Most established religions have a codified and often comprehensive list of rules, and Buddhism is no exception.
For Theravada Buddhists, that list is the Patimokkha, itself part of a larger text called the Suttavibhanga. The rules are largely based on what the Buddha himself said and did in his life, but the actual writing down of these rules was done by his followers shortly after his death in 483 BC. So this document, the Patimokkha, is 2,500 years old. It helps to keep the age in mind as you read through the full list.
I wanted to share some thoughts as I study the rules and their context.
For starters there are 227 rules for male monks (bhikkhus) and 311 rules for female monks (bhikkhunis). Here are 110 rules specifically for bhikkhunis. There are differing interpretations as to why women have more rules to follow than men, as you can read here. The top reasons seem to be:
1. Bhikkhuni ordination rules are counted in the Patimokkha, but bhikkhu rules are not (why, I don’t know)
2. Extra rules were added to prevent abuse of power by bhikkhus, and to prevent conflicts that arose specifically among bhikkhunis
But largely the rules are the same and are in line with Buddhism’s precepts.
For example, there are 30 rules to encourage you to own less and acquire less, among them:
Accepting gold or money, having someone else accept it, or consenting to its being placed down as a gift for oneself, is a nissaggiya pācittiya offense. (NP 18)
Obtaining gold or money through trade is a nissaggiya pācittiya offense. (NP 19)
There are 75 rules for proper training, for example, how to wear your robe, when not to laugh, how to eat your food. And 7 rules that amount to a sort of legal code among monks.
The Patimokkha also seems quite focused, in training, on how to control your body and physical behavior, especially in public:
I will go [sit] with eyes lowered in inhabited areas: a training to be observed.
I will not go [sit] swinging my arms in inhabited areas: a training to be observed.
I will not go tiptoeing or walking just on the heels in inhabited areas: a training to be observed.
And of course there are some head scratchers and funny ones, when taken out of historical and cultural context. Again, a bhikkhuni is a female monk, a nun:
Should any bhikkhunī, lusting, consent to a lusting man’s taking hold of her hand or touching the edge of her outer robe, or should she stand with him or converse with him or go to a rendezvous with him, or should she consent to his approaching her, or should she enter a hidden place with him, or should she dispose her body to him (any of these) for the purpose of that unrighteous act (Comm: physical contact) then she also is defeated and no longer in affiliation for “(any of) eight grounds.”
Should any bhikkhunī eat garlic, it is to be confessed.
Should any bhikkhunī do a chore for a lay person, it is to be confessed.
That last one I’m particularly curious about, and will further research. If anyone has the answer, please let me know.
The rules have differing levels of importance, and punishments vary accordingly. For example, stealing is grounds for expulsion from the community. Lesser rules when violated can result in probation, in public reprimand, in private penance, and so on.
Finally, not only is killing perhaps the most serious offense a monk can commit, but even talking about death in a positive manner is comparably bad:
“praise the advantages of death, or incite him to die (saying,): “My good man, what use is this evil, miserable life to you? Death would be better for you than life,” or with such an idea in mind, such a purpose in mind, should in various ways praise the advantages of death or incite him to die, he also is defeated and no longer in affiliation.”
Sources, if not linked above:
- http://en.dhammadana.org/sangha/vinaya/227.htm
- https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/vin/sv/bhikkhu-pati.html#pr
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patimokkha
Thanks for reading! I’m spending a lot of time these days studying organized religions, as I believe they’re a source of wisdom and stories. Here’s a post about how religion helps you build good habits, and here’s a post about why I believe religion will be around much longer than all the modern technologies we obsess over today.