A CRITICAL STUDY ON THE DOCTRINAL BASIS OF THE BHIKKHU VINAYA

Abstract

According to the Theravada tradition, the life of the Buddha Sāsana is based on Vinaya, but what is the foundation of discipline? The Buddha emphasised that Vinaya is needed to protect the path of Dhamma, not to imprison monks with a set of disciplinary terms. Buddhism does not expect the sīla to exceed its size because it is the sīla upādāna which falls under the category of “sīlabbhata parāmāsa”. All attachments are rejected by Buddhism. The “Vinayo Nāma Sāsanassa Āyu” was regarded by the commentators as a teaching under the central precepts, not a Sāsana discipline. ‘Adhammena Vaggakamma, Adhammena Samaggakamma, Dhammena Vaggakamma and Dhammena Samaggakamma’ are four types of disciplines in the Pāli Canon. The disciplinary action to be taken is the righteous disciplinary action in accordance with the Dhamma, which leads to the union of the collision. The Buddha emphasised that such disciplinary actions should not be taken if the Dhamma and discipline are in conflict. This confirms the existing Dhamma basis of discipline or the primacy of the Dhamma. A system of disciplinary rules is designed to achieve the ultimate goal of a disciplined Saṇgha. Analysing any disciplinary verse, one can see that they are more or less directed towards the object (Nibbāna). Consider the Offences of Defeats (Pārājikā), which are regarded as the most serious misconducts in discipline. Murder and theft in Defeats fall into the category of world-class crimes, and those who violate them are punished by the government. Although Methūnadhamma and Uttari - Manussadhamma - Pārājikā are considered as the most serious offences in the Buddhist tradition, they are not considered so in the world standards. Accordingly, these two offences have been misrepresented in the focus on the path to Nibbāna. In the Four Noble Truths, lust is said to be the cause of existence or misery. One instance of lust is craving. Contact is especially important here. It is a factor in existence. This research which was conducted using primary sources is a textual criticism to explore the doctrinal basis of Vinaya.