… That’s why he was very strict in his observance of the Vinaya and the
ascetic practices—and it caused a lot of controversy.
I was recently reading a conversation between Ajaan Chah and some lay
people. He talked about how Ajaan Mun and Ajaan Sao tended to create
controversy wherever they went. The ecclesiastical head of that area
had asked them to go …
… nor pain.
Vijjā: Clear knowledge; genuine awareness; science (specifically, the cognitive powers developed through the practice of concentration and discernment).
Vimutti: Release; freedom from the fabrications and conventions of the mind.
Vinaya: The disciplinary rules of the monastic order.
Viññāṇa: Cognizance; consciousness; the act of taking note of sense data and ideas as they occur.
* * *
If anything in this translation is inaccurate or misleading …
… And, as is
explained in the Vinaya, the precepts for monks serve several
purposes, internal and external. Some of them are there for training
the mind; others are there for creating calm, peace, and harmony in
the community; still others are there so that the community inspires
respect. If monks are squabbling or competing with one another to get
fancy things, it doesn’t …
… If he
hadn’t had a strong sense of right and wrong, he wouldn’t have set
forth the Vinaya, he wouldn’t have established the precepts. He
wouldn’t have pointed out that there are lots of views out there that
are dead wrong, that cause people to suffer, that keep people in the
round of rebirth, that prevent them from finding any …
… Let me obtain the Going-forth in the Blessed One’s presence, let me obtain Acceptance [into the Saṅgha of monks].”
“Anyone, Kassapa, who has previously belonged to another sect and who desires the Going-forth & Acceptance in this Dhamma & Vinaya, must first undergo probation for four months. If, at the end of four months, the monks feel so moved, they give him the …
… This is in sharp contrast to the Vinayas of some of the other early schools, such as the Mūlasarvāstivādins, who went to great lengths to prohibit non-Buddhist kings from later rescinding such arrangements. This point argues for the relative lateness of these rules in the other Vinayas: The Buddha was not so foolish as to try to legislate for kings.
The Canon does …
… But the
monk was learned & well versed in the tradition, had memorized
the Dhamma, the Vinaya, & the Mātikās,152 was wise, competent,
knowledgeable, scrupulous, anxious (not to commit an offense), &
desirous of training.
And so the monk went to his like-minded companions and said,
“This is a non-offense. This is not an offense. I have not fallen
into an offense. It’s …
… According to the Commentary, “here” can mean either here in the human realm or here in the Dhamma-Vinaya of a Buddha.
See also: AN 3:77–78; AN 3:85–87; AN 4:123–126; Ud 4:4
… And it’s forbidden in the Vinaya, in the meal protocols. Just now I didn’t give a full explanation. The Vinaya says that when a monk makes use of the four requisites—cloth, almsfood, medicine, and lodgings: In the area of food, it says that if you bring it back to eat but you don’t eat it all, you should take care …
… It’s related to Vinaya, the discipline.
Discipline is a word we don’t like. We tend to think of it as having
to do with punishment and harsh regulations. But it’s simply a choice
that you’re making. You’re learning from your past experience that
some of your desires are in your best interest, and some of your
desires are not …
… Vineyya, the verb used here, is a
verb that’s related to a Vinaya, or discipline. You discipline those
thoughts. You don’t give them any space in your mind.
Now, there are times when the Buddha will have you think in terms of
how the world is, mainly for the sake of samvega, but also for the
sake of understanding action: the power …
… This is also an issue in a famous story from the Vinaya. The different
cousins of the Buddha were planning to ordain, and there was one who
wasn’t quite sure whether he wanted to ordain or not. So one of the
other cousins said, “Well, what do you think you’re going to have to
do if you stay as a lay person …
… It’s related to Vinaya, the discipline.
Discipline is a word we don’t like. We tend to think of it as having to do with punishment and harsh regulations. But it’s simply a choice that you’re making. You’re learning from your past experience that some of your desires are in your best interest, and some of your desires are not …
… But he took the Vinaya and combined it with the forest practice and so rediscovered the way to Awakening.
At that time the Thai Buddhist hierarchy had decided that the way to nibbana was closed. Nobody seemed to be going that way — that was the official line. They even had made a survey of meditation temples to prove it. And Ajaan Mun had to …
… The second group contains those who study on their own – listening to sermons, reading textbooks, studying the Vinaya, Suttas, and Abhidhamma; discussing questions with one another (dhamma-sākacchā), which can lead to understanding on a higher level, so that one may apply one’s knowledge to training oneself.
Both groups are classed as being on the elementary level of education in the study of …
… So keep that in mind as you’re practicing, when you find yourself running up against something you’ve got to give up, either because of the Vinaya or because of the way we live here. Remember that it’s a trade, not a deprivation. If everything were really easy here, you’d start getting lazy, and your work on your inner resources would …
… As he said, the Dhamma
and the Vinaya are timeless, and we have to have pride in our timeless
tradition in order to maintain it.
Now, you do have to be careful about that pride. You notice in the
sutta on the customs of the noble ones, the Buddha said that you’re
careful to be frugal and content with little, but at the …
… sā vo bhavissati aññamaññānulomatā āpattivuṭṭhānatā vinayapurekkhāratā.
“That will be for your mutual conformity, for your arising out of offenses, for your esteem for the Vinaya.
(Mv.IV.1.14) evañca pana bhikkhave pavāretabbaṁ.
“And, monks, you should invite like this:
byattena bhikkhunā paṭibalena saṅgho ñāpetabbo
“An experienced and competent monk should inform the Saṅgha:
suṇātu me bhante saṅgho ajja pavāraṇā.
“‘Venerable sirs, may the …
… In some cases, it was in the form of the
rules, like the rules in the Vinaya. In other cases, there were more
general principles about how certain actions lead to happiness, and
other actions lead to long-term suffering. Based on that, you can
decide; he gives you principles for deciding. And he attacked any
teaching that would not provide you with those …
… To see intention
explained, you have to look into the Vinaya, the monk’s rules. There
you see intention defined basically as meaning to do something.
An unintentional act is when you didn’t mean to do it, or you meant to
do it but you didn’t mean to have certain results come about. For
instance, if somebody is choking on some food …
Glossary | Straight from the Heart : Thirteen Talks on the Practice of Meditation
… nor pain. Vijjā: Clear knowledge; genuine awareness; science (specifically, the cognitive powers developed through the practice of concentration and discernment). Vimutti: Release; freedom from the fabrications and conventions of the mind. Vinaya: The disciplinary rules of the monastic order. Viññāṇa: Cognizance; consciousness; the act of taking note of sense data and ideas as they occur. * * * If anything in this translation is inaccurate or misleading …
SN 12:17 Acela Sutta | To the Clothless Ascetic
… Let me obtain the Going-forth in the Blessed One’s presence, let me obtain Acceptance [into the Saṅgha of monks].” “Anyone, Kassapa, who has previously belonged to another sect and who desires the Going-forth & Acceptance in this Dhamma & Vinaya, must first undergo probation for four months. If, at the end of four months, the monks feel so moved, they give him the …
Discipline Is a Choice
… It’s related to Vinaya, the discipline. Discipline is a word we don’t like. We tend to think of it as having to do with punishment and harsh regulations. But it’s simply a choice that you’re making. You’re learning from your past experience that some of your desires are in your best interest, and some of your desires are not …
