Vinaya-pitaka

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 developed over time during the Buddha's life. More broadly, the term also refers to the tradition of Buddhist ethical conduct. The term "Vinaya" also refers to a genre of Buddhist texts which contain these precepts and rules and discuss their application, along with various stories of how the rules arose and how they are to be applied. Various lists and sets of Vinaya precepts were codified and compiled after the Buddha's death in different Vinaya texts.The 17th Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje. "The development of the Vinaya rules for monastics and the Pratimoksha Sutra precepts". August 2022. Transcribed by Adele Tomlin, ''Dakini Translations'', 02 September 2022.

As one of the main components of the canonical Buddhist canons (Tripiṭakas), alongside the Sūtra and Abhidharma (Pāli: ''Abhidhamma''), the Vinaya Piṭakas contains detailed prescriptions governing the behavior, conduct, and communal procedures of monks ('' bhikṣu'') and nuns ('' bhikṣuṇī''). These include rules of individual discipline ('' prātimokṣa''), protocols for communal harmony, and guidelines for handling transgressions.

The word ''Vinaya'' is derived from a Sanskrit verb that can mean to lead, take away, train, tame, or guide, or alternately to educate or teach. It is often translated as "discipline", with the term ''Dhamma-Vinaya'' (doctrine and discipline) being used by the Buddha to refer to his complete teachings, suggesting its integral role in Buddhist practice.Access to Insight: Vinaya Pitaka: The Basket of Discipline
/ref> Thus, Vinaya also denotes the living tradition of ethical training and cultivation which encompasses inner moral discipline, and the communal process of ethical deliberation and confession within the sangha. In this sense, ''vinaya'' is not only legalistic but also pedagogical and soteriological, oriented toward the purification of ethical conduct (''śīla'') as a foundation for meditative concentration (''samādhi'') and wisdom ('' prajñā'').

Over time, Buddhist Vinaya lineages split into various traditions, mirroring the development of the various Indian Buddhist schools. Three Vinaya traditions remain in use by modern ordained '' sanghas'': the Theravada (Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia), Mulasarvastivada (Tibetan Buddhism and the Himalayan region) and Dharmaguptaka (East Asian Buddhism). In addition to these three Vinaya traditions, five other Vinaya schools of Indian Buddhism are preserved in Asian canonical manuscripts, including those of the Kāśyapīya, the Mahāsāṃghika, the Mahīśāsaka, the Sammatīya, and the Sarvāstivāda.

Origins

According to an origin story prefaced to the Theravada Bhikkhu Suttavibhanga, in the early years of the Buddha's teaching the sangha lived together in harmony with no vinaya, as there was no need, because all of the Buddha's early disciples were highly realized if not fully enlightened. After thirteen years and as the sangha expanded, situations arose which the Buddha and the lay community felt were inappropriate for mendicants.Introductory story of the Theravada Bhikkhu Vibhanga
/ref>

According to Buddhist tradition, the complete Vinaya Piṭaka was recited by Upāli at the First Council shortly after the Buddha's death. All of the known Vinaya texts use the same system of organizing rules and contain the same sections, leading scholars to believe that the fundamental organization of the Vinaya must date from before the separation of schools.

While traditional accounts fix the origins of the Vinaya during the lifetime of the Buddha, all of the existing manuscript traditions are from significantly later- most around the 5th century CE. While the early Buddhist community seems to have lived primarily as wandering monks who begged for alms, many Vinaya rules in every tradition assume settled monasticism to be the norm, along with regular collective meals organized by lay donors or funded by monastic wealth. The earliest dates that can be established for most Vinaya texts is their translation into Chinese around the 5th century CE. The earliest established dates of the Theravada Vinaya stem from the composition of Buddhaghosa's commentaries in the 5th century, and became known to Western scholarship through 17th- and 18th-century manuscripts.
The Mulasarvastivada Vinaya was brought to Tibet by Khenpo Shantarakshita by , when the first Tibetan Buddhist monks were ordained, and was translated into Chinese by the 8th century. Earlier Sanskrit manuscripts exist from the 5th to the 7th century. Scholarly consensus places the composition of the ''Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya'' in the early centuries of the first millennium, though all the manuscripts and translations are relatively late.

Overview

The core of the Vinaya is a set of rules known as '' Patimokkha'' in Pāli and Prātimokṣa in Sanskrit. This is the shortest portion of every Vinaya, and universally regarded as the earliest. This collection of rules is recited by the gathered Sangha at the new and full moon. Rules are listed in descending order, from the most serious (four rules that entail expulsion), followed by five further categories of more minor offenses. Most traditions include an explicit listing of rules intended for recitation, called ''Prātimokṣa-sutra'', but in the Theravada tradition the Patimokkha rules occur in writing only alongside their exegesis and commentary, the Vibhanga described below. While the Prātimokṣa is preserved independent of the Vibhanga in many traditions, scholars generally do not believe that the rules it contains were observed and enforced without the context provided by an interpretive tradition, even in the early era- many of the exceptions and opinions of the Vibhanga seem to stem from older customs regarding what was and wasn't permissible for wandering ascetics in the Indian tradition.

The second major component of the Vinaya is the Vibhanga or Suttavibhanga, which provides commentary on each of the rules listed in the Prātimokṣa. This typically includes the origin of the rule in a specific incident or dispute, along with variations that indicate related situations covered by the rule, as well as exceptions that account for situations that are not to be regarded as violations of a more general rule.

The third division of the Vinaya is known as the Vinayavastu, Skandhaka, or Khandhaka, meaning 'divisions' or 'chapters'. Each section of these texts deals with a specific aspect of monastic life, containing, for instance, procedures and regulations related to ordination, obtaining and storing medical supplies, and the procurement and distribution of robes. The final segment of this division, the Ksudrakavastu ("Minor division") contains miscellanea that does not belong to other sections, and in some traditions is so large that it is treated as a separate work. Strong agreement between multiple different recensions of the Skandhaka across different traditions and language with respect to the number of chapters (generally 20) and their topics and contents has led scholars to the conclusion that they must stem from a common origin.

Parallel and independent Prātimokṣa rules and Vibhangas exist in each tradition for bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. The majority of rules for monks and nuns are identical, but the bhikkhuni Prātimokṣa and Vibhanga includes additional rules that are specific to nuns, including the controversial Eight Garudhammas whose authorship is not attributed to the Buddha. In the Pali tradition, a specific chapter of the Khandhaka deals with issues pertaining specifically to nuns, and the Mulasarvastivada tradition devotes most of one of the two volumes of its Ksudrakavastu to issues pertaining to nuns.

Beyond this point, the distinct Vinaya traditions differ in their organization. The Pali Vinaya includes a text known as the Parivāra that contains a question-and-answer format that recapitulates various rules in different groupings, as well as a variety of analyses. The Chinese texts include two sections not found in the Pali tradition, the Niddanas and Matrkas that have counterparts in the Tibetan tradition's Uttaragrantha. Relatively little analysis of these texts have been conducted, but they seem to contain an independent reorganization of the Vinaya rules that may be an earlier strata of texts.

Texts

Manuscript of Vinaya Pitaka. Lacquered and gilded wood, gilded palm leaves. Myanmar, 1856. Palazzo Madama, Torino

Theravada Vinaya

The Theravada Vinaya is preserved in the Pāli Canon in the ''Vinaya Piṭaka''. The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya is preserved in both the Tibetan Buddhist canon in the Kangyur, in a Chinese edition, and in an incomplete Sanskrit manuscript. Some other complete vinaya texts are preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon (see: Taishō Tripiṭaka), and these include:
* Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (T. 1421)
* Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (T. 1425)
* Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (T. 1428)
* Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (T. 1435)
* Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya (T. 1442)

Six complete versions are extant. Fragments of the remaining versions survive in various languages. The first three listed below are still in use.

* The Pāli version of the Theravāda school
** Suttavibhaṅga: Pāṭimokkha and commentary
*** Mahāvibhaṅga: rules for monks
*** Bhikkhunīvibhaṅga: rules for nuns
** Khandhaka: 22 chapters on various topics
** Parivāra: analyses of rules from various points of view

Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya

The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya (Sanskrit; ; zh , c=根本說一切有部律, hp=Gēnběnshuōyīqiēyǒubùlǜ, w=ken pen shuo i ch'ieh yu pu lü , first=t) (T. 1442), a translation from the Mūlasarvāstivāda school, extant in both Chinese and Tibetan. This is the version used in the Tibetan tradition. It comprises seven major works and may be divided into four traditional sections.
** Vinayavastu (འདུལ་བ་གཞི་ ''‘dul ba gzhi''): 17 ''skandhakas'' (chapters)
** Vinayavibhaṅga
*** Prātimokṣasūtra (སོ་སོར་ཐར་པའི་མདོ་ ''so sor thar pa‘i mdo''): rules for monks
*** Vinayavibhaṅga (འདུལ་བ་རྣམ་འབྱེད་ ''‘dul ba rnam ‘byed''): explanations on rules for monks
*** Bhikṣunīprātimokṣasūtra (དགེ་སློང་མའི་སོ་སོར་ཐར་པའི་མདོ་ ''dge slong ma‘i so sor thar pa‘i mdo''): rules for nuns
*** Bhikṣunīvinayavibhaṅga (དགེ་སློང་མའི་འདུལ་བ་རྣམ་པར་འབྱེད་པ་ ''dge slong ma‘i ‘dul ba rnam par ‘byed pa''): explanations on rules for nuns
** Vinayakṣudrakavastu (འདུལ་བ་ཕྲན་ཚེགས་ཀྱི་གཞི་ ''‘dul ba phran tshegs kyi gzhi''): miscellaneous topics
** Vinayottaragrantha (འདུལ་བ་གཞུང་བླ་མ་ ''‘ba gzhung bla ma''): appendices, including the ''Upāliparipṛcchā'', which corresponds to a chapter of the Parivāra.
*** Vinayottaragrantha (འདུལ་བ་གཞུང་དམ་པ་ ''‘dul ba gzhung dam pa''): a second, more comprehensive version of the above

Dharmaguptaka Four Part Vinaya

* The Four Part Vinaya (Sanskrit: ''Cāturvargīya-vinaya''; zh , c=四分律, hp=Sìfēn lǜ, w=Ssŭ-fen lü, first=t) ( T. 1428). This is Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka version and is used in the Chinese tradition and its derivatives in Korea, Vietnam and in Japan under the early Kokubunji temple system. In the case of Japan, this was later replaced with ordination based solely on the Bodhisattva Precepts.
** Bhikṣuvibhaṅga: rules for monks
** Bhikṣunīvibhaṅga (明尼戒法): rules for nuns
** Skandhaka (犍度): of which there are 20
** Samyuktavarga
*** Vinayaikottara, corresponding to a chapter of the Parivara

Other surviving Vinayas

Three other Vinaya collections survive in Chinese translation.

Ten Recitation Vinaya

The Ten Recitation Vinaya (Sanskrit: ''Daśa-bhāṇavāra-vinaya''; zh , c=十誦律, hp=Shísònglǜ, w=Shisong lü, first=t) (T. 1435), a Chinese translation of the Sarvāstivāda version
** Bhikṣuvibhaṅga
** Skandhaka
** Bhikṣunīvibhaṅga
** Ekottaradharma, similar to Vinayaikottara
** Upaliparipriccha
** Ubhayatovinaya
** Samyukta
** Parajikadharma
** Sanghavasesha
** Kusaladhyaya

Five Part Vinaya

The Five Part Vinaya (Sanskrit: ''Pañcavargika-vinaya''; zh , c=五分律, hp=Wǔfēnlǜ, w=Wu-fen-lü, first=t) (T. 1421), a Chinese translation of the Mahīśāsaka version
** Bhikṣuvibhaṅga
** Bhikṣunīvibhaṅga
** Skandhaka

Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya

The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya ( zh , c=摩訶僧祇律, hp=Móhēsēngqílǜ, w=Mo-ho-seng-ch'i lü, first=t) (T. 1425), a Chinese translation of Mahāsāṃghika version. An English translation of the bhikṣunī discipline is also available.
** Bhikṣuvibhaṅga
** Bhikṣunīvibhaṅga
** Skandhaka

Traditions

Theravada

Buddhism in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand followed the Theravadin Vinaya, which has 227 rules for bhikkhus and 311 for bhikkhunis. As the nun's lineage died out in all areas of the Theravada school, traditionally women's roles as renunciates were limited to taking eight or ten Precepts: see women in Buddhism. Such women appears as maechi in Thai Buddhism, dasa sil mata in Sri Lanka, thilashin in Burma and siladharas at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England. More recently, women have been undergoing upasampada as full ordination as bhikkhuni, although this is a highly charged topic within Theravadin communities: see ordination of women in Buddhism

East Asian Buddhism

Buddhists in China, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam follow the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (四分律), which has 250 rules for the bhikkhus and 348 rules for the bhikkhunis. Some schools in Japan technically follow this, but many monks there are married, which can be considered a violation of the rules. Other Japanese monks follow the Bodhisattva Precepts only, which was excerpted from the Mahāyāna version of Brahmajālasutra (梵網經). And the Bodhisattva Precepts contains two parts of precepts: for lay and clergy. According to Chinese Buddhist tradition, one who wants to observe the Bodhisattva Precepts for clergy, must observe the Ten Precepts and High Ordination hikkhu or Bhikkhunī Preceptsfirst.

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia, Nepal, Ladakh and other Himalayan regions follow the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, which has 253 rules for the bhiksus (monks) and 364 rules for bhiksunis (nuns). In addition to these pratimokṣa precepts, there are many supplementary ones.

The Tibetan Buddhist tradition of fully ordained bhikṣuṇī nuns officially recommenced in Bhutan on 23 June 2022, when 144 women were ordained. According to Nyingma school and Kagyu school scholars, the full ordination lineage of bhikkhuni for nuns within the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya was transmitted in Tibet by Shantarakshita, but did not survive the later persecution of Tibetan Buddhists undertaken by Udum Tsenpo. Afterwards, Tibetan nuns were ''getsunma'' (Tib. novice) nuns (Skt. śramaṇerīs) only, after taking the lay vows of eight or ten Precepts, see ordination of women in Buddhism.

Vinaya school

Daoxuan (7th century), the founder of the Chinese Nanshan lineage of the Chinese Vinaya school

The ''Vinaya School'' (C. Lü zong; J. Risshū; K. Yul chong 律宗) was a significant current in the early transmission and institutionalization of Buddhism in East Asia. Centered on the study and practice of the monastic disciplinary codes (Sanskrit: ''vinaya''; Chinese: 戒律 ''jielü''), this tradition emphasized the rigorous observance of precepts as the foundational path to liberation. It became one of the thirteen major schools (shisanzong 十三宗) in China, recognized for its distinct doctrinal and institutional focus on monastic discipline.Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', p. 572. Princeton University

Among the several Vinaya texts transmitted to China, the Four-Part Vinaya (''Sifen lü'' 四分律) of the Dharmaguptaka school gained predominant authority. Translated into Chinese in 405 CE by the Kashmīri monk Buddhayaśas, this text outlined a disciplinary code of 250 rules for monks and 348 for nuns. The Four-Part Vinaya formed the textual basis for later doctrinal exegesis and monastic regulation across East Asia. The most influential lineage of this tradition in China came to be known as the Southern Mountain School (''Nanshan lü zong 南山律宗''), named after the Zhongnanshan (South Mountain) region where its founder, the eminent Vinaya master Daoxuan 道宣 (596–667), resided. His authoritative commentary on the Four-Part Vinaya, the ''Sifen lü shanfan buque xingshi chao'' (compiled in 626), became the central text of the school and provided detailed guidance on monastic procedures and ritual regulations. This exegesis established the Nanshan School as the dominant tradition of Vinaya interpretation in China.

Daoxuan theorized the teaching of the Vinaya as part of Buddhist soteriology, with a strong emphasis on ethical action. While the term "Vinaya school" appeared in his time, Daoxuan mainly saw it as referring to the scholastic teaching rather than a sectarian division. He would have found it strange if the Vinaya was observed and studied only by a single branch. Daoxuan took a syncretic approach, supplementing parts of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya with other Vinayas and actively seeking a connection between Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna teachings. His works became the dominant and authoritative interpretation in China, partly due to Tang imperial court support. Most later commentaries focused on interpreting ''Xingshichao''. The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya became the core concept of the Nanshan Vinaya school.

Despite the prominence of the Nanshan lineage, two other major Vinaya traditions were active during the early Tang period: the ''Xiangbu zong'' 相部宗 led by Fali 法礪 (569–635), and the ''Dongta zong'' 東塔宗 (East Pagoda School) led by Huaisu 懷素 (624–697). These schools also offered their own readings and practices based on alternative Vinaya texts, though they eventually faded in influence relative to the Nanshan system.

The period after the fall of the Tang saw a resurgent interest in the commentarial tradition of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya. Yuanzhao (1048-1116), a Northern Song Vinaya master, is a pivotal figure in this period. His reinterpretation of Daoxuan's commentaries inspired monastic revival movements in medieval China and Japan. Through the efforts of Yuanzhao and his disciples, the teaching of the Vinaya eventually acquired an institutional presence in Song China. Around Yuanzhao's time, there was a boom in sub-commentaries on Daoxuan's ''Xingshichao''. Yuanzhao became highly influential, unifying the interpretation of Daoxuan, and is designated as the Resurgent Patriarch of the Vinaya school. The institutional formation of the Vinaya school is essentially based on Yuanzhao's teaching. Yuanzhao initiated the effort to construct a lineage tracing back to India, composing the ''Lineage of Nanshan Vinaya School'' which places Dharmaguptaka as the first patriarch and Daoxuan as the ninth. Yuanzhao's teachings were characterized by a synthetic approach, notably combining the Vinaya and Pure Land Buddhism. He saw receiving precepts as the beginning of the path and aspiring to rebirth in the Pure Land as the end. He integrated Pure Land belief into the conferral ritual. He focused on jieti (戒體), the "essence of precepts", as a central concept of the school. Yuanzhao defended Daoxuan's position on the nature of jieti, linking it to the "school of emptiness" and bridging Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna teachings. Yuanzhao criticized the lack of Vinaya understanding among monastics in his time, noting that their education often neglected it in favor of scriptures, treatises, and Chan. Records from the Southern Song indicate the Vinaya school had institutional infrastructure, attracting wide patronage from lay people and the royal family. The printing of Vinaya texts in the Southern Song was a campaign involving multiple parties and patronage, demonstrating national recognition and stabilization of the school.

In modern Chinese Buddhism, Master Hongyi is a key figure in the revival of the Vinaya school. He is recognized by later generations as the 11th patriarch of the Nanshan Vinaya School. Hongyi initially studied the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya but later shifted his focus to the Nanshan Vinaya school, partly influenced by Xu Weiru and recognizing its historical role in Chinese Buddhism. He vowed to promote the Nanshan Vinaya teachings that he felt had been largely neglected for over 700 years. Master Hongyi's contributions to the Vinaya school are significant. He compiled, edited, revised, and collated Vinaya texts, providing essential resources for study. He wrote commentaries and annotations on the Four-division Vinaya and the works of Daoxuan and Yuanzhao. Notably, he authored Nanshanlü zaijia beilan (南山律在家備覽) to help lay Buddhists understand precepts. He actively promoted the Vinaya through lectures and established Vinaya schools/academies to train monastics. Hongyi insisted on the importance of keeping precepts as the correct path and emphasized the Vinaya within the context of the Three Studies (precepts, meditative concentration, wisdom). He developed views on classifying and distinguishing Vinaya doctrines. While his status as the 11th patriarch faced some debate from other traditions like the Baohuashan sect, he is widely regarded as a patriarch who reinvigorated the Nanshan school.

In Korea, the tradition was transmitted under the name Gyeyul Jong 戒律宗, primarily through the efforts of the monk Jajang 慈藏. In Japan, the tradition became known as Risshū 律宗, established by the Chinese monk Ganjin 鑑眞 (Japanese: Jianzhen; 687–763). Ganjin’s transmission of the Nanshan Vinaya interpretations significantly shaped the development of early Japanese Buddhism, particularly during the Nara period. The Risshū became one of the six Nara schools ('' Nanto Rokushū''), and was later counted among the thirteen schools of Japanese Buddhism.

Role in Mahāyāna Buddhism

The Mahāyāna ''Bodhisattvabhūmi'', part of the '' Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra'', regards it an offense for monastics following the Mahāyāna to reject the traditional rules of the Vinaya:

Louis de La Vallée-Poussin wrote that the Mahāyāna relies on traditional full ordination of monastics, and in doing so is "perfectly orthodox" according to the monastic vows and rules of the early Buddhist traditions:Silk, Jonathan. ''The Maharatnakuta Tradition: A Study of the Ratnarasi Sutra. Volume 1.'' 1994. p. 10

See also

* First Buddhist Council
* Second Buddhist Council
* Schools of Buddhism

References

Bibliography

* Horner, I.B. (1970). The book of discipline Vol. I
Suttavibhaṅga
, London Luzac, reprint.
* Horner, I.B. (1957). The book of discipline Vol. II
Suttavibhaṅga
, London Luzac.
* Horner, I.B. (1957). The book of discipline Vol. III
Suttavibhaṅga
, London Luzac.
* Horner, I.B. (1962). The book of discipline Vol. IV
Mahāvagga
, London Luzac. 1. publ., reprint, Oxford: Pali Text Society 1993.
* Horner, I.B. (1963). The book of discipline Vol. V
Cullavagga
, London Luzac.
* Horner, I.B. (1966). The book of discipline Vol. VI
Parivāra
, London Luzac.
* Ichimura, Shōhei (2006)
"The Baizhang Zen monastic regulations"
Berkeley, Calif: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, .
* Jayawickrama, N.A., trans. (1962)
Inception of discipline and the Vinaya-Nidana
Sacred books of the Buddhists Vol. XXI, London Luzac. (Buddhagosas Samantapasadika, the Vinaya commentary)
* Pruden, Leo M. (1995). "The essentials of the Vinaya tradition", by Gyōnen, Berkeley, Calif: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, .
* Rhys Davids, T. W.; Oldenberg, Hermann, trans. (1881–85). ''Vinaya Texts'', ''Sacred Books of the East'', volumes XIII, XVII & XX, Clarendon/Oxford. Reprint: Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi (Dover, New York
Vol. XIII, Mahavagga I–IVVol. XVII, Mahavagga V–X, Kullavagga I–IIIVol. XX, Kullavagga IV–XII
*
*

External links

General

Sects & Sectarianism – The origins of Buddhist Schools



by Tsongkhapa (1357–1419)

Theravada Vinaya Pitaka

Translations and context on Theravada Vinaya
(Vinaya section on www.accesstoinsight.org)
The book of discipline Vol. I–VI
translated by I.B. Horner

Translation by Isaline Blew Horner
(Scanned Text)

Pali Canon online: Vinaya Pitaka in English
* Davids, T. W. Rhys, Oldenberg, Hermann (joint tr): Vinaya texts, Oxford, The Clarendon press 1881
Vol.1Vol.2Vol.3
Internet Archive (Scanned Text)


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