Intro to Vinaya

His Holiness the Dalai Lama giving ordination vows at his residence in Dharamsala, HP, India in 2010. (Photo by Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL)

His Holiness the Dalai Lama giving ordination vows at his residence in Dharamsala, HP, India in 2010. (Photo by Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL)

The Lord buddha said in the period just before his parinirvana in the Sutra on the Vows of Individual Liberation (Pratimoskha Sutra), “After I am gone, the vows of individual liberation will act as your teacher.” He said that by taking these vows, guarding them well and not letting them degenerate, it will be like he himself is here. — Geshe Sonam Ngodrup

Buddha said to Elder Ananda, “After my parinirvana, the Vinaya is your Master; it can sustain the Dharma forever. Even if there were only five bhiksus left who understand and observe the Vinaya, they are able to sustain the Dharma forever.”
— from the Vinaya, translated by the Luminary International Buddhist Society

The Vinaya is the collection of teachings for monastic conduct taught by the Buddha. It is one of the “three baskets” or Tripitaka of the teachings of the Buddha, with the other two being Sutra and Abhidharma.

When the Buddha first became enlightened and started ordaining monks, his instruction for the sangha (the community of monks and nuns) was contained in the following statement:

Guard your speech well,
Purify your mind,
Avoid all negativities of the body—
Purify the actions of all three.
Doing all of this
Is the path of the great Sage.

Prohibitive precepts

As time passed, certain monks or nuns would do things that caused issues for their own practice, for the community of monastics, and/or for the lay community. When these incidents would happen, the Buddha would call the sangha together. Although the Buddha knew the event, he would ask the offending monk or nun to describe the misdeed in detail, including why and how it was committed. Then, after verifying that it took place, he would lay down a precept for monastics to avoid this issue happening again in the future. In this way, the collection of prohibitive precepts for monks and nuns was developed—a list of activities monks and nuns should avoid. These are the precepts that are typically most well-known (for example, don’t engage in sexual activity).

In addition to each precept, there is also a detailed explanation of what happens if these precepts are broken. There are eight different levels of precepts: Some of the precepts, if broken, cannot be repaired and are called a defeat—these are called root vows. Others result in suspension, others require confession in biweekly confsession (Sojong), others simply require learning and mindfulness to observe next time, and so on. All of those are collectively called branch vows.

Knowing which precepts result in defeat or suspension is especially important when starting out. Ignorance is not an excuse for breaking precepts, and if nothing else, it is important to know the most important precepts so you don’t accidentally end your monastic career! Even if you never told anyone and continued to wear robes, if you break a root vow you are no longer considered ordained. On the positive side, knowing what precepts result in a defeat and which are fully repairable can also help you relax—it is nearly impossible to keep all the precepts all the time, especially because the time and conditions have changed since the time of the Buddha.

Related to that, the Buddha said branch vows could be interpreted based on the time and the situation (this is not true of root vows). When you are starting out, the best way to understand how to keep a specific precept is to ask senior monastics in your lineage, so that your practice is also in harmony with your community. As you continue to study, it is also good to endeavour to understand the intention behind each precept, so that you can interpret the right action in situations that may be new or unique to you. In many ways, this question of how to practice the Vinaya in this time and place is at the core of this initiative. This will be discussed more in further sections.

Prescriptive precepts

In addition to the above, the Buddha also described a number of prescriptive precepts, activities which monks and nuns should engage in. One section of the prescriptive precepts are called karmans. Karman has the same root as karma or activity, and literally means tasks or affairs to be carried out by monastics. These were divided into three types: individual karmans, one-to-one karmans, and sanghakarmans (community activities). An example of an individual karmans is keeping track of the day so one knows when do do the bimonthly confession ceremony (sojong/ posadha) is. One-to-one karmans involve two people (or a Buddha statue), with one as a witness, and include activities such as entering annual rains retreat.

Sanghakarmans are the most extensive, and contain detailed instructions for a wide variety of community-level activities, including decision-making, conflict-resolution and more. The sanghakarmans are specifically a set of guidelines and procedures the community follows to make sure that harmony is maintained. Interestingly, the Buddha’s recommendations for community governance were democratic, with each fully ordained member of the sangha having equal status in making decisions.

Another section of the prescriptive precepts in the Vinaya is called Skandhakas. The Skandhakas are detailed instructions for the community practices such as ordination, bi-monthly confession, the annual rains retreat, the ceremonies that mark the end of rains retreat, and more. In some instances, the practices described in the Skadhakas are carried out using procedures in the Karmans, so they are interrelated. Skandhakas also contain sections on the requisites required by the sangha (such as lodging, robes, shoes), how to handle disputes, how to handle transgression, and more.

I think it fair to say the prescriptive precepts are less well-known aspect of the Vinaya in the West. They are also harder to learn about outside of living in a monastic setting because so many of them require a community to practice. For example, the bi-monthly confession or the rains retreat require that a group of monastics join together in practice. However, the prescriptive precepts are brilliant instructions for supporting monastics, and for maintaining a harmonious relationship between the monastic and lay sangha as well. From my personal experience, they add a sense of encouragement, and an uplifted quality to maintaining the vows. For example, after the bi-weekly confession, there is a sense of renewal of your vows, as well as a sense of support that comes from gathering together with other monastics. As a monastic, any way you can figure out to learn about these practices and incorporate them into your monastic life is highly beneficial.

Differerent Vinaya lineages

Over time, small differences between the Vinaya texts in various countries developed, however, compared to other differences in philosophy and practice between Buddhist countries, the Vinaya text has remained remarkably consistent. There are a handful of different Vinaya Schools that are practiced today, including the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya practiced by the Tibetans, Dharmaguptaka Vinaya practiced by Chinese Mahayana schools, the Pali Vinaya practiced by many Theravada traditions, and three others. These texts have slight differences, and the expression and interpretation varies in some significant ways across different monastic communities. However, in one sense there is only one Vinaya—that of the Buddha—and the fact that the text was preserved with only minor differences across many countries over 2,500 years is quite extraordinary.

It should be mentioned that the tradition of full ordination for nuns was lost in the Mulasarvastivada and Pali Vinaya traditions, but remains a living practice in the Dharmaguptaka school. For that reason, many Western Tibetan Buddhist nuns have received full Bhikshuni ordination from Dharmaguptaka Vinaya masters in Taiwan and elsewhere. H.H. Karmapa has also started the process of full ordination for Tibetan nuns in the Dharmaguptaka lineage.

Studying the vinaya

There is an incredible amount to learn about the Vinaya, and one could easily spend years studying it alone. In fact, one traditional recommendation was for monastics is to study the Vinaya exclusively for a period of years before studying other topics or learning meditation. In addition to some of the aspects mentioned above, there are extensive commentaries on the Vinaya, and then there are the living aspects of it that can only really be learned from other monastics and from participating in a monastic community.

It also needs to be mentioned that there seem to be some differences of opinion between different Buddhist monastic scholars about the extent to which those who are not ordained should be allowed to study the sections of the Vinaya that pertain to monastic practice. In some cases I have read that those who are not ordained should not read the full list of precepts, in other cases I have read that it is okay to read them but not to receive teachings on them. Based on my limited research and experience, this view is common among Tibetan Buddhist and Chinese Mahayana tradition. In the Theravada school I have not yet encountered this view that lay people should not learn about the Vinaya, although my experience in the Theravadan school is quite limited. I have, however, found some resources explaining the monastic rules of the Vinaya for lay practitioners so they can better understand and help monastics uphold their practice written by monks from the Theravadan tradition.

If you are considering ordination, it makes sense to learn some basics about the Vinaya, which is the basis of monastic life. However, if you have concerns or questions about what is appropriate for you to study I recommend speaking with your teacher or a senior monastic in your community. And if/when you are ordained, it is wise to request formal teachings from a senior monastic about the vows you have received and the prescriptive precepts you should be attempting to follow.

Another thing to know is many of the Vinaya texts and commentaries have not been translated into English yet, particularly the Tibetan ones. If you really want to explore the commentaries on the Vinaya you will likely need to learn Tibetan, Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese or another language to have access to a vast amount more literature on the subject. However, there are many good books still available in English (check out the relevant books page for a list of suggested titles).

Questions to consider:

  • Why am I interested in living my life in accordance with the Vinaya?

  • What are the different vows one can take as a Buddhist, and what are the differences between them? (Lay, novice, etc.)

  • What specific precepts am I considering taking at this time (or have I taken)?

  • Which of the precepts, if broken, would cause defeat or suspension?

  • Of the precepts I have taken or am considering taking, do I have any questions about what it means to follow those vows in my own time and place? Write these down and try to find a senior monastic to discuss these questions with.

Read:

Watch:

  • Master Wuyin give an introduction to karmans: