Buddha’s Teaching As It Is –

Lecture 10: Sangha Bhikkhu Bodhi

PowerPoint presentation on Bhikkhu Bodhi’s
recorded lectures on ‘Buddha’s Teaching As It Is’.
Materials for the presentation are taken from the
recorded lectures (MP3) posted at the website of
Bodhi Monastery and the notes of the lectures
posted at beyondthenet.net

Originally prepared to accompany the playing of

Bhikkhu Bodhi’s recorded lectures on ‘Buddha’s Teaching
As It is’ in the Dharma Study Class at PUTOSI Temple,
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
This series of weekly study begins in November, 2010.
Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato
Sammasambuddhassa

Lecture 10
Bhikkhu Bodhi

SANGHA
Sangha
The Buddha’s dispensation is founded upon three guiding
ideals, they are the objects of veneration: the Buddha,
the Dhamma and the Sangha. The Buddha is the Teacher;
the Dhamma is the Teaching; and the Sangha is the
community of those who have realized the teaching and
embody it in their lives. These three are together called
the Three Jewels or Triple Gem. They are called the
Three Jewels because for one who is seeking the way to
liberation, they are the most precious things in the World.
The word ‘Sangha’ means those who are joined together,
thus a community. However, "Sangha" does not refer to
the entire Buddhist community. It does not mean the
totality of Buddhists or of those committed to the
Buddhist Path.
Sangha
The word, ‘Sangha’ signifies a smaller community within
the larger Buddhist society. It refers in particular to the
two such communities making for two kinds of sangha:
1. The Noble Sangha (Ariya Sangha) - the community of
the noble ones or of Buddha’s true disciples.
2. The conventional Sangha - the order of fully ordained
monks and nuns.
In principle, the conventional Sangha includes bhikkhunis -
that is, fully ordained nuns - but in Theravada countries
the full ordination lineage for women has become
defunct, though there continue to exist independent
orders of nuns.
Ariyan Sangha
The Ariyan Sangha is the community of noble persons, all
those who have reached the supramundane paths and
fruits. This Sangha consists of eight types of individuals
joined together into four pairs. The four pairs are:-
1. The person on the path of stream entry and the stream
enterer
2. The person on the path of once returner and the once
returner.
3. The person on the path of non-returner and the non-
returner.
4. The person on the path of arahatship and the arahant.
Ariyan Sangha
What unites all these persons and makes them a community
is that they all share a penetration through direct
experience of the innermost essence of the Dhamma. All
these persons have followed the Buddha’s path to the
height of wisdom and seen for themselves the ultimate
truth, the truth of the unconditioned. The experience that
makes a person an ariyan disciple is called the arising of
the eye of Dhamma. We all have physical eyes by which
we can see form. We also have mental eyes through
which we can understand ideas intellectually, but what
the Ariyan person has that an ordinary person lacks is
the dhammachakkhu, the eye of truth, the penetrating
vision that sees into the real nature of things, the vision
that sees the unconditioned element, Nibbana.
Ariyan Sangha
By arousing the eye of Dhamma, the noble person has cut
off the first three fetters, fetters of personality view,
doubt and clinging to rites and rituals. Such a person
(now an ariyan disciple) gains absolute confidence in the
Triple Gem, in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the
Sangha. He can never go for refuge to any other
teacher other than the Buddha, or take as his guiding
principle any teaching other than the Dhamma. He has
been spiritually reborn, born with a noble birth.
Ariyan Sangha
It is the profound experience of the Dhamma that makes a
person a member of the Ariyan Sangha, a true disciple
of Buddha.
The status of an Ariyan Sangha is not established by any
formal act of ordination. Any person - monk or nun,
layman or laywoman - who penetrates the Dhamma, who
arouses the eye of the Dhamma, immediately becomes
an Ariyan disciple of the Buddha. Lay persons living at
home can also reach all four levels of liberation. But the
lay people who have become Arhants are very few and
when they do so, according to natural law they
immediately renounce the household life and enter the
monastic order.
Ariyan Sangha
Those who become ariyans have entered the definite path
to final liberation. They have stepped beyond the ranks
of the multitude caught up in craving and ignorance
revolving in birth and death. They can never fall back to
the level of a worldling because they have realized the
truth by direct experience. They are now bound to reach
full enlightenment and final liberation.
Ariyan Sangha
The highest of the noble disciples is the arhant. He is the
one who never comes back to any form of existence high
or low. He has reached enlightenment right in his body,
he has cut off all craving and extinguished all
defilements. He lives out his days in the bliss of liberation
until the break up of the body. With the break up of the
body, he attains the final goal, the Nibbana element
without residue.
The Ariyan sangha is the jewel of the sangha. It is this
sangha that functions as one of the three refuges.
Ariyan Sangha
When Buddhists recite "Sangham saranam gachchâmi" (I
go for refuge to the Sangha), they are referring to the
Ariyan Sangha. The Ariyan Sangha is absolutely
essential to the Buddha’s dispensation, for the ariyan
disciples stand as living proof of the truth of the
Buddha’s teaching. The Ariyans are the ones who have
put the teaching to the test, who have practised the path
and verified the Dhamma in their own experience. They
are the ones who have accomplished the aim of the
Dhamma. The Buddha’s teaching aims at transforming
ordinary people from worldlings into noble people, at
bringing them to the stages of liberation.
Ariyan Sangha
They are the guides and models. They encourage us to
follow the path, since they began as ordinary people like
ourselves, but by practising the path they have risen up
above the ordinary plane and reached the state of
spiritual nobility. Through their own attainments they can
give effective instructions to others, instructions that are
not based on mere guesswork or book learning but on
personal experience.
Conventional Sangha
The monastic order is called the conventional Sangha
because admission to the order depends entirely on the
convention of ordination, which can be given to any
properly qualified candidate. It does not require any
special spiritual attainment, but simply a person who
wishes to enter the order and is free from any of the
conditions that obstruct ordination.
The monastic order is not a jewel or a refuge in the highest
sense. It is still a jewel in the secondary sense.
Conventional Sangha
The monastic Sangha is regarded as extremely precious,
and worthy of deep reverence and respect for two basic
reasons. Firstly because the members of the sangha
continue to follow the holy life laid down by the Buddha
in its fullness; and secondly because they transmit the
teaching of the Buddha from generation to generation,
out of concern for the welfare of others. They keep the
Dhamma alive in the world.
The Buddha established the Sangha in order to provide
ideal conditions for reaching the ariyan state, for
attaining Nibbana.
Monastic Order
The bhikkhus who take ordination into the order are those
who have followed the Buddha into the state of
homelessness. They take on the Buddha’s mode of
practice; they wear his robe; they live according to his
rules. The Buddha laid down the brahmacariya, the holy
life as the way to deliverance. The monastic state
provides the optimal conditions possible in this world for
living the holy life intended by the Buddha.
Ariyans do not arise only from the monastic sangha. Those
persons who have become monks and nuns have the best
opportunities for practicing to reach the ariyan states.
 Monastic Order
The second reason that the monastic order is revered so highly
as mentioned before is that the members have the function
to transmit the Buddha’s dispensation.
They keep alive the way of life and practice established by
the Buddha. They show to others it’s possible to live a life
of purity, of renunciation, of restraint, meditation and
realisation.
By training disciples, they ensure that the Buddha’s
dispensation is passed on from one generation to another
so that it doesn’t disappear from this world.
By studying the scriptures and teaching them, they preserve
the teachings of the Buddha, spread and propagated for
the welfare of others.
For these reasons, the monastic order stands as a field of
merit, worthy of respect, offerings and support.
Formation and Growth of the Sangha
The formation of the Sangha took place soon after the
Buddha finished his first discourse, to the five ascetics.
When the Buddha finished explaining the Four Noble Truths
and the Noble Eightfold Path, Kondanna attained the stage
of stream entry and requested to be a disciple of Buddha.
The Buddha ordained him, ‘Come bhikkhu, the Dhamma is well
proclaimed. Live the holy life for the complete ending of
sufferings.’ With these words, Kondanna became the first
bhikkhu, a monk disciple of Buddha.
In formal term, a sangha is a community of a minimum of four
monks.
Formation and Growth of the Sangha
Then the Buddha continued his discourse, and the other four
ascetics gained stream entry after his talk. They also
asked to become bhikkhus under the Buddha. They were
ordained bhkkhus with the same words. They were
ordained with the same words. The Sangha was formed
for the first time, a community of five monks headed by
the Buddha.
Shortly after that, the Buddha then taught them the Truth of
Anatta (egolessness). At the end of this discourse, the five
monks achieved enlightenment, destroyed all defilements
and became arahats, fully liberated in mind.
Formation and Growth of the Sangha
In the months and years ahead, the sangha continued to
expand very rapidly for several reasons. The age when
the Buddha lived was a period when spiritual ideal was
highly valued. The prevalent religions of Buddha’s time
failed to meet the spiritual needs of the people. In
contrast to the other teachings of the time, the Buddha
offered a clear and direct path to the highest goal, a
path that is open to personal verification, appealing in
simplicity and practicality. The Buddha’s teachings
attracted followers who wanted to live the monastic life.
They came from all castes and social classes, kings, princes,
aristocrats, merchants, outcasts, beggars, etc. By the time
the Buddha passed away, the order grew to thousands in
numbers, spread out in northern India.
Renunciation and Deliverance
The key move that characterizes the act of becoming a
monk is renunciation. The initial act is pabbajja, going
forth from the household life into homelessness.
While the Buddha’s teaching is applicable to those living
the household life, anyone who has correctly grasped the
drift of the Buddha Dhamma will see that the path of
renunciation follows from it with complete naturalness.
The Buddha teaches that life in the world is inseparably
connected with dukkha, with suffering and
unsatisfactoriness, leading us again and again into the
round of birth and death.
Renunciation and Deliverance
The reason we remain bound to the wheel of becoming is
because of our attachment to it. We hang on to it through
our craving for desire, for power, for continued existence.
To gain release from the round, we have to extinguish our
craving. That is the highest renunciation, the ultimate inner
act of renunciation. But to win that attainment we
generally must begin with relatively easy acts of
renunciation, and as these gather force they eventually
lead us to a point where we no longer are attracted to the
lures of secular life. When this happens, we become ready
to leave behind the household life, to enter upon homeless
state in order to devote ourselves fully to the task of
removing the inner subtle clinging of the mind.
Renunciation and Deliverance
The homeless life is not absolutely essential for this work.
True renunciation is an inner act, not a mere outer one.
But the homeless life provides the most suitable outer
conditions for practising true renunciation.
The holy life requires purified conduct, but household life
stimulates many desires that run contrary to pure
conduct. The homeless life is a life of meditation, calling
for constant mindfulness, clear awareness and
contemplation. All this requires time, a calm
environment, freedom from external pressures and
responsibility. The Buddha founded the Sangha in order
to provide such objective conditions.
Bhikkhu
The bhikkhu, the Buddhist monk, is not a priest; he does not
function as an intermediary between the laity and any
divine power, not even between the lay person and the
Buddha. He does not administer sacraments, pronounce
absolution or perform any ritual needed for salvation.
The main task of a bhikkhu is to cultivate himself along
the path laid down by the Buddha, the path of moral
discipline, concentration, and wisdom.
Bhikkhu
Entrance into the Sangha is not binding for life time. One
who becomes a Buddhist monk does not take life-long
vows. In some Buddhist traditions in countries like Sri
Lanka, it’s expected that those who take higher
ordination remain in the robe for life.
If a person finds himself unsuitable for monastic life he is
free at any time to leave the order and return to lay life
without any kind of religious blame attached to him,
without incurring any kind of obstruction to his spiritual
progress.
In some countries like Burma and Thailand, it’s customary
for all males at sometime in their life to take ordination
for short periods.
Distinctive Marks of the Bhikkhu
The distinctive marks of the bhikkhu in all the Buddhist
countries in most Buddhist traditions are the shaven head
and the saffron robes. The reason the bhikkhu adopts this
appearance is rooted in the very nature of his calling.
The Buddhist monk seeks to realize the truth of anatta, of
selflessness. This means the relinquishing of one’s claims to
stand out as a special individual, to be a "somebody".
The aim of the bhikkhu is to eliminate the sense of ego,
of self identification. Our clothes, hairstyle, and beard
often become subtle ways by which we assert our sense
of identity or express our self image. Bhikkhus give up
their personal identity and blend into a larger body the
Sangha.
 Distinctive Marks of the Bhikkhu
The robe and the shaven head is also the reminder and
theme for their daily reflection. "My way of life is
different from that of worldly people". Unlike the
common people, he leads a life of restraints, self-control,
and inner cultivation. The robe also serves to make others
aware of the Buddha’s teaching. His conduct has the effect
of impressing on others the fruits of the Buddha’s teaching.
Another special aspect of the lifestyle of the Buddhist monk is
that he lives in dependence on the offerings of others. He
does not work for his living, he does not receive payment
for his religious services, but he lives entirely in
dependence on the support of the laity. Those who have
confidence in the Dhamma provide him with the basic
requisites, his robes, food, dwelling place, medicines, and
whatever other simple material support he might need.
Relationship Between Sangha and Lay People
The monks and nuns do not ask society for support. The code
of monastic disciplines prohibit the monks and nuns from
asking lay people for material goods except in the case of
close relatives.
The monks and nuns who live in accordance with the Dhamma
are a blessing for the lay people who provide them with
the requisites. The benefits they provide can be found at
several levels:
1. First, by receiving the support, they are able to become
teachers of the Dhamma. Because they are freed from the
necessities of providing for themselves economically, they
can study the teaching, learn it thoroughly, and teach it to
others. They guide and teach others the principles that lead
to their spiritual welfare.
Relationship Between Sangha and Lay People
2. At a deeper level, the monks and nuns who receive the
support maintain the traditions of Buddhist practice,
especially the higher practices of meditation. They serve
as an example for others; as models of those who are
pursuing the highest spiritual ideals. They show that the
Dhamma is just not a set of abstract theories, but a real
path that can be practised; and they inspire others to
undertake the practice and lead them to liberation.
3. A third benefit the sangha provides is to serve as a field
of merits for others. The Buddha teaches that giving,
dana, is a source of merit. The merit that comes from
giving is proportional to the purity of the recipient.
Relationship Between Sangha and Lay People
When the receivers are persons striving for enlightenment
and liberation, the highest goals, they become the most
fruitful field of merit. By making gifts to the sangha of
the requisites, robes, food, etc, the lay people gain merit
that will sustain them in their own quest for liberation,
which will bring them benefits in this and future lives.
Perhaps the primary symbolic expression of the close
relationship between the lay people and the sangha is
the alms round. The monks acquire their food by walking
with eyes downcast, silently and mindfully; from house to
house without discrimination, giving everyone the same
opportunity to make merit, gathering the offerings in
their alms bowls.
Relationship Between Sangha and Lay People
The monk does not ask for anything. He is not a beggar.
The bhikkhu shares the offerings with everyone in the
monastery.
The practice of going for alms round is a source of joy for
everyone, the bhikkhu receives his material support; the
lay people gain the chance to practice generosity and
acquire merit.
SANGHA – PART II
Ordination and Precepts
There are two basic levels of monastic status in the sangha,
the rank of the samanera and the rank of the bhikkhu.
The samanera is a novice monk and a bhikkhu is a fully
ordained monk. ‘Samanera’ means a little samana
(sramana) or monk. A samanera is one who has left the
household life and entered the monastic fold, but he has
not yet been fully admitted to the sangha. He is still
preparing for full ordination as a bhikkhu. He might have
to undergo a training for a period of several months or
years, but sometimes mature men are given the novice
ordination and full monk ordination on the same day.
The ceremony of becoming a samanera is called pabbajja,
the going forth from lay life to homeless life.
Ordination and Precepts - Samanera
To become a samanera, the candidate must be at least 7
years old; physically fit; provided with robes; and
accepted by a senior bhikkhu as a pupil. At the
ceremony of ordination, the candidate approaches his
preceptor with the head shaved and carrying his robes in
his hand, he then requests his preceptor to be given the
pabbajja. The preceptor would then give him an
explanation of what is involved. The preceptor takes the
robes and gives them back and this marks the
acceptance of the candidate as a samanera. The new
novice then goes off to the side, takes off his lay clothes
and puts on the robes.
Ordination and Precepts - Samanera
He returns to the teacher and requests the teacher to give
him the three refuges and the ten precepts of a
samanera. The teacher will then recite the formula for
the three refuges and the ten precepts, the samanera
repeating them after the preceptor. From then on, the
samanera must observe the ten basic precepts of the
monastic life. These are:
1. To abstain from killing or taking life.
2. To abstain from taking what is not given or stealing.
3. To abstain from incelibacy, to lead a life of strict
chastity.
4. To abstain from lying.
5. to abstain using from using intoxicants (drinks & drugs).
Ordination and Precepts - Samanera
6. To abstain from eating (taking solid food) at the wrong
time (from midday to next dawn).
7. To abstain from singing, dancing, musical instruments
and unsuitable shows.
8. To abstain from using ornaments, scents, garlands and
perfumes that beautify a person.
9. To abstain from using high or luxurious seat and bed.
10. To abstain from accepting gold or silver or money.
During the period of training, the young novice monk must
study the Dhamma, learn the aspect of monastic
discipline and prepare himself for future full ordination.
Ordination and Precepts - Bhikkhu
The ceremony of full ordination as a bhikkhu is called
upasampada. To be eligible for upasampada, the
candidate must have been a samanera for sometime;
twenty years old; free from impediments such as incurable
diseases (leprosy, tuberculosis and epilepsy); a free man,
not in debt, not in debt, exempt from military service; have
permission from the parents. He must have a complete set
of robes and an alms bowl when he comes for the
ceremony, these are usually provided by a lay supporter.
The ceremony of upasampada requires a sangha of at least
five bhkkhus, usually more are present. The sangha is
headed by a bhikkhu of at least 10 years’ standing in the
order, who has a good knowledge of Dhamma and
Vinaya or code of moral discipline. This senior monk
Ordination and Precepts - Bhikkhu
will serve as the preceptor for the new bhikkhu.
The ceremony begins with a monk chanting the motion that
such and such a candidate requests upasampada with
such and such a senior monk as his preceptor. Three
announcements of this fact are made. If none of the
bhkkhus present object, then when the third
announcement is finished, the candidate is accepted as a
bhikkhu.
After the actual ordination, the preceptor explains to the
new bhikkhu the four things that are absolutely
prohibited (parajika) for a newly ordained monk:
1. Engaging in sexual intercourse of any kind.
Ordination and Precepts - Bhikkhu
2. Taking anything of value that is not given.
3. Killing another human being.
4. Falsely claiming to have reached some higher spiritual
attainment.
If a bhikkhu commits any of the above forbidden acts, he
is immediately expelled from the sangha; and he can
never be ordained again in this life time.
The preceptor then explains the four supports of the
homeless life. These are:
1. To live on food collected on alms round.
2. To use robes made from cast-off rags.
Ordination and Precepts - Bhikkhu
3. To live beneath a tree.
4. use cow’s urine as medicine.
These four observances are not compulsory. Monks are
allowed to accept food offered by lay people at home
or brought to the monastery. Monks can wear robes
already prepared by householders. They can live in
buildings like temples or monasteries or cottages. They
can use any kind of proper medicine. Nowadays only
the first support is commonly followed. However the
formula is still recited as a formality to emphasise the
spirit of poverty, simplicity and purity that are essential
to a monk’s life.
Ordination and Precepts - Bhikkhu
The bhikkhu is allowed to own eight articles. These include:
• three robes: antaravasika or under-robe worn around
the waist; upper robe or utarasangha worn over the
shoulder covering the upper part of the body; double
thick outer robe, sanghati, usually worn only in cool
weather.
• Belt; alms bowl; razor and needle; and water strainer.
In actual practice, bhikkhus usually own a few other extra
necessities, varying in quantities according to their life
styles. Teaching bhikkhus in towns would need extra
robes, books, note paper, pens, etc. Bhikkhus living in
the forest would need little extra beyond their
requisites, fan, sandals, clock, umbrella etc.
Ordination and Precepts - Bhikkhu
A monk has to obtain his requisites in a pure way. He
doesn’t work at a profession. He is forbidden to beg,
coerce or persuade others to give them. He receives the
requisites through the generosity and kindness of the
laity.
In using the four principle requisites, the robes, the alms
food, the shelter, and medicine, he has to reflect on their
proper purposes.
When he puts on his robes, he has to reflect that he uses the
robes for the purposes of keeping off the cold, the heat,
the sun, wind and creeping things and for covering up the
body.
Ordination and Precepts - Bhikkhu
He reflects that he uses the alms food in order to support
his life, to keep himself in good health, to prevent
disease and to live the life of holiness.
He reflects that he uses the shelter to keep out the heat,
cold, mosquitoes, gnats, and to protect himself from the
weather.
He reflects that he uses the medicines for the purpose of
keeping off disease, for the maximum of health and
wellbeing.
Life in the sangha is regulated by a body of rules called
the Vinaya. The word, ‘Vinaya’ means ‘leading away’,
the code of rules that lead us away from wrong deeds
of body and speech.
 Vinaya
Vinaya is contained in the Vinaya Pitaka, the Books of
Discipline. These books set forth the precepts of monastic
life. Some of these precepts are moral in nature and
concerned with the fundamentals of spiritual development.
Others are principles of etiquette, which help to establish
harmony among the monks themselves, and between the
sangha and laity as a whole.
The heart of the vinaya is the code of 227 rules called the
patimokkha. These are the backbone of monastic discipline.
The rules of the patimokkha are classified into several
categories of different degrees of moral weight. The most
important are the four parajika, four prohibited acts -
Vinaya
sexual intercourse, theft, killing another human being, and
false claim of spiritual attainment. Violation of any of
these four leads to defeat, expulsion from the order.
Thirteen other rules of lesser degree of gravity if violated
lead to a period of penance with temporary suspension
of monastic privileges.
The remaining rules vary in importance and in the
consequences that are entailed when violated. For good
monks, it is important that they try to keep all the rules as
scrupulously as they can.
All the rules might not seem to be extremely serious, but the
problem is once a person starts breaking minor rules, it’s
Vinaya: Patimokkha
often a matter of time until he starts breaking major
rules. Therefore the guiding principle for a monk who is
serious in following the Buddha’s path is to try to
maintain and protect all the rules to the best of his
ability. The foundation of higher stages of spiritual
training is moral discipline. For a bhikkhu, the backbone
of his moral discipline is the patimokkha.
The patimokkha is recited by the sangha together at a
ceremony called ‘uposatha’ which is held on the day of
the full moon and the new moon of each lunar month. It’s
held in a monastery whenever there are four monks or
more living together.
Uposatha; Vassa
Before the uposatha ceremony takes place, the bhikkhus
need to confess their transgressions to one another. Then
they all sit together, one senior bhikkhu will recite the
patimokkha while the rest will listen. While it is recited, if
a monk remembers a transgression he has committed,
then he will confess the transgression before the group as
a whole.
Another special occasion of the monastic life is the vassa.
Vassa is a period of three months coinciding with the
rainy season of India, from the full moon day of July to
the full moon day of October. During vassa, the monks
take up residence in a single dwelling without travelling
outside except in emergencies or special cases when their
presence is required somewhere.
Vassa
The rule requiring the bhikkhu to observe the vassa was
made by the Buddha because of the conditions in India
during the time of the rain. When the rain fell, the earth
would teem with vegetation and insect life would become
abundant. If the monks travelled a lot, they would
trample on the crops, ruined the people’s field and
destroy insect life. To prevent this, the Buddha made the
rule for the monks to stay in a fixed abode for a period
of three months. During this time the lay people would
provide them with their requisites and take care of the
monks with great felicity. Even now in places where there
is no rain during this period, it’s traditional for the monks
to observe the retreat of vassa.
Vassa
During this period the bhikkhus would devote themselves to
study, or meditate or write to perfect their own skills.
At the close of the vassa, the bhikkhus would assemble and
hold a ceremony called ‘pavarana’. At the pavarana
ceremony, each monk invites the other monks in the
community to point out any wrong he might have
committed and to ask for their patience and forgiveness
for any wrongs he might have committed. When the
pavarana is finished, the vassa is completed.
Usually within a month after the end of the vassa, a major
ceremony called kathina takes place, bringing together
the laity and the sangha, symbolising the unity of the
Buddha’s followers.
Vinaya
At the kathina ceremony, the laity offer new robes to the
monks who have observed the vassa retreat. They also
bring other goods needed by the temple of monastery.
All the monks, irrespective of their age and standing, are
guided by the same training in moral discipline
concentration and wisdom. All share the same
disciplinary code, the patimokkha, and the rest of the
vinaya.
Beyond these, the members of the order divide into two
basic types, the career of books (study of scripture) and
the career of practice (meditation). These two are not
absolutely exclusive. Ideally there should be a synthesis
of the two.
Careers: Pariyatti & Patipatti
Monks who study scriptures would do daily meditation
while the monks who meditate would have some
proficiency in the scriptures. Generally there is a
tendency towards specialisation. Some monks emphasise
the pariyatti Dhamma (study of scriptures); others
emphasise patipatti Dhamma (practice meditation).
Monks following the two careers usually live in different
regions. Monks who follow the career of study usually
live in the cities, towns or villages, while the following the
way of strict practice usually live in more remote areas in
the forests. This division is not so sharp. Sometimes in city
monasteries, there are monks who are devoted fully to
meditation. In some forest monasteries, there are also
monks who are specialists in scriptures
Pariyatti
The main task of the monks following the career of books is
to study, teach and expound the scriptures of Buddhism.
In the Theravada tradition, the main scriptural authority is
the Tripitaka, the three baskets of doctrine, set down in
the ancient Pali language. These are the Sutta Pitaka
(discourses of the Buddha and the great disciples),
Vinaya Pitaka (the Books of Monastic Disciplines), and
the Abhidhamma Pitaka (philosophical and psychological
treatises). To learn means to memorise. Memorisation is
still emphasised today. Monks would memorise the
scripture and study the commentaries to learn the
meaning thoroughly. When they have gained some
proficiency, they would teach others, give sermons and
lectures, and train younger monks in the scriptures.
Town Bhikkhus
Those studying bhkkhus who live in the vicinity of cities,
towns or villages participate in various religious rites in
domestic life of the laity. They interact with the laity in all
occasions in daily life from birth to death. Their main
involvement are in meal invitation and chanting of sutta
and preaching. Dana is a great source of merits for the
lay people. Dana would be offered to the monks by a
family or group of lay people. After the meal, the monk
would give a sermon followed by chanting of
benediction.
Special chanting sessions are also held from time to time. A
group of monks would be invited to chant special
protective discourses, the paritta.
Town Bhikkhus
At periodic intervals, monks would deliver lengthy sermons.
These can be attended by large numbers of lay people
who make these occasions of preachings their main
opportunities for learning the Dhamma.
On special occasions in Uposatha day, devoted lay people
would go to the temple and stay the whole day and
night. On these occasions, they would take the eight
precepts living like novice monks and nuns. They devote
their time to meditation, reciting texts and to asking
monks questions, quiet study and listening to several
lengthy discourses which might be delivered during the
uposatha period.
Forest Bhikkhus
In contrast to the life of the town bhikkhus, the life of the
forest bhikkhus is quiet. Their time is reserved for inner
work, for cultivating their mind for the development of
calm and insight. In forest hermitages, the group of
monks live together usually under the guidance of an
accomplished meditation master. They live in small huts
usually separated at some good distance from one
another to give the seclusion needed for the practice.
The training of the forest monk follows the ancient pattern
coming down from the time of Buddha – sila, samadhi
and panna. He lives a life of discipline; contentment with
simplicity; applies control of the senses; mindfulness in
daily actions and activities; meditation to purify the mind
and develop jhana as a base to develop wisdom.
Place of Nuns in Buddhism
In India at the time Buddhism arose, women were held in a
subservient position, made to be dependent on men in all
periods of their life – dependent on the father in their
childhood, dependent on the husband in their maturity,
dependent on the sons in their old age. They were bound
down by domestic duties and burden. They received
little consideration as individuals in their own right. Their
capacity for spiritual development went unrecognised.
It’s against this background that we should view the
Buddha’s move in creating the bhikkhuni sangha, an
order of fully ordained nuns.
The Buddha hesitated to permit women to enter the
homeless life. When he agreed to do so, he laid down
several special regulations for the nuns.
 Bhikkhuni Order
The order of nuns was established in the early years of the
Buddha’s ministry. One year after his enlightenment , he
returned to his homeland of Kapilavatthu and taught
Dhamma to his people, the Sakyans. A good number of
them, men and women achieved insight and attained
different levels of realisations. His foster mother,
Mahapajapati Gotami became a stream-enterer and his
father, the King became a non-returner. Several years later,
he returned to Kapilavatthu to see his father who was lying
in his death bed. He taught Dhamma to his father. His
father attained arahatship just before dying.
After his father’s death, his mother Mahapajapati went to the
Buddha and asked him if women could be allowed to enter
into the homeless life. The Buddha did not refuse flatly.
Bhikkhuni Order
The Buddha discouraged her, ‘please do not ask for women
to be allowed to go forth into the homeless life.’ He
repeated this three times. Probably he was thinking that
the homeless life which was difficult even for men to
follow would be much harder for the women who had
been brought up in sheltered life in the palace to follow.
The Buddha left Kapilavatthu for Vesali, about 250-300
miles away. Meanwhile Mahapajapati cut off her hair
and put on saffron robe. Together with a group of
Sakyan women, she set out for Vesali. When she arrived
in Vesali, Venerable Ananda saw her standing there, her
feet were swollen and her limbs were covered with dust,
looking very unhappy with tears on her face. Venerable
Ananda asked her why she was standing there like that.
Bhikkhuni Order
She explained to Venerable Ananda that the Buddha
would not allow the women to go forth. Then Venerable
Ananda approached the Buddha and on behalf of the
women asked the Buddha for permission for the women
to go forth into the homeless life. He asked three times.
Three times, the Buddha did not refuse but responded,
‘do not ask for women to be allowed to receive the
going forth.’ After the third time, Venerable Ananda used
a different tactic, he asked, ‘Venerable Sir, is it possible
for women to achieve the path and fruit? Is it possible for
them to achieve arahatship?’. The Buddha said, ‘it’s
possible, Ananda’.
Bhikkhuni Order
Then Venerable Ananda said, 'If this is so, and since
Mahapajapati had been so helpful to you, when your
mother died, she became your foster mother and gave
you milk and took care of you in every way, for this
reason, it would be good if women could obtain the
going forth.’ Then the Buddha said he would allow the
women to go forth to become bhikkhuni if they would
agree to eight principles.
These eight principles all have the effect of making the
bhikkhuni sangha to some extent subordinate to the
bhikkhu order. They require the order of nuns to show
special respect and reverence for the bhikkhus.
Bhikkhuni Order
These rules were intended to reduce the contact of the nuns
and monks that may lead to corruption of the order, and
to retain the respect of the laity for the order and the
Dhamma so that the Dhamma would not disappear due
to possible loss of respect from the laity.
Once the order of bhikkhuni was formed, it attracted
women from all walks of life. Women of royal staff,
poor women ordinary housewives, courtesans, young
girls, etc left their homes to put on the yellow robes of
Buddhist nuns. Some achieved arahatship; some became
prominent members of the sangha, masters of meditation,
excelling in wisdom and concentration, in learning and
supernormal powers.
Bhikkhuni Order
Some of the nuns’ discourses are collected in the Sutta
pitaka. The verses of the nuns who had achieved
arahatship were collected together into a single book of
the Sutta Pitaka, the Therigatha, the Verses of the Elder
Nuns.
Like the order of the bhikkhus, the order of nuns has its own
patimokkha. These contain more than 300 rules, more
than that of the order of monks. One of the regulations
for the bhikkhuni sangha which was to have unfortunate
consequences was the requirement that a woman novice
has to receive full ordination from both orders, the order
of monks and the order of nuns.
Bhikkhuni Sangha
For several centuries, the bhikkhuni sangha continued to
flourish in India. During the 3rd century B.C., King Ashoka
allowed his own daughter, Sanghamitta to become a
bhikkhuni. Together with a group of nuns, Sanghamitta
travelled to Sri Lanka with a branch of the Bodhi tree
and helped to establish the bhikkhuni sangha in Sri
Lanka. After Sanghamitta had set up the bhikkhuni
sangha, many women from all the different strata of the
Singhalese society joined the women’s order which
became famous for the saintliness and piety of its nuns.
The bhikkhuni order continued to thrive in Sri Lanka for
many centuries, right up to the 10th century A.D.
 Bhikkhuni Sangha
During this period, it received the support of the kings, royal
governments and laity. Due to a series of invasions from
south India, the bhikkhuni sangha seemed to die out in the
10th century A.D. The bhikkhuni order also disappeared in
India.
Since ordination as a bhikkhuni has to be received from an
existing bhikkhuni sangha, when the latter has died out,
ordination becomes impossible and the lineage cannot
continue.
Today, women in Theravada countries continue to be drawn to
the monastic life, living the holy life of ancient bhikkhunis;
serving as teachers and meditation master; engage in social
services. (see separate article by Bhikkhu Bodhi for more
current development of Theravada nuns)