PR?TIMOK?A

The pr?timok?a (P?li, p?timokkha), presumably the oldest section of the vinaya, contains the disciplinary code that regulates the life of the sa?gha, the Buddhist monastic community. The etymology of the term pr?timok?a is uncertain, but it denotes the highest standard of conduct for Buddhist monastics. In the early days of the Buddhist community, the pr?timok?a was apparently a simple profession of faith in the Buddha's primary teachings that was recited periodically by the expanding sa?gha. Later, the term came to refer to the corpus of disciplinary rules that developed gradually over time as the sa?gha grew and regulations were formulated in response to specific incidents of misconduct.

The pr?timok?a is recited twice a month, on the full moon and new moon days, at an observance known as sa?gha po?adha (P?li, uposatha). This observance is a rite of confession in which the actual confession of faults precedes the recitation of precepts and declaration of purity. The Bhik?upr?timok?a is recited by fully ordained monks and the Bhik?u??pr?timok?a is recited by fully ordained nuns in separate observances; novices and laypeople are not permitted to attend. The semimonthly obligatory recitation of the pr?timok?a is a means of reviewing the ethical guidelines and rules of etiquette that the monks and nuns voluntarily agree to observe, and a time for them to reaffirm their purity with regard to the prohibitions. This liturgical observance, conducted within a s?m? (ritually established boundary), is a way to ensure harmony within the sa?gha and between the sa?gha and the laity. Rituals of repentance and confession and specific procedures for expiating offenses are prescribed. The importance of the precepts is evident in the Buddha's declaration that the pr?timok?a would guide the sa?gha after he passed away.

The pr?timok?a precepts found in the vinaya (monastic discipline) regulate the lives of Buddhist monastics who have received the upasa?pad? (full ordination), as well as novices and probationers who are in training. The precepts give detailed instructions that regulate ethical decision making, food, clothing, shelter, furnishings, and other material requisites, as well as the rules that govern etiquette and personal interactions. The extant texts of all schools of vinaya list five categories of precepts that are common to both bhik?us and bhik?u??s: (1) p?r?jika (defeats that entail expulsion from the sa?gha, such as killing a human being or engaging in sexual intercourse); (2) sa?gh?va?e?a (remainders that entail suspension, such as acting as a go-between or baselessly accusing someone of a p?r?jika); (3) ni?sargika-p?tayantika (abandoning downfalls that entail forfeiture, such as keeping excess robes or engaging in business activities); (4) p?tayantika (propelling downfalls or lapses, such as intentionally telling a lie or eating at an improper time); and (5) ?aik?? (faults or misdeeds, such as wearing the robes improperly or eating in a careless fashion). There is one additional category for bhik?us, the two aniyatadharma (individually confessed downfalls), and one for bhik?u??s, the eight pratide?an?ya (offenses requiring confession). The seven adhikara?a-?amatha (methods of resolving disputes) are included in the pr?timok?as of both bhik?us and bhik?u??s. These seven methods include assembling the parties to the dispute, remembering events, admitting one's responsibility, resolving matters by a majority decision, and so forth.

Diverse schools of vinaya (nik?yas) developed in India within a few hundred years after the Buddha's parinirv??a, but the pr?timok?a rules and procedures of all these schools are thought to derive from the rules of discipline that were originally recited at the first of the Buddhist councils. Although the substance of the precepts is fundamentally the same, the specific numbers of precepts vary slightly from one school to another, for a variety of reasons. For example, (1) local communities had different interpretations of monastic discipline and there was no central authority to adjudicate them; (2) the precepts were transmitted orally and in different languages for several hundred years before they were written down; and (3) as the Buddhist community spread to different geographical and cultural areas, some precepts were adjusted in accordance with local customs. These schools are in almost complete agreement concerning the precepts, exhibiting only minor differences.

Of the roughly eighteen schools of vinaya that developed in India, three lineages of pr?timok?a are still in existence today. The Therav?da Vinaya is preserved in P?li and practiced by bhik?us in Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Sri Lanka; although the Bhik?u??pr?timok?a exists in P?li, there is no living lineage of bhik?u??s in the Therav?da tradition. The Dharmaguptaka-vinaya is preserved in Chinese and practiced by bhik?us and bhik?u??s in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The M?lasarv?stiv?davinaya is preserved in Tibetan and practiced by bhik?us in Bhutan, the Indian Himalayas, Mongolia, Nepal, and Tibet; although the Bhik?u??pr?timok?a exists in Tibetan, there is no living lineage of bhik?u??s in the Tibetan tradition. In the Therav?da tradition, there are 227 precepts for bhik?us and 311 for bhik?u??s; in the Dharmagupta, there are 250 for bhik?us and 348 for bhik?u??s; and in the M?lasarv?stiv?da, there are 258 for bhik?us and 354 for bhik?u??s.

The Bhik?u??pr?timok?a-s?tra exists in all three of these vinaya schools, but a living lineage of bhik?u??s exists only in the Dharmagupta school. Tens of thousands of bhik?u??s in China, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam today regulate their lives by the Bhik?u??pr?timok?a of the Dharmagupta school. In all three extant vinaya schools, the number of precepts for bhik?u??s is considerably greater than for bhik?us. The Bhik?u sa?gha was quite well organized and influential by the time the Bhik?u? Sa?gha was established five or six years later, so the bhik?u??s were naturally expected to follow the majority of the bhik?us precepts, in addition to new precepts occasioned by specific misbehavior among the nuns. In the first category of precepts, the p?r?jikas, there are four that are common to both bhik?us and bhik?u??s. They are to refrain from: (1) sexual intercourse, (2) taking what is not given, (3) taking a human life, and (4) telling lies, especially about one's spiritual attainments. The four additional p?r?jikas for bhik?u??s are to refrain from: (5) bodily contact with a lustful man; (6) arranging to meet a man with amorous intentions; (7) concealing a p?r?jika of another bhik?u??; and (8) obeying a bhik?u who has been expelled from the sa?gha. Of the second category of precepts, sa?gh?va?e?as, bhik?us in all schools have thirteen, whereas bhik?u??s in the Dharmagupta and Therav?da have seventeen, and bhik?u??s in the M?lasarv?stiv?da have twenty. Some sa?gh?va?e?as are similar for bhik?us and bhik?u??s (e.g., acting as a go-between, baselessly accusing someone of a p?r?jika, refusing to accept admonishments, creating a schism in the sa?gha), while others are dissimilar.

Broadly interpreted, there are eight types of pr?timok?a precepts: bhik?u (fully ordained monk), bhik?u??(fully ordained nun), ?ik?am??? (probationary nun), ?r?ma?era (male novice), ?r?ma?erik? (female novice), up?saka (layman), up?sik? (laywoman), and upav?satha (one-day lay observance). There is no counterpart to the ?ik?am??? (probationary nun) ordination for monks. The first seven categories of pr?timok?a precepts generally entail a lifetime commitment, except in countries such as Thailand where temporary ordination is offered. The eighth type of pr?timok?a precepts, upav?satha, is the observance of eight precepts for twenty-four hours by laypeople. The aim of all types of pr?timok?a precepts is to cultivate restraint of the senses as a means to achieve liberation.

See also:Councils, Buddhist; Festivals and Calendrical Rituals

Bibliography

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Tsomo, Karma Lekshe. Sisters in Solitude: Two Traditions of Buddhist Monastic Ethics for Women, a Comparative Analysis of the Dharmagupta and M?lasarv?stiv?da Bhik?u?? Pr?timok?a S?tras. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996.

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Karma Lekshe Tsomo