… He is totally released, I tell you, from suffering & stress.” —SN 22:39
“Just as the ocean has a single taste—that of salt—in the same way, this Dhamma-Vinaya has a single taste: that of release.” —Ud 5:5
In other words, the ability of the monks to give, in unison, the right answers to the Buddha’s questions does not fulfill …
… Assaji and Punabbasu were two of the six ringleaders of the notorious “group-of-six” monks, whose misbehavior led to the formulation of many rules in the Vinaya. (The group is named after the number of ringleaders, not the number of members, which—according to the Commentary—reached more than one thousand.) In the origin story to Saṅghādisesa 13, the monks led by Assaji …
CHAPTER FOUR
Food
The three main classes of food—staple foods, non-staple foods, and juice drinks—have already been discussed in BMC1 under the Food Chapter of the pācittiya rules. The question of making fruit allowable has been discussed under Pc 11. Here we will discuss aspects of the topic of food not covered in those passages.
Cooking & storing foods
One may not …
… Only those who can act in this manner are qualified for the Department of Spreading the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma and Vinaya.
* * *
When the duties of all these departments are fully observed by a community, a group, or an individual, they will help our religion to prosper and thrive. But as long as we are unable to fulfill these duties, the establishment …
… Let me obtain the Going-forth in the Blessed One’s presence, let me obtain Acceptance.”
“Anyone, Sabhiya, who has previously belonged to another sect and who desires the Going-forth & Acceptance into 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 Going-forth & accept him into …
… Listed in the origin story to the third rule in the monastic code (Pārājika 3), they are the only meditation instructions given in the Vinaya, the section of the Canon devoted to monastic discipline. This shows that they were considered indispensible guidance for those monks who might memorize only the Vinaya in the course of their monastic career.
In the discourses, the sixteen steps …
… Release
“Just as the ocean has a single taste—that of salt—in the same way, this Dhamma & Vinaya has a single taste: the taste of release.” — Ud 5:5
“Defiled by passion, the mind is not released. Defiled by ignorance, discernment does not develop. Thus from the fading of passion is there awareness-release. From the fading of ignorance is there discernment-release …
… These two kinds of questioning parallel what they do in a
cross-examination in the Vinaya. Say that monk A suspects monk B of
having committed an offense to the point where he was ready to accuse
him in the Sangha. The first step is to turn to monk C, who is an
expert in the monk’s rules and start asking him questions …
… That’s why we have the vinaya, to make sure that our life here together is a life conducive to the practice. People get along because they avoid harming one another. Instead of being a distraction, life in the community then becomes an aid to the practice. Instead of dwelling on what they don’t like about each other, the members of the community …
… Thus it is that many evil, unskillful qualities/events /actions—born of greed, caused by greed, originated through greed, conditioned by greed—come into play.
[Similarly with aversion and delusion.]
“And a person like this is called one who speaks at the wrong time, speaks what is unfactual, speaks what is irrelevant, speaks contrary to the Dhamma, speaks contrary to the Vinaya. Why…? Because …
… The Buddha taught his Dhamma and Vinaya for right here. He placed the religion right here—hell is right here; the paths and their fruitions are placed right here—so that we can separate things out and make our choice.
We do that by sitting in concentration and contemplating right here. Concentration is a mind established firmly, established constantly, established upright. It doesn’t …
… Studying like a water viper means to study the words of the Buddha without then putting them into practice, having no sense of shame at doing evil, disobeying the training rules of the Vinaya, making oneself like a poisonous snake-head, full of the fires of greed, anger, and delusion.
Studying for the sake of emancipation means to study the Buddha’s teachings out …
… and by night, with nothing to obscure it.
§ 6. The method of practice for those who have studied a great deal
People who have studied a lot of the Dhamma and Vinaya—who have learned a large number of approaches together with their many ramifications—when they then come to train their minds, find that their minds don’t settle down easily into concentration …
… The Vinaya-mukha, extracting a general principle from this rule, says, “This training rule was formulated to prevent negligence and to teach one to care for things. It should be taken as a general model.”
Summary: When one has set a bed, bench, mattress, or stool belonging to the Community out in the open: Leaving its immediate vicinity without putting it away, arranging to …
… This is why I have collected this anthology of passages dealing with the factors of the noble eightfold path, drawn from the suttas and Vinaya—disciplinary rules—of the Pāli Canon, so that you can read the Canon’s teachings on these topics for yourself. I have also provided introductions to the readings as an aid in comprehending the idiom in which the suttas …
… The Blessed One has criticized being worried at the time of death.
“Now it may be that you are thinking, ‘Nakula’s mother will not reach firm ground in this Dhamma & Vinaya, will not attain a firm foothold, will not attain consolation, overcome her doubts, dispel her perplexity, reach fearlessness or gain independence from others with regard to the Teacher’s message [a standard …
… This is a recurrent theme throughout the Vinaya: that stylish, luxurious, or elegant articles are not in keeping with the bhikkhus’ way of life.
The Vibhaṅga notes that black wool here covers both wool that is naturally black and wool that has been dyed that color.
All other explanations for this training rule are the same as for the preceding rule, simply replacing “a …
… And on that occasion Sunakkhatta the Licchavi1 had recently left this Dhamma & Vinaya. He was making this statement in the Vesāli assembly: “Gotama the contemplative has no superior human state, no distinction in knowledge & vision worthy of a noble one. Having hammered it out through logic, Gotama the contemplative teaches a Dhamma that follows his reasoning, his own invention. And whenever his Dhamma is …
… Most of the humorous stories in the Canon are found in the Vinaya, the section explaining the rules for the monks. I think this is very important. It shows a very humane approach to morality. If you live under a group of rules that lacks a sense of humor, it can be very oppressive. Those rules can be very difficult to follow while maintaining …
CHAPTER NINE
Pāṭidesanīya
This term means “to be acknowledged.” As a name for training rules, it means “entailing acknowledgement.” The four training rules here are unique in that they mention, as part of the rule, the words to be used in acknowledging the violation; the second rule is especially unique in that it depicts the violators as acknowledging their offense as a group.
1 …
MN 38 Mahā Taṇhāsaṅkhaya Sutta | The Greater Craving-Destruction Discourse
… He is totally released, I tell you, from suffering & stress.” —SN 22:39 “Just as the ocean has a single taste—that of salt—in the same way, this Dhamma-Vinaya has a single taste: that of release.” —Ud 5:5 In other words, the ability of the monks to give, in unison, the right answers to the Buddha’s questions does not fulfill …
Food | The Buddhist Monastic Code, Volumes I & II
CHAPTER FOUR Food The three main classes of food—staple foods, non-staple foods, and juice drinks—have already been discussed in BMC1 under the Food Chapter of the pācittiya rules. The question of making fruit allowable has been discussed under Pc 11. Here we will discuss aspects of the topic of food not covered in those passages. Cooking & storing foods One may not …
