Buddhist monasticism is one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism and one of the fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns, called bhikkhu (Pali, Skt. bhikshu) and bhikkhuni (Skt. bhikshuni), are responsible for the preservation and dissemination of the Buddha's teaching and the guidance of Buddhist lay people. Three surviving traditions of monastic discipline (Vinaya), govern modern monastic life in different regional traditions: Theravada (Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia), Dharmaguptaka (East Asia), and Mulasarvastivada (Tibet and the Himalayan region). History and development
Buddhism originated as a renunciant tradition, practiced by ascetics who had departed from lay life. According to Buddhist tradition, the order of monks and nuns was founded by Gautama Buddha during his lifetime between the fifth and fourth centuries BCE when he accepted a group of fellow renunciants as his followers. The Buddhist monastic lifestyle grew out of the lifestyle of earlier sects of wandering ascetics, some of whom the Buddha had studied under. This lifestyle was not necessarily isolationist or eremitic: the sangha was dependent on the lay community for basic provisions of food and clothing, and in return sangha members helped guide lay followers on the path of Dharma. Individuals or small groups of monks – a teacher and his students, or several monks who were friends – traveled together, living on the outskirts of local communities and practicing meditation in the forests. Monks and nuns were expected to live with a minimum of possessions, which were to be voluntarily provided by the lay community. Lay followers also provided the daily food that monks required, and provided shelter for monks when they were needed. According to the sutras, during the Buddha's time, retreats and gardens were donated by wealthy citizens for monks and nuns to stay in during the rainy season (although there is as yet no archaeological evidence to support this claim – evidence only exists for such monastic enclosures at a much later date). Out of this tradition grew two kinds of living arrangements for monastics, as detailed in the Mahavagga section of the Vinaya and Varsavastu texts:
: a temporary house for monastics called a vihara. Generally more than one monk stayed in each house with each monk in his own cell, called a parivena. : a more permanent and more comfortable arrangement than the . This property was generally donated and maintained by a wealthy citizen. This was more lavish (as suggested by the name – Araama means both pleasant and park). It generally consisted of residences within orchards or parks.
One of the more famous Arama is Anathapindika's, known as Anathapindikassa arame, built on Prince Jeta's grove. It had buildings worth 1.8 million gold pieces built in a beautiful grove, with the total gift worth 5.4 million gold pieces.Khuddaka Nikaya, Khuddakapatha
After the parinirvana of the Buddha, the Buddhist monastic order developed into a primarily cenobitic movement. The practice of living communally during the rainy vassa season, prescribed by the Buddha, gradually grew to encompass a settled monastic life centered on life in a community of practitioners.Winters, Dennis A. “The First Buddhist Monasteries.” The Tibet Journal, vol. 13, no. 2, 1988, pp. 12–22. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43300289. Accessed 18 Apr. 2020. Most of the modern disciplinary rules followed by monks and nuns —the Pratimokṣa— relate to such an existing, prescribing in great detail proper methods for living and relating in a community of monks or nuns.
Monasteries grew considerably after the Buddha's death. Textual and archaeological evidence point to the existence of numerous monasteries in the area around Rajagriha, and the eventual development of large monastic universities in northern India that housed thousands of resident monks.
During the medieval era, the Theravada lineage of bhikkhunis died out. They were eventually replaced by traditions of women ordained as novices, such as the mae ji of Thailand and Dasa sil matavas of Sri Lanka. The medieval era also saw the decline and collapse of organized Buddhist monasticism inside India.
By the time of its disappearance in India, Buddhist monasticism had spread to become a pan-Asian phenomenon, with substantial monastic communities in East and Southeast Asia, and surviving South Asian communities in the Himalayan regions and Tibet. During the 20th Century, Buddhist monasticism expanded abroad in the wake of Western interest in the Buddhist tradition and Asian emigration, resulting in the establishment of Buddhist monasteries in Europe, Australia, Africa, and North and South America.
Monastic life
Buddhism has no central authority, and many different varieties of practice and philosophy have developed over its history. Three surviving Vinaya traditions today govern monastic life in different regions and lineages- the Theravada in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka, the Dharmaguptaka in East Asia, and the Mulasarvastivada in Tibet and the Himalayan region.
Monks and nuns are expected to fulfill a variety of roles in the Buddhist community. First and foremost, they are expected to preserve the doctrine and discipline now known as Buddhism. They are also expected to provide a living example for the laity, and to serve as a "field of merit" for lay followers, providing laymen and women with the opportunity to earn merit by giving gifts and support to the monks. In return for the support of the laity, monks and nuns are expected to live an austere life focused on the study of Buddhist doctrine, the practice of meditation, and the observance of good moral character. The relative degree of emphasis on meditation or study has often been debated in the Buddhist community. Many continued to keep a relationship with their original families.我的母亲 我的佛
Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni assemblies According to the sutras, although his followers initially consisted only of men, the Buddha recognized women as followers after his stepmother, Mahaprajapati, asked for and received permission to live as an ordained practitioner. The Buddha's disciple Ananda strongly insisted on including female order. Female monastic communities in the bhikkhuni lineage were never established in the Vajrayana communities of Tibet and Nepal; Theravada communities formerly existed, but died out between the 11th and 14th century. Ordination in the bhikkhuni lineage continues to exist among East Asian communities, and attempts have been made at a revival in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka.
Support for bhikkhunis varies substantially between traditions, with mae ji and other Theravada female monastics not receiving the same institutional recognition and support as their fully ordained male counterparts. Women in Theravada countries have also faced official and popular resistance to the re-establishment of fully ordained bhikkhuni lineages.
Stages of monastic ordination Ordination traditionally is a two-stage process. A Bhikkhu or Bhikkhuni first ordains as a Samanera or Samanerika''' (novice), residing in the monastery and learning about monastic life. They may then undergo upasampada, higher ordination, which confers full monastic status and obligations.
Male novices may ordain at a very young age in the Theravada tradition, but generally no younger than 8- traditional guidelines state that a child must be "old enough to scare away crows". In the East Asian tradition, formal samanera ordination can not occur until the age of nineteen, though prospective novices can live in the monastic community from a very young age. Women usually choose to ordain as adults, since there is no expectation that they do so in childhood. Samaneras live according to the Ten Precepts, but are not responsible for living by the full set of monastic rules.
There are no requirements for the length of ordination as a samanera. In Southeast Asia, novitiates may be as short as a few weeks, and temporary ordination for a period of weeks or months is common.
Higher ordination(upasampada), conferring the status of a full Bhikkhu or Bhikkhuni, is given to those 20 or older. Women monastics follow a similar progression, but are required to live as Samaneras for a longer period of time, typically five years. Higher ordination must take place before a quorum of monastics, with five being an allowable minimum, and ten suggested for ordinary circumstances.
Those who have undergone higher ordination are required to follow a large number of additional rules, known as the Pratimokṣa, that govern their behavior, dress, and decorum. The number of rules varies between Vinaya traditions, with Theravada monks observing approximately 258 rules, Dharmaguptaka monks 250, and Mulasarvastivada monks 258. Nuns must observe additional rules, some of which formally subordinate them to male monastics. Theravada nuns have 311 rules, Dharmaguptaka nuns 348, and Mulasarvastivada nuns 354.
Regional traditions differ as to whether higher ordination is a permanent change in status (barring violations of the monastic rules), or if ordination vows can be temporarily or permanently rescinded. In Burma, Taiwan and Hong Kong, there is sometimes short term monastic ordination available to lay Buddhists to take some vows for a week up to a month. In Thailand such arrangements are currently available for males only.
Customs regarding other aspects of higher ordination also vary between countries. While most career monastics in the Theravada tradition undertake formal upasampada ordination as soon as they are eligible, monks in East Asia often remain novices. This may be due to a historical shortage of fully qualified temples able to provide upasampada ordination in East Asian communities. East Asian monastics also typically undertake Bodhisattva Precepts, a set of additional guidelines based on the Bodhisattva path.
Early differences in the interpretation or ordination practices and monastic rules, combined with geographical differences, may have resulted in the development of the various early Buddhist schools out of ordination lineages known as Nikayas.
Rules and precepts The disciplinary regulations for monks and nuns are intended to create a life that is simple and focused, rather than one of deprivation or severe asceticism.
Celibacy Celibacy (brahmacariya) is a foundational discipline for monastics and is universal across all Buddhist traditions. The renunciation of sex, marriage, and reproduction is seen as the preeminent factor in separating the life of a monastic from that of a householder (non-monastic). Because celibacy is fundamental to monastic culture, the persecution of Buddhists has frequently involved forcing monastics to abandon celibacy and marry in order to assimilate them into lay society (laicization). Anticelibacy and pronatalist policies targeting Buddhist monastics existed in the Empire of Japan and in Tibet under Chinese rule.
Diet Depending on the tradition and the strictness of observance, monastics may eat only one meal a day, provided either through direct donations of food from lay supporters or from a monastery kitchen stocked (and possibly staffed) by lay supporters. Vegetarianism is considered ideal and encouraged in Buddhism, but it is not necessarily mandatory, as the Vinaya explicitly allows monks and nuns to eat meat.
Hierarchy