Vinaya

Vinaya (‘that which separates’). The rules which govern the saṅgha, and thus lives of Buddhist bhikkhus and bhikkunīs. It is one of the three parts (‘baskets’) of the Tripiṭaka. It is divided into three parts: Sutta Vibhaṅga (Sūtravibhaṅga, also known as Vinayavibhaṅga), which has incorporated an earlier disciplinary text, Pratimokṣa Sūtra: it thus becomes a statement and explication of the pratimokṣa rules. The second part is Skandhaka (Khandhaka, ‘Chapters’, also called Vinayavastu), of more diverse materials, and itself divided into Mahāvagga (‘Greater Section’) and Cūlavagga (‘Smaller Section’): in addition to rules governing rituals and communal occasions, e.g. uposatha, vassa, admission to the order, schism, it contains a partial biography of the Buddha and an account of the first two Councils; it also establishes the importance of sīmā, ‘boundary’, which establishes much more than territory: it designates a sacred space in which all new members of the community are ordained, thus securing the continuity of the community. The third part is Parivāra, a kind of appendix which organizes the material of the other parts in ways which make it easier to learn. See also TAO-HSÜAN; RITSU.