Chapters on Monastic Discipline

“The Chapter on Going Forth” is the first of seventeen chapters in The Chapters on Monastic Discipline, a four-volume work that outlines the statutes and procedures that govern life in a Buddhist monastic community. This first chapter traces the development of the rite by which postulants were admitted into the monastic order, from the Buddha Śākyamuni’s informal invitation to “Come, monk,” to the more elaborate “Present Day Rite.” Along the way, the posts of preceptor and instructor are introduced, their responsibilities defined, and a dichotomy between elders and immature novices described. While the heart of the chapter is a transcript of the “Present Day Rite,” the text is interwoven with numerous narrative asides, depicting the spiritual ferment of the north Indian region of Magadha during the Buddha’s lifetime, the follies of untrained and unsupervised apprentices, and the need for a formal system of tutelage.

The Chapter on Purification narrates the origins of the monastic “confession” ceremony. This ceremony, called Poṣadha in Sanskrit, is the very foundation of monastic life throughout Asia. To this day, monks and nuns gather twice a month for Poṣadha to reaffirm their vows and restore the bonds that knit together the monastic community. This text provides detailed instructions on how to purify mind and monastic discipline through the practice of meditation and the formal Poṣadha confession rite, respectively. Its translation into English will be of great value to non-Tibetan speaking saṅghas who seek to uphold the Buddha’s monastic tradition.

Describes the pravāraṇā ceremony in which certain restrictions adopted for the rains retreat are relaxed, marking the end of the rains retreat.

Describes the timing and procedures for the annual rains retreat.

This text discusses the use of hides by members of the Buddhist monastic community for various occasions. It begins with a lengthy narrative on the life story of Śroṇa Koṭikarṇa, whose wandering in the realms of the hungry ghosts eventually led him to become an ordained Buddhist monk. Regulations on the matter of hides were first discussed when Śroṇa Koṭikarṇa, on behalf of his master Mahākātyāyana, asked the Blessed One five questions concerning the special circumstances in the region of Aśmāparāntaka. More rules were established to regulate the use of shoes and the materials that could be use to make shoes, rugs, sitting mats, as well as rules that regulate the use of tall and wide bed, issues concerning river-crossing, bathing, and the storage of tools for repairing shoes.

The Bhaiṣajyavastu, “The Chapter on Medicines,” is a part of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the corpus of monastic law of one of the most influential Buddhist schools in India. This chapter deals with monastic regulations about medicines. At the same time, it also includes various elements not restricted to such rules: stories of the Buddha and his disciples, a lengthy story of the Buddha’s journey for the purpose of quelling an epidemic and converting a nāga, a number of stories of the Buddha’s former lives narrated by the Buddha himself, and a series of verses recited by the Buddha and his disciples about their former lives. Thus, this chapter preserves not only interesting information about medical knowledge shared by ancient Indian Buddhist monastics but also an abundance of Buddhist narrative literature.