Vinaya

This article is about the literature of monastic discipline across Buddhist traditions. For the Pali Vinaya of the Theravada tradition, see Vinaya Pitaka.
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The Vinaya texts (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) are texts of the Buddhist canon (Tripitaka) that also contain the rules and precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded sramanas). The precepts were initially developed thirteen years after the Buddha's enlightenment.[1] Three parallel Vinaya school traditions remain in use by modern ordained sanghas: the Theravada (Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia), Mulasarvastivada (Tibetan Buddhism and the Himalayan region) and Dharmaguptaka (Taiwan and East Asian Buddhism). In addition to these three Vinaya traditions, five other Vinaya schools of Indian Buddhism are preserved in Asian canonical manuscripts, including those of the Kāśyapīya, the Mahāsāṃghika, the Mahīśāsaka, the Sammatīya, and the Sarvāstivāda.[1][2]

The word Vinaya is derived from a Sanskrit verb that can mean to lead, take away, train, tame, or guide, or alternately to educate or teach.[3] It is often translated as 'discipline', with Dhamma-vinaya, 'doctrine and discipline', used by the Buddha to refer to his complete teachings, suggesting its integral role in Buddhist practice.[4]

  1. ^ a b The 17th Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje. "The development of the Vinaya rules for monastics and the Pratimoksha Sutra precepts". August 2022. Transcribed by Adele Tomlin, Dakini Translations, 02 September 2022.
  2. ^ Keown, Damien. Dictionary of Buddhism. 2003. p. 220.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference eob was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Access to Insight: Vinaya Pitaka: The Basket of Discipline