMMA PART II
(Delivered on the 6th Waxing Day of Thadingyut, 1324, B.E)
NOTE: The term "direct knowledge" as used above refers to Enlightenment. "Without direct knowledge" would be a person in an un-Enlightened or pre-Attainment state. It should be remembered, even though it is repeatedly claimed over and over to be otherwise, the Buddha himself, post-Attainment, according to the Sutras, said flatout in clear, plain language that he was indeed Enlightened:
When the Buddha was walking along the road to Benares following his post-Enlightenment pause he was approached by a wandering ascetic. According to the custom of the time the ascetic greeted him and asked who his teacher was or what doctrine he followed. The Buddha told the wanderling that he was "the Victor and Conqueror of the World, superior to gods and men, an All-Enlightened One beholden to no teacher." The wandering ascetic could see no hint of anything of the Buddha's nature and wandered off as wanderlings are oft to do, mumbling under his breath something like, "If it were only so!" If a monk breaks one of the next most serious classes of the rules -- the sanghadisesas -- he is put on probation for six days, during which time he is stripped of his seniority, is not trusted to go anywhere unaccompanied by four other monks of regular standing, and daily has to confess his offense to every monk who lives in or happens to visit the monastery. At the end of his probation, twenty monks have to be convened to reinstate him to his original status. See also The Five Precepts The next three levels of rules -- nissaggiya pacittiya, pacittiya, and patidesaniya -- entail simple confession to a fellow monk, although the NP rules involved an article that has to be forfeited -- in most cases temporarily, although in a few cases the object has to be forfeited for good, in which case the offender has to confess his offense to the entire Community.
The Pátimokkha is NOT included in the extant Buddhist
Canon. The rules ARE included, in the Sutta Vibhanga ("sutta" here meaning
"rule"), which contains besides the rules themselves, an old Commentary
explaining them and a new Commentary containing further supplementary
information concerning them. The rules are divided into two parts: one for the
monks (Bhikkhu Pátimokkha) and the other for the nuns
(Bhikkhukní Pátimokkha). It is a moot point whether
the rules originally appeared with the explanatory notes (as in the Vibhanga),
the Pátimokkha being subsequently extracted, or whether the Pátimokkha alone was
the older portion, the additional matter of the Vibhanga being the work of a
subsequent revision.
Noted Pali author and historian Dr. Bimala Churn Law has suggested in his works that the
original number of Pátimokkha rules numbered only about one hundred and fifty. A
passage in the Anguttara Nikáya (i.231-232) is quoted in support of this
suggestion (sádhikam diyaddhasikkhápadasatam). According to this theory the
seventy five Sekhiyá rules were added later. Law's
argument is that the Pátimokkha rules were NOT among the texts recited at
the First Buddhist Council, is due to a wrong understanding of the Sumangala Vilásiní
passage (i.17). The rules were recited at the gatherings of members of the
Order (the Uposatha khandha of the Mahá Vagga [Vin.i.101 36] gives details of
the procedure at these gatherings) in their respective districts on uposatha
days (the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month). Each section of the rules
is recited and, at the end of such recital, the reciter asks the members of the
Order who are present if any one of them has infringed any of the rules. Silence
implies absence of guilt. This practice of interrupting the recital seems to
have been changed later even though the old formula, asking
the members to speak, continued as a part of the recital. The word pátimokkha is variously explained, the oldest
explanation being that the observance of the rules is the face (mukham), the
chief (pamukham) of good qualities. The Sanskrit-ised form of the word being
pratimoksa, led to a change in its significance, the completion of the
recital being evidence that all those who have taken part are pure in respect of
the specified offences. Pátimokkha thus meaning
acquittal, deliverance or discharge. But in most contexts the word simply means
code, that is, a code of verses for the Members of
the Order. For a detailed account see: Introduction to the Patimokkha Rules Taking all of the above into consideration, the following regarding the repetition of scriptures et al, as viewed from the Buddha and the Sutras should hold some interest as well: The Buddha said that neither the repetition of holy scriptures, nor self-torture, nor sleeping on the ground, nor the repetition of prayers, penances, hymns, charms, Mantras, incantations and invocations can bring us the real happiness of Nirvana. Instead the Buddha emphasized the importance of making individual effort in order to achieve our spiritual goals. He likened it to a man wanting to cross a river; sitting down and praying will not suffice, but he must make the effort to build a raft or a bridge. (source)
Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration that 'The monk is your teacher.' (source)
The Lesser and Minor Training Rules
Before the Buddha passed away, he said to Venerable Ananda, “After my passing, the Sangha may, if it wishes, abolish the lesser and minor training rules” (khuddanukhuddakani sikkhapadani D.ii.154). However, Ananda neglected to ask the Buddha which rules were the lesser and minor precepts. At the First Buddhist Council, soon after the Buddha’s demise, the five hundred Arahants were also not unanimous about this matter, and they blamed Ananda for not asking about it. Some Arahants said, “Apart from the four offenses of defeat, the remainder are lesser and minor.” Others said, “Apart from the four offenses of defeat and the thirteen offenses requiring formal meeting, the rest are lesser and minor.” Others said, “… and the two indeterminate offenses, the rest are lesser and minor.” Others said, “… and the thirty offenses requiring expiation with forfeiture, the rest are lesser and minor offenses.” Others said, “… and the ninety-two offenses requiring expiation, the rest are lesser and minor.” Others said, “… and four offenses requiring confession, the rest are lesser and minor.”
Since there were different opinions, Venerable Mahakassapa addressed the monks saying: “People will say, ‘While the Buddha was alive the monks followed the training rules, but after his passing away they do not.’ So we should continue to train ourselves in all of the precepts.” Thus the five hundred Arahants agreed not to abolish any training rules. Not one of the later Councils abolished any training rules either.
That was the decision made by the five hundred Arahants, and all later Buddhist Councils, so the monks of the present day must also train themselves in all of the training precepts. There is no legitimate reason to ignore a single one of them. Nevertheless, one should distinguish between serious, medium, and minor offenses.
To abstain from all evil, To speak no ill, to do no harm,
OVADA PATIMOKKHA
Forbearance is the best austerity,
"Nibbana is supreme", say the Buddhas.
He is not one gone forth who harms another.
He is not a recluse who molests others.
To cultivate what is wholesome,
To purify one's mind:
This is the Message of the Buddhas.
To keep the rules,
To eat enough but not too much,
To live apart and meditate,
This is the Message of the Buddhas.
CUTTING THE CAT INTO ONE: The Practice of Bodhisattva Precepts
PINDOLA SUTRA
VIBHANGA
The collective name for two closely connected works of the Vinaya Pitaka, which, in manuscripts, are generally called Párájiká and Pácittiya.
The collection is considered to be an extensive treatise on the Pátimokkha rules, giving the occasion for the formulating of each rule, with some explanation or illustration of various terms employed in the wording of the rule. The rule is sometimes further illustrated by reference to cases which come within it and to others which form exceptions to it.
The collection is also called Sutta Vibhanga and is divided into two parts, the Bhikkhu Vibhanga and the Bhikkhuní-Vibhanga.