From 264120cc820a48dd2f7f4e696f3237171f1f6e7b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: sujato Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2025 10:12:53 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] [GHA] Nilakkhana transform and sync files from bilara-data repo. --- .../_publication/en/sujato/editions/mn/matter/introduction.html | 2 +- sc_bilara_data/root/en/site/mn-guide-sujato_root-en-site.json | 2 +- 2 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/sc_bilara_data/_publication/en/sujato/editions/mn/matter/introduction.html b/sc_bilara_data/_publication/en/sujato/editions/mn/matter/introduction.html index 7a8dbdeac60..9d168694c23 100644 --- a/sc_bilara_data/_publication/en/sujato/editions/mn/matter/introduction.html +++ b/sc_bilara_data/_publication/en/sujato/editions/mn/matter/introduction.html @@ -97,7 +97,7 @@

The Saṅgha

For legal purposes the Saṅgha is the community within the “boundary” (sīmā), which is an arbitrary area formally designated by the local community; typically it would have been the grounds of a monastery, but it could have been much bigger or smaller (see Kd 2). This is an important pragmatic point: the Saṅgha is decentralized. It is impractical to expect all mendicants from all over the world to come together to agree, so all procedures are based on the local community.

There is no hierarchy in the Saṅgha: all members have the same say. Respect is owed to seniors on account of their experience and wisdom, but this does not translate to a power of command. No Saṅgha member has the right to force anyone to do anything, and if a senior Saṅgha member, even one’s mentor or teacher, tells one to do something that is against the Dhamma or Vinaya, one is obligated to disobey. As an example of how the mendicants were to make decisions, MN 17 Jungle Thickets (Vanapatthasutta) gives some guidelines for whether a mendicant should stay in a monastery or leave; there is no question of being ordered to go to one place or the other.

The Saṅgha soon set up monasteries, with relatively settled communities. Typically mendicants would stay in monasteries for part of the year, especially in the three months of the rainy season retreat, while much of the rest of the year may have been spent wandering. They would meet together each fortnight for the “sabbath” (uposatha), during which time there would be teachings (MN 109 The Longer Discourse on the Full-Moon Night, Mahāpuṇṇamasutta), and later, the recitation of the monastic rules (pātimokkha).

-

At some point a community of nuns (bhikkhunīs) was set up along the lines of the monks’ order. The traditional account says that this was on the instigation of the Buddha’s stepmother, Mahapajāpatī Gotamī. However, the account as preserved today is deeply problematic both textually and ethically, and cannot be accepted without reservation. In any case, we know that a nuns’ community was established and that it ran on mostly independent grounds. The nuns built their own monasteries (Bi Pj 5), took their own students (Thig 5.11), studied the texts (Bi Pc 33), developed meditation (SN 47.10), wandered the countryside (Bi Pc 50), and achieved the wisdom of awakening (MN 44 The Shorter Classification, Cūḷavedallasutta). While it is true that certain of the rules as they exist today discriminate against the nuns, other rules protect them; for example, the monks are forbidden from having a nun wash their robes, thus preventing the monks from treating the nuns like domestic servants. When monks taught the nuns, they did so respectfully, engaging with them as equals (MN 146 Advice from Nandaka). The order of nuns gave women of the time a rare opportunity to pursue their own spiritual path, supported by the community. It survived through the years in the East Asian traditions, and in recent years has been revived within the Tibetan and Theravādin schools.

+

At some point a community of nuns (bhikkhunīs) was set up along the lines of the monks’ order. The traditional account says that this was on the instigation of the Buddha’s stepmother, Mahapajāpatī Gotamī. However, the account as preserved today is deeply problematic both textually and ethically, and cannot be accepted without reservation. In any case, we know that a nuns’ community was established and that it ran on mostly independent grounds. The nuns built their own monasteries (Bi Pj 5), took their own students (Thig 5.11), studied the texts (Bi Pc 33), developed meditation (SN 47.10), wandered the countryside (Bi Pc 50), and achieved the wisdom of awakening (MN 44 The Shorter Classification, Cūḷavedallasutta). While it is true that certain of the rules as they exist today discriminate against the nuns, other rules protect them; for example, the monks are forbidden from having a nun wash their robes, thus preventing the monks from treating the nuns like domestic servants. When monks taught the nuns, they did so respectfully, engaging with them as equals (MN 146 Advice from Nandaka). The order of nuns gave women of the time a rare opportunity to pursue their own spiritual path, supported by the community. It survived through the years in the East Asian traditions, and in recent years has been revived within the Tibetan and Theravādin schools.

Note that in the suttas, the term bhikkhu (masculine gender) is used as a generic term to include both monks and nuns. That nuns were included in the generic masculine is clear from such contexts as AN 4.170, where Ānanda begins by referring to “monks and nuns” and continues with just “monks”, or DN 16, which speaks of “monks and nuns” but uses a masculine pronoun to refer to them both. That the default masculine may refer to women is further confirmed by passages such as Thig 16.1, where the lady Sumedhā is called putta by her father. Putta as “son” contrasts with dhītā as “daughter”, but this passage shows it can be used in the generic sense of “child” as well. In general teaching, it is likely that monks and nuns, as well as lay people, would have been present, yet the texts by convention are addressed to “monks” (bhikkhave). Hence I have rendered bhikkhu throughout with the gender-neutral “mendicant”, except where it is necessary to distinguish the genders, in which case I use “monk”. In the Vinaya Piṭaka, however, the texts are by default separated by gender, so it is best to use “monk” there. Note too that “mendicant” is what bhikkhu actually means: it refers to someone who makes a living by walking for alms.

Originally the Saṅgha followed an informal set of principles considered appropriate for ascetics, which was similar to those followed by other ascetic groups. These are retained in detail in the ethics portion of the Gradual Training (MN 51; DN 1, etc.). The Buddha initially refused to set up a formal system of monastic law, but eventually the Saṅgha grew so large that such a system became necessary (Bu Pj 1). This is detailed in the extensive texts of the Vinaya Piṭaka. Note that when the word vinaya is used in the four nikāyas, it rarely refers to the Vinaya Piṭaka. Normally it is a general term for the practical application of the teaching: dhammavinaya means something like “theory and practice”.

Scattered throughout the four nikāyas we find a fair number of teachings intended for the monastic community. Sometimes these refer to technical procedures of the Vinaya Piṭaka, probably to make sure that students of the suttas would be familiar with them (MN 104 At Sāmagāma). More commonly, however, they were general principles of ethics, laying down guidelines for a harmonious and flourishing spiritual community.

diff --git a/sc_bilara_data/root/en/site/mn-guide-sujato_root-en-site.json b/sc_bilara_data/root/en/site/mn-guide-sujato_root-en-site.json index 23638fa9d33..cd0758421f7 100644 --- a/sc_bilara_data/root/en/site/mn-guide-sujato_root-en-site.json +++ b/sc_bilara_data/root/en/site/mn-guide-sujato_root-en-site.json @@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ "mn-guide-sujato:88": "For legal purposes the Saṅgha is the community within the “boundary” (sīmā), which is an arbitrary area formally designated by the local community; typically it would have been the grounds of a monastery, but it could have been much bigger or smaller (see Kd 2). This is an important pragmatic point: the Saṅgha is decentralized. It is impractical to expect all mendicants from all over the world to come together to agree, so all procedures are based on the local community.", "mn-guide-sujato:89": "There is no hierarchy in the Saṅgha: all members have the same say. Respect is owed to seniors on account of their experience and wisdom, but this does not translate to a power of command. No Saṅgha member has the right to force anyone to do anything, and if a senior Saṅgha member, even one’s mentor or teacher, tells one to do something that is against the Dhamma or Vinaya, one is obligated to disobey. As an example of how the mendicants were to make decisions, MN 17 Jungle Thickets (Vanapatthasutta) gives some guidelines for whether a mendicant should stay in a monastery or leave; there is no question of being ordered to go to one place or the other.", "mn-guide-sujato:90": "The Saṅgha soon set up monasteries, with relatively settled communities. Typically mendicants would stay in monasteries for part of the year, especially in the three months of the rainy season retreat, while much of the rest of the year may have been spent wandering. They would meet together each fortnight for the “sabbath” (uposatha), during which time there would be teachings (MN 109 The Longer Discourse on the Full-Moon Night, Mahāpuṇṇamasutta), and later, the recitation of the monastic rules (pātimokkha).", - "mn-guide-sujato:91": "At some point a community of nuns (bhikkhunīs) was set up along the lines of the monks’ order. The traditional account says that this was on the instigation of the Buddha’s step-mother, Mahapajāpatī Gotamī. However, the account as preserved today is deeply problematic both textually and ethically, and cannot be accepted without reservation. In any case, we know that a nuns’ community was established, and that it ran on mostly independent grounds. The nuns built their own monasteries (Bi Pj 5), took their own students (Thig 5.11), studied the texts (Bi Pc 33), developed meditation (SN 47.10), wandered the countryside (Bi Pc 50), and achieved the wisdom of awakening (MN 44 The Shorter Classification, Cūḷavedallasutta). While it is true that certain of the rules as they exist today discriminate against the nuns, other rules protect them; for example, the monks are forbidden from having a nun wash their robes, thus preventing the monks from treating the nuns like domestic servants. When monks taught the nuns, they did so respectfully, engaging with them as equals (MN 146 Advice from Nandaka). The order of nuns gave women of the time a rare opportunity to pursue their own spiritual path, supported by the community. It survived through the years in the East Asian traditions, and in recent years has been revived within the Tibetan and Theravādin schools.", + "mn-guide-sujato:91": "At some point a community of nuns (bhikkhunīs) was set up along the lines of the monks’ order. The traditional account says that this was on the instigation of the Buddha’s step-mother, Mahapajāpatī Gotamī. However, the account as preserved today is deeply problematic both textually and ethically, and cannot be accepted without reservation. In any case, we know that a nuns’ community was established, and that it ran on mostly independent grounds. The nuns built their own monasteries (Bi Pj 5), took their own students (Thig 5.11), studied the texts (Bi Pc 33), developed meditation (SN 47.10), wandered the countryside (Bi Pc 50), and achieved the wisdom of awakening (MN 44 The Shorter Classification, Cūḷavedallasutta). While it is true that certain of the rules as they exist today discriminate against the nuns, other rules protect them; for example, the monks are forbidden from having a nun wash their robes, thus preventing the monks from treating the nuns like domestic servants. When monks taught the nuns, they did so respectfully, engaging with them as equals (MN 146 Advice from Nandaka). The order of nuns gave women of the time a rare opportunity to pursue their own spiritual path, supported by the community. It survived through the years in the East Asian traditions, and in recent years has been revived within the Tibetan and Theravādin schools.", "mn-guide-sujato:92": "Note that in the suttas, the term bhikkhu (masculine gender) is used as a generic term to include both monks and nuns. That nuns were included in the generic masculine is clear from such contexts as AN 4.170, where Ānanda begins by referring to “monks and nuns” and continues with just “monks”, or DN 16, which speaks of “monks and nuns” but uses a masculine pronoun to refer to them both. That the default masculine may refer to women is further confirmed by passages such as Thig 16.1, where the lady Sumedhā is called putta by her father. Putta as “son” contrasts with dhītā as “daughter”, but this passage shows it can be used in the generic sense of “child” as well. In general teaching, it is likely that monks and nuns, as well as lay people, would have been present, yet the texts by convention are addressed to “monks” (bhikkhave). Hence I have rendered bhikkhu throughout with the gender-neutral “mendicant”, except where it is necessary to distinguish the genders, in which case I use “monk”. In the Vinaya Piṭaka, however, the texts are by default separated by gender, so it is best to use “monk” there. Note too that “mendicant” is what bhikkhu actually means: it refers to someone who makes a living by walking for alms.", "mn-guide-sujato:93": "Originally the Saṅgha followed an informal set of principles considered appropriate for ascetics, which was similar to those followed by other ascetic groups. These are retained in detail in the ethics portion of the Gradual Training (MN 51; DN 1, etc.). The Buddha initially refused to set up a formal system of monastic law, but eventually the Saṅgha grew so large that such a system became necessary (Bu Pj 1). This is detailed in the extensive texts of the Vinaya Piṭaka. Note that when the word vinaya is used in the four nikāyas, it rarely refers to the Vinaya Piṭaka. Normally it is a general term for the practical application of the teaching: dhammavinaya means something like “theory and practice”.", "mn-guide-sujato:94": "Scattered throughout the four nikāyas we find a fair number of teachings intended for the monastic community. Sometimes these refer to technical procedures of the Vinaya Piṭaka, probably to make sure that students of the suttas would be familiar with them (MN 104 At Sāmagāma). More commonly, however, they were general principles of ethics, laying down guidelines for a harmonious and flourishing spiritual community.",