… When the Buddha referred to his teaching of the Dhamma and the Vinaya, he’d use different words for how he taught. The Vinaya was something he formulated. In other words, he had to put together the rules for there to be a Vinaya. But the Dhamma’s something already there, and so he said that the Dhamma was something he simply pointed out …
… I will speak.”
“Yes, lord,” Subhadda responded to the Blessed One, and the Blessed One said, “In any Dhamma & Vinaya where the noble eightfold path is not found, no contemplative of the first… second… third… fourth order [stream-winner, once-returner, non-returner, or arahant] is found. But in any Dhamma & Vinaya where the noble eightfold path is found, contemplatives of the first… second …
… Thus, taken as a whole, the Vinaya’s system of penalties makes use of three basic principles—confession, forfeiture, and various degrees of ostracism from the Community—as means of enforcing the rules. To understand the wisdom of this system, it is important to realize how each of these principles is related to the practice of the Dhamma and the training of the mind …
… Having been admonished by a fellow bhikkhu who cites a rule formulated in the Vinaya, one shows disrespect
2) Object: for the bhikkhu or for the rule.
We will discuss these factors in reverse order.
Object
Only if the bhikkhu cites a rule formulated in the Vinaya is this factor grounds for a pācittiya. If he criticizes one’s actions, citing standards of behavior …
… His instructions to Gotami, his stepmother, and his instructions to Upali, the monk who was expert in Vinaya, all boil down to the fact that if you want to figure out what’s really Dhamma and really Vinaya, you have to look at what kind of behavior it encourages, and what kind of results come from the behavior it encourages. If you find that …
… disciples.
Uposatha: Observance day, coinciding with the full moon, new moon, and half moons. Lay Buddhists often observe the eight precepts on this day. “Uposatha” also refers to the ceremony in which monks meet to listen to the recitation of the Pāṭimokkha on the full moon and new moon uposathas.
Vinaya: The monastic discipline, whose rules and traditions comprise six volumes in printed text.
… used in ancient India for a person who has attained the highest religious goal. In Buddhism, it usually denotes the Buddha, although occasionally it also denotes any of his arahant disciples.
Vinaya: The monastic discipline, whose rules and traditions comprise six volumes in printed text.
Yakkha: Spirit; a lower level of deva—sometimes friendly to human beings, sometimes not—often dwelling in trees or …
… The Vinaya, his monastic discipline, imposes only a minor penalty on a monk who refuses to care for a fellow monk who is sick or dying, or who totally abandons a sick monk before the latter recovers or dies. And there’s no penalty for withholding or discontinuing a specific medical treatment. So the rules convey no message that the failure to keep life …
… In fact, I know one teacher who has made
lots of changes in the Vinaya, saying the Buddha is our father, so
he’d be happy to see his children bringing things up to date.
But the Buddha warned against changes in the Dhamma, again and again
and again. His image was of a drum. There were drums back in the old
days where …
… After treating the origins of the first pārājika rule, the chant then quotes the first passage of the entire Vinaya Piṭaka. The second part quotes the first passage in the Suttanta Piṭaka, the beginning of the Brahmajāla Sutta (DN 1). The last part quotes the first passage from each of the seven books of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, giving an elided version of the beginning …
… In the Vinaya, there’s only a minor penalty for abandoning a sick monk—i.e., you stop treating the patient—and there’s no penalty at all for withholding treatment.
Here we need to provide some context: Our training as monks is governed both by the Dhamma and by the Vinaya. Instructions in the Vinaya are expressed as rules; instructions in the Dhamma …
… She is an exponent of the Dhamma, she is an exponent of the Vinaya. She acts with our consent and approval. She knows, she speaks for us, and that is pleasing to us,” the bhikkhunīs are to admonish them thus: “Do not say that, ladies. That bhikkhunī is not an exponent of the Dhamma and she is not an exponent of the Vinaya. Do …
… it usually denotes the Buddha, although occasionally it also denotes any of his arahant disciples.
Uposatha: Observance day, coinciding with the full moon, new moon, and half moons. Lay Buddhists often observe the eight precepts on this day. Monks recite the Pāṭimokkha on the full moon and new moon uposathas.
Vinaya: The monastic discipline, whose rules and traditions comprise six volumes in printed text.
… The Buddha’s own name for the religion he founded was ‘this dhamma-vinaya’—this doctrine and discipline.
Viññāṇa: Consciousness; sensory cognizance.
Vipassanā:Clear intuitive insight into physical and mental phenomena as they arise and disappear, seeing them as they are in terms of the three characteristics and the four Noble Truths (see ti-lakkhaṇa and ariya-sacca).
* * *
If anything in this translation is …
… There’s a passage in one of the commentaries that says that you can
take that sutta on the four customs of the noble ones and you can
derive the entire Dharma and Vinaya from it. The Vinaya comes out of
the first three: your relationship to food, clothing, and shelter. The
entire Dhamma comes out of the last custom, which is to learn …
… to indicate anything constructed or influenced by the mind. Listed as the fourth of the five aggregates, it is also involved in the production of all five.
Sutta: Discourse.
Theravāda: The Teachings of the Elders. The branch of Buddhism that bases its teachings on the Pāli Canon, the earliest extant record of the Buddha’s teachings.
Vinaya: The monastic discipline.
Vipassanā: Clear-seeing insight.
[ Mahāvagga Contents ]
I mahākhandhako
The Great Khandhaka
1 bodhikathā: The Discussion of the Bodhi (Tree)
2 ajapālakathā: The Discussion of the Goatherd’s (Banyan Tree)
3 mucalindakathā: The Discussion of Mucalinda
4 rājāyatanakathā: The Discussion of the Rājāyatana [King’s Realm] (Tree)
5 brahmayācanakathā: The Discussion of the Brahmā’s Request
6 pañcavaggiyakathā: The Discussion of the Group-of-five
7 pabbajjākathā: The Discussion …
… the Buddha, although occasionally it also denotes any of his arahant disciples.
Uposatha: Observance day, coinciding with the full moon, new moon, and half moons. Lay Buddhists often observe the eight precepts on this day. Monks recite the Pāṭimokkha, the monastic code, on the full moon and new moon uposathas.
Vinaya: The monastic discipline, whose rules and traditions comprise six volumes in printed text.
… Membership in the conventional Saṅgha is attained through consent of the Order, in a formal ceremony with witnesses, following the procedures set out in the Vinaya. Membership in the Noble Saṅgha is attained when the quality of transcendence (lokuttara dhamma) appears in one’s heart as a result of one’s own behavior and practice, with no formalities of any sort whatsoever. All Buddhists …
… He gives her eight
principles for testing what counts as genuine Dhamma, genuine Vinaya.
The principles fall into three types. There are those that are related
to the ultimate goal in the practice. There are those that are related
to qualities we have to develop within ourselves as we practice, and
the third type includes qualities that have to do with our
relationship with …
Chapter 7: Questions Put Aside: I | Skill in Questions: How the Buddha Taught
… I will speak.” “Yes, lord,” Subhadda responded to the Blessed One, and the Blessed One said, “In any Dhamma & Vinaya where the noble eightfold path is not found, no contemplative of the first… second… third… fourth order [stream-winner, once-returner, non-returner, or arahant] is found. But in any Dhamma & Vinaya where the noble eightfold path is found, contemplatives of the first… second …
Bhikkhunī Pāṭimokkha | The Bhikkhunīs’ Code of Discipline
… She is an exponent of the Dhamma, she is an exponent of the Vinaya. She acts with our consent and approval. She knows, she speaks for us, and that is pleasing to us,” the bhikkhunīs are to admonish them thus: “Do not say that, ladies. That bhikkhunī is not an exponent of the Dhamma and she is not an exponent of the Vinaya. Do …
