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Buddhism: Religious Figures and Sacred Texts

The Pāṭimokkha and the monastic rules

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Key term

What is the Pāṭimokkha, when is it recited, and what does the practice achieve?

Key term

What is the Pāṭimokkha?

Key term

How is the Pāṭimokkha used in the Theravāda monastic sangha?

Questions from this subtopic

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  1. 1

    What is the Pāṭimokkha?

    Model answer

    The Pāṭimokkha is the code of training rules for fully ordained Buddhist monastics. The Theravāda version carries 227 rules for monks and 311 for nuns.

  2. 2

    How is the Pāṭimokkha used in the Theravāda monastic sangha?

    Model answer

    The Pāṭimokkha is recited communally at the uposatha observance on the new and full moon. Monks confess any breaches before the recitation.

  3. 3

    Why is the recitation held fortnightly?

    Model answer

    Fortnightly recitation keeps every rule in memory and gives a regular occasion for confession. Communal recital also demonstrates that the sangha remains united.

  4. 4

    What is uposatha?

    Model answer

    Uposatha is the observance day falling on the new and the full moon. Monastics recite the Pāṭimokkha, and lay Buddhists often take extra precepts.

  5. 5

    How is the Pāṭimokkha treated as a text?

    Model answer

    The Pāṭimokkha is memorised and chanted rather than read from a book. Oral transmission is treated as the proper form for the rule.

  6. 6

    Where does the Pāṭimokkha sit within the Pāli Canon?

    Model answer

    The Pāṭimokkha rules are embedded in the Suttavibhaṅga of the Vinaya Piṭaka. Each rule comes with the story of the incident that prompted it.

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