Table of Contents
Preface
THE PRATIMOKSHA is the basic book of training for Buddhist monastics. Training with the Pratimoksha, monastics purify their bodies and minds, cultivate love for all beings, and advance on the path of liberation. Prati means step-by-step. It can also be translated as going in a direction. Moksha means liberation. So Pratimoksha can be translated as freedom at every step. Each precept brings freedom to a specific area of our daily life. If we keep the precept of not drinking alcohol, for example, we have the freedom of not being drunk. If we keep the precept of not stealing, we have the freedom of not being in prison. The word Pratimoksha can also mean in every place there is liberation. We have titled this revised version of the Pratimoksha Freedom Wherever We Go to remind us that we are going in the direction of liberation.
As a part of their training at Plum Village, fully ordained monks and nuns must spend at least five years studying the Vinaya, a vast and rich body of literature, that defines and organizes the life of the monastic community. This study of the Vinaya includes the Revised and the Classical Pratimoksha. Monastics study the Vinaya not as professors or specialists, but as practitioners. They study with a clear insight that the trainings, mindful manners, and regulations are the foundation for the survival of the Sangha. The renewed and updated version of the Pratimoksha can inspire the monastic Sangha of today to rediscover the integrity, simplicity, beauty, and freedom of monastic life.
During the fifth year of his ministry, the Buddha and his senior disciples began to create the Pratimoksha for the monastic community. The precepts were established over several decades, each responding to the needs and situations of the Original Sangha of the Buddha. When the Buddha was about to enter Nirvana, he told his attendant, the Venerable Ananda, that the minor and lesser rules could be removed, so that the text would remain light, relevant, and appropriate. At that time, Ananda did not inquire which specific trainings the Buddha was referring to. So after the Buddhas passing into Nirvana, the elder monk Kassyapa did not dare to remove any of the precepts. Two thousand six hundred years have gone by, and this recommendation by the Buddha has not been carried out.
Two hundred years after the Buddhas passing, some twenty schools of Buddhism arose, each with its own Vinaya. The Vinayas which are found in various schools of Buddhism all have their roots in the Buddhas original teachings and practice. The Pratimoksha is the heart of the Vinaya. It is a text that fully ordained monks and nuns recite twice a month in the Uposatha ceremony to nourish and maintain the purity of their vows. In Vietnam and China, most monks and nuns recite the Pratimoksha of the Dharmagupta school of Buddhism. In Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Burma the monks recite the Pratimoksha that belongs to the Tamrasatiya (Theravada) school. The Dharmagupta Pratimoksha for monks has 250 precepts, and the Tamrasatiya Pratimoksha for monks has 227 precepts. Except for some small differences, the texts of these two major traditions are nearly identical to one another.
Buddhism should remain a living tradition. Like a tree, the dead branches need to be pruned in order for new shoots to grow. The new shoots are the teachings and practices that respond to the needs of our present time and culture. Technological developments, mass media, and the speed of modern life have all influenced the life of monastic communities. Degradation of the monastic lifestyle is evident in places all over the world, in both Buddhist and non-Buddhist communities. To respond to this present situation, a revised Pratimoksha is urgently needed.
In our effort to make the Revised Pratimoksha as relevant and responsive as possible, the Dharma Teacher Council of Plum Village has consulted extensively with Vinaya teachers and other monks and nuns in Vietnam and elsewhere over the past five years. In addition, we have drawn upon our experience of monastic life in the West over the past two decades. Therefore, the Revised Pratimoksha aims to offer guidance and support to contemporary Buddhist monastics living both in Asia and in the West.
The Revised Pratimoksha was first released on March 31, 2003 at the Choong Ang Sangha University in Seoul, Koreaone of the Mahayana Buddhist countries of Asia. In the Revised Pratimoksha, we have substituted trainings that are no longer appropriate to our time with new trainings that are essential to protect the practice and integrity of monastic members. For example, in the classical version of the Pratimoksha there is a precept that advises the monastics to travel only by foot. The precept reads: If a bhikshuni who is not ill rides in a vehicle, she offends against the Payantika precepts. This rule was appropriate for the time and place of the Buddha, when traveling by vehicle was unusual and generally a mark of high status and wealth. But coming to the U.S.A. in the 21st century, for instance, if the Buddha tried to walk on the highway instead of riding in a car, he might get hurt or arrested. To respond to the needs of modern monastics the Revised Pratimoksha has trainings that address the use of cars, computers, television, mobile telephones, electronic games, e-mail, and the Internet.
There have been people who have asked us: Who are you to change the monastic codes made by the Buddha? Our answer is always: We are the children of the Buddha. We are his continuation, and we are practicing to carry out his wishes. The Buddha invested much of his time and energy to teach and train monks and nuns. Buddhism has survived to this day because monastic Sanghas have been continuously maintained. The purpose of the Revised Pratimoksha is to protect the freedom and integrity of monastic practice, so that the authentic path of liberation can continue.
For Buddhism to remain a living tradition, the teaching and practice should remain relevant. The Pratimoksha should not be merely an object of academic or intellectual study. There are already many Vinaya masters who are well-versed in the Vinaya literature and capable of teaching and explaining it eloquently. The main purpose of the Pratimoksha is to offer concrete guidance to fully ordained monks and nuns. We are certain that the Buddha counts on the insight, intelligence, and courage of his descendants to continue making the path of liberation accessible and open to our current generation. Therefore, revising the teaching and the practice is truly necessary.
This is the first time our tradition has made this text available to lay readers. We believe that making this text available will nourish the practice and strength of the Fourfold Sangha of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen. Reading the Pratimoksha allows lay practitioners to understand the monastic codes of conduct as well as the monastic lifestyle. Reading the Pratimoksha also inspires us to live our daily lives with compassion, love, and understanding so that we can protect and care for ourselves, our loved ones, the environment, and all living beings.
We have revised the Pratimoksha to pay tribute to our root teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha, and all our ancestral teachers, who have transmitted the wonderful Dharma to our current generation. We trust that only by keeping Buddhism truly alive and free from degradation and corruption can we be authentic descendants of the Buddha.
