Vinaya

Contents

The core is the Patimokkha, a list of rules — 227 for monks in the Theravada recension, more for nuns — graded by severity, from four offences entailing permanent expulsion through those requiring formal meetings of the community down to minor matters of etiquette.

Around this sits the Suttavibhanga, which gives for each rule the story of the incident that occasioned it, the exact formulation, a word-by-word analysis, and the exceptions. The Khandhaka covers ordination, the rainy-season retreat, the fortnightly recitation, robes, medicine, the settlement of disputes and the procedures of the assembly.

Character

The Vinaya is casuistic rather than systematic: rules are given with the circumstances that produced them, and the analysis is concerned with what exactly constitutes an offence and what does not. The narratives, incidentally, are among the richest sources for the social history of early India — they describe merchants, kings, courtesans, physicians, disputes over property and the ordinary life of the towns in which the order moved.

Procedure

Authority in the sangha is procedural. Ordinations, disciplinary decisions and the settlement of disputes are conducted by formal acts of the assembled community, with quorum requirements and prescribed motions. There is no office with power to override the assembly.

This is why the Vinaya matters beyond monastic housekeeping: it is the constitution of the institution, and divisions in the order have generally been divisions over it.

Recensions

Several Vinayas survive: the Pali of the Theravada, the Mulasarvastivada in Sanskrit and Tibetan, the Dharmaguptaka in Chinese, and fragments of others. They agree closely on the core rules and diverge in arrangement and detail, which is strong evidence that the framework predates the schools' separation.