English Articles on Vinaya

From Wikivinaya

Revision as of 08:24, 19 July 2006

Dhammatalks on Vinaya

Understanding Vinaya. Ajahn Chah (38.7KB)

Comment: Ajahn delivers a candid discourse on the Vinaya and his encounters related to it. He hands on practical advice from Ajahn Mun to monks who find the observing the Vinaya too daunting a task. Good reading.

Articles by Ajahn Brahmavamso

• The Four Disrobing Offenses.
• Monks and Money.
• Wrong Livelihood.
• May a monk act as a doctor?.
• Ordination of Women.
• Monks and Women, Nuns and Men.
• Ownership and Administration of Monasteries.
• The Ordination Ceremony of a Monk.
• What the Buddha said about eating meat.
• The time and place for eating.

From Journal of Buddhist Ethics

Comment: Good readings for those into scholastic studies. Not for casual readers.

• Attitudes to Euthanasia in the Vinaya and Commentary. Damien Keown

Extract: In his commentary on the third paaraajika in the Samantapaasaadikaa, Buddhaghosa sets out to clarify the legal provisions of the monastic precept against taking life. The root text and his comments on it are relevant to the contemporary debate on euthanasia, and this paper considers what light Buddhist jurisprudence can shed on this moral dilemma.

• Buddhist Case Law on Theft: the viniitavatthu on the second paaraajika. Andrew Huxley

• Vinaya Principles for Assigning Degrees of Culpability. Peter Harvey

• Vinaya in Theravaada Temples in the United States. Paul David Numrich

• Damming the Dhamma: Problems with Bhikkhunis in the Pali Vinaya. Kate Blackstone (65KB)

Extract: ... in the story of the inauguration of women's ordination, when the Buddha utilizes the metaphor of a dam for the eight special rules he imposes upon Mahaaprajaapatii Gotamii as a condition of ordination, the implications are clear. The presence of women in the order poses a serious and inescapable threat to the dhamma and vinaya, liable, like a flood, to wash away the edifice he had so carefully built up.

• A Buddhist View of Women: A Comparative Study of the Rules for Bhiksunis and Bhiksus Based on the Chinese Praatimoksa. In Young Chung (268KB)

Extract: Although most Buddhist scholars and writers contend that bhik.su.niis were subordinated to bhik.sus by having so many additional rules and the Eight Rules imposed upon them, I disagree. Rather, a close and comparative examination of the Buddhist monastic rules for both bhik.su.niis and bhik.sus reveals a compassionate and practical regulation of the daily monastic life of both men and women, based on the realities of life at the time the rules were formulated.

Articles from Miscellaneous sources

   * Caught in Another Cycle of Paradox. The Buddha promulgated the Vinaya to regulate the behavior of monks so that they could live in a harmonious and fraternal environment conducive to their spiritual development. Yet, paradoxically, throughout the history of Theravada Buddhism it has been the recurrent cause of disunity, disharmony and schism. With its emphasis on Vinaya orthodoxy, will Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary, a Malaysian monk training center, activate another cycle of paradox? Will it bring about further disunity, disharmony or discrimination in our already amorphous Malaysian Sangha? Saccesi surveys the situation from the historical and visionary perspectives. [Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary]

   * Adhamma Däna. Bhikkhu Pesala, citing and inferring from the Pali Texts, asserts that monetary gifts to bhikkhus are not only prohibited by the Buddha, but is also a demeritorious deed with bad results for the donor. [Nibbana.com]

       NOTE: Following the wish of the writer, I shall be removing this link soon. For an updated version, please read Unrighteous Giving (AdhammaDana) as found in The Heart of Buddhism.

   * How Copyright Law Relates to Vinaya. Phra William Varado attempts to show how copyright relates to a variety of Vinaya regulations, with suggested grading of copyright offenses according to that of Vinaya standards. (12KB) [eVinaya]

   Webmasters comment: Care should be taken on this matter as it may cost one's monkhood. Personally, I am largely undecided on the matter. Prefer to err on the safe side, though.

   * Ordination in Theravada Buddhism. (being part the lecture notes of Than Hsiang's Diploma in Buddhism: Paper 4: Early History of Buddhism: "Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni Order") [Than Hsiang]

   Webmasters comment: It should be noted that the description follows a particular Sri Lankan tradition, which differs in some aspects from the scriptural tradition. Information provided, particularly those concerning the Vinaya, is rather confusing and frequently wrong. Read with care!