These are offered in the same spirit as the books in
These are contemporary translations from the ongoing 84,000 project 84000: Unlocking the Tibetan Buddhist Canon for All
How many I share depends to some extent on the response.
“The Chapter on Going Forth” is the first of seventeen chapters in The Chapters on Monastic Discipline, a four-volume work that outlines the statutes and procedures that govern life in a Buddhist monastic community. This first chapter traces the development of the rite by which postulants were admitted into the monastic order, from the Buddha Śākyamuni’s informal invitation to “Come, monk,” to the more elaborate “Present Day Rite.” Along the way, the posts of preceptor and instructor are introduced, their responsibilities defined, and a dichotomy between elders and immature novices described. While the heart of the chapter is a transcript of the “Present Day Rite,” the text is interwoven with numerous narrative asides, depicting the spiritual ferment of the north Indian region of Magadha during the Buddha’s lifetime, the follies of untrained and unsupervised apprentices, and the need for a formal system of tutelage.
The Chapter on the Restoration Rite is the second of The Chapters on Monastic Discipline’s seventeen chapters. In it, the Buddha describes a seated yoga, formal protocols, and a rite of restoration that can be observed on the upavasatha (or poṣadha) holiday. After explaining how monks should practice seated yoga, the Buddha consents first to the building of small clusters of meditation residences and later to gradually larger settlements that come to include multistoried meditation halls with scented shrine rooms and rooftop verandas. This chapter also explains how all monks at a monastery must gather fortnightly in the hall or in a place that has been specially demarcated for such purposes within the monastery site’s larger boundary. There, they observe the poṣadha or “restoration rite” by listening to The Prātimokṣa Sūtra recitation and making the appropriate amends for their offenses. The present chapter together with The Chapter on Lifting Restrictions and The Chapter on the Rains present the “Three Rites” that are considered central to monastic common living: the Rite of Restoration, the Rite of Lifting Restrictions, and the Rite of Pledging to Settle for the Rains. The regular observance of the “Three Rites” at an officially demarcated monastic site is considered a crucial component in ensuring the integrity of the monastics living there and nearby.
The Chapter on Lifting Restrictions is the third of The Chapters on Monastic Discipline’s seventeen chapters. It recounts the origins, timing, and procedures for a rite—held at the end of the rains retreat as an adjunct to the Rite of Restoration (poṣadha)—known as the Rite of Lifting Restrictions (pravāraṇa). During this rite, monastics invite other monastics who have passed the rainy season with them to speak of any unconfessed offenses they have seen, heard, or suspected the inviting monastic of committing during the rains retreat. If a monk thus prompted recalls an offense, he must make amends before the members of the saṅgha can communally verify their purity. This rite helps to ensure harmony in the saṅgha by providing monks with a forum in which they may air and address concerns about their fellow monks’ conduct before they disperse, either to wander the countryside or go to another monastery. This semi-public affirmation of the saṅgha’s purity would also help preserve its reputation among the laypeople. At the conclusion of the rite, goods that have been offered to the saṅgha during the rains are distributed to those monastics who are entitled to a share, that is, those who stayed on site for the duration of the rains.
The Rite of Lifting Restrictions is the second of the “Three Rites,” along with the Rite of Restoration and the Rite of Pledging to Settle for the Rains, as set out in The Chapter on the Restoration Rite and The Chapter on the Rains respectively. The regular observance of the “Three Rites” at an officially demarcated monastic site is considered a crucial component in ensuring the integrity of the monastics living there and nearby.
The Chapter on the Rains is the fourth of The Chapters on Monastic Discipline’s seventeen chapters. It sets out the Rite of Pledging to Settle for the Rains, in which monastics pledge to remain at a single site for the duration of the varṣā or summer rains. It concludes with a lengthy presentation of cases in which a monastic incurs no offense for interrupting the rains by prematurely leaving a site.
This is the third of the “Three Rites,” along with the Rite of Restoration and the Rite of Lifting Restrictions, which are set out in The Chapter on the Restoration Rite and The Chapter on Lifting Restrictions respectively. The regular observance of the “Three Rites” at an officially demarcated monastic site is considered a crucial component in ensuring the integrity of the monastics living there and nearby.
What I use as a cover.
