THE BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE

The Buddhist Monastic Code The Pāṭimokkha Rules Translated & Explained by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) Contents BMC I: The Pāṭimokkha

THE BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I: THE PĀṬIMOKKHA RULES Copyright third edition, revised: 2013 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu This work is licensed under

INTRODUCTION Dhamma-Vinaya Dhamma-Vinaya was the Buddha’s own name for the religion he founded. Dhamma—the truth—is what he discovered and pointed

CHAPTER ONE Pāṭimokkha The Pāṭimokkha is available to us in several recensions, some in Indic languages, others in Tibetan or Chinese

CHAPTER TWO Nissaya The Dhamma and Vinaya impinge in such detail on so many areas of one’s life that no new

CHAPTER THREE Disrobing The first rule in the Pāṭimokkha opens with the statement that it—and, by extension, every other rule in

CHAPTER FOUR Pārājika This term, according to the Parivāra, derives from a verb meaning to lose or be defeated. A bhikkhu

CHAPTER FIVE Saṅghādisesa This term means “involving the Community in the initial (ādi) and subsequent (sesa) acts.” It derives from the fact that the Community

CHAPTER SIX Aniyata This term means “indefinite.” The rules in this section do not assign definite or fixed penalties, but instead

CHAPTER SEVEN Nissaggiya Pācittiya The term nissaggiya, used in connection with training rules, means “entailing forfeiture.” Used in connection with articles, it means

Two: The Silk Chapter 11 Should any bhikkhu have a felt (blanket/rug) made of a mixture containing silk, it is

Three: The Bowl Chapter 21 An extra alms bowl may be kept ten days at most. Beyond that, it is

CHAPTER EIGHT Pācittiya As explained in the preceding chapter, this term is most probably related to the verb pacinati, “to know,” and means

Two: The Living Plant Chapter 11 The damaging of a living plant is to be confessed. “A certain Āḷavī bhikkhu

Three: The Exhortation Chapter 21 Should any bhikkhu, unauthorized, exhort the bhikkhunīs, it is to be confessed. “Now at that

Four: The Food Chapter Many of the rules in this chapter classify food into two groups: bhojana/bhojaniya (consumables) and khādaniya (chewables). Scholars usually translate

Five: The Naked Ascetic Chapter 41 Should any bhikkhu give staple or non-staple food with his own hand to a