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The Vinaya in the Tradition

Thich Nhat Hanh · February 20, 2004 · Deer Park Monastery, United States · Audio Only
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Vinaya literature, called the Vinaya Pitaka, consists of three main parts:

  1. The Broad Vinaya (Quảng luật)—the fundamental part of the Vinaya Pitaka, divided into three sections:
  • Sūtra Vibhanga—explains the nature and origin of each precept;
  • Skandhaka—comprises 22 chapters regulating the daily life of the Sangha (such as the rains retreat, robes, medicines, etc.);
  • Parivāra—19 chapters discussing various detailed matters.
  1. Prātimokṣa Sūtra and Karma Vacana—para-canonical recitation texts, including the preface, procedures for communal acts (karma), questions, conclusions, and selections of the Buddha’s teachings.
  2. Treatises and Commentaries—works that explain and discuss the precepts and the Vinaya, composed by scholars and venerable disciples.

The Broad Vinaya has been transmitted and recorded in the following major schools:

  • Theravāda—Pāli version, with Romanized edition (Oldenberg), Thai, and Burmese versions;
  • Sarvāstivāda—The Ten Recitations Vinaya, 61 fascicles in Chinese (translated in 404);
  • Dharmaguptaka—The Four-Part Vinaya, 60 fascicles in Chinese (translated 410–413), including six sections: Bhikṣu Vinaya, Bhikṣuṇī Vinaya, 20 Skandhaka, Miscellaneous Vinaya Rules, Section of Regulations, and Ekottara Vinaya;
  • Mahāsaṅghika—The Broad Vinaya in two parts: Bhikṣu Vinaya and Bhikṣuṇī Vinaya (translated 416–418);
  • Mahīśāsaka—The Five-Part Vinaya, 30 fascicles (translated 423), divided into five: Bhikṣu Vinaya, Bhikṣuṇī Vinaya, nine procedures for receiving precepts, seven procedures for resolving disputes and communal acts, eight methods for resolving disruptions and Vinaya assemblies.
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