Buddhist texts generally prohibit the killing of all sentient beings. This is certainly the case in vinaya texts, which contain strict guidelines on the preservation of all human and animal life. When these vinaya texts were translated into Chinese, they formed the core of Buddhist behavioural codes, influencing both monastic and lay followers. Chinese vinaya masters, such as Daoxuan?? and Yijing??, wrote extensive commentaries and accounts, introducing Indian concepts into the Chinese environment. In this paper, we focus on an often (...) neglected aspect of inflicting harm on sentient beings: namely, the injury that may be caused to some of the world’s smallest animals — insects. Some insects produce economically valuable products, such as silk and honey; others, such as mosquitoes and bedbugs, are annoying or dangerous; and still others are innocent victims of essential human activities, such as earthworms that are killed when farmland is tilled. Yet, all of these are sentient beings that — according to Buddhist principles — should not be harmed or killed. What this implies for Chinese vinaya masters, and especially the highly influential Daoxuan, is the core question of this paper. As we will see, their responses are mixed, but they always attempt to remain true to the basic principles of Buddhism. (shrink)

According to tradition, Mah?praj?pat?, the Buddha’s aunt and stepmother, when allowed to join the Buddhist monastic community, accepted eight ‘fundamental rules’ that made the nuns’ order dependent upon the monks’ order. This story has given rise to much debate, in the past as well as in the present. This article first shows how the eight rules became an integrated part of the vinaya, and more particularly of the Dharmaguptakavinaya, that forms the basis of monastic ordinations in East Asia. Against the (...) background of a much debated attack on these gurudharmas by the Taiwanese nun Shih Chao-hwei, we have then analysed the viewpoints of contemporary Taiwanese nuns, focusing on some less studied, yet very influential, Taiwanese monastic institutes. This research has brought to light a diversity of opinions on the applicability of the rules, relying in each case on a clear vision on Buddhism and vinaya. (shrink)

According to tradition, when the Buddha’s aunt and stepmother Mah?praj?pat? was allowed to join the Buddhist monastic community, she accepted eight ‘fundamental rules’ that made the nuns’ order dependent upon the monks’ order. This story has given rise to much debate, in the past as well as in the present, and this is no less the case in Mainland China, where nunneries have started to re-emerge in recent decades. This article first presents new insight into Mainland Chinese monastic practitioners’ common (...) perspectives and voices regarding the gurudharmas, which are rarely touched upon in scholarly work. Next, each of the rules is discussed in detail, allowing us to analyse various issues, until now understudied, regarding the applicability of the gurudharmas in Mainland Chinese contexts. This research thus provides a detailed overview of nuns’ perceptions of how traditional vinaya rules and procedures can be applied in contemporary Mainland Chinese monastic communities based on a cross-regional empirical study. (shrink)

A Comparative Study of the Pratimoksa, on the Basis of its Chinese, Tibetan, Sanskrit and Pali Versions. W. Pachow., Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 2000. 240 pp. Rs 395, €26.33. ISBN 81-208-1572-6.

Charming Cadavers. Horrific Figurations of the Feminine in Indian Buddhist Hagiographic Literature. Liz Wilson. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1996. xvi, 258 pp. Cloth: $55.00; £43.95. ISBN 0-226-90053-3; paper: $19.95, £15.95. ISBN 0-226-90054-1.

Daughters of Emptiness, Poems of Chinese Buddhist Nuns. Beata Grant. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2003. x, 192 pp. ISBN 0861713621.

Der Pravarana in dem kanonischen Vinaya-Texten der Mulasarvastivadin und der Sarvastivadin. Jin-il Chung., Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1998. 368 pp. ISBN 3-525-26156-X.

Der Ursprung der japanischen Vinaya-Schule, Risshu, und die Entwicklung ihrer Lehre und Praxis. László Hankó. Göttingen: Cuvillier Verlag, 2003. xiii, 433 pp. €50. ISBN 3898736202.

Die Vorschriften für die Buddhistische Nonnengemeinde im Vinaya-Pitaka der Theravadin. Ute Hüsken. Dietrich Meier Veralg, Berlin 1997. 519 pp. ISBN 3-496-02632-4.

According to tradition, the first Buddhist nun, Mah?praj?pat?, accepted eight fundamental rules as a condition for her ordination. One of these rules says that a full ordination ceremony, for a nun, must be carried out in both orders: first in the nuns’ order, and then in the monks’ order. Both orders need to be represented by a quorum of legal witnesses. It implies that in the absence of such a quorum, an ordination cannot be legally held, in vinaya terms. This (...) was a major problem in fifth century China, when, as a result of a wave of vinaya translations, monastics became aware of many detailed legal issues, including the rule on a dual ordination for nuns. Since the first Buddhist nuns in China were ordained in the presence of monks only, doubt was raised on the validity of the Chinese nuns’ lineage. The discussion came to an end, however, when in ca. 433 a so-called ‘second ordination ceremony’ could be held, now in the presence of a sufficient number of Sinhalese nun witnesses. Today, a similar issue is raised again, since in two of the three active Buddhist ordination traditions, nuns arguably cannot be legally ordained due to the absence of a nuns’ order of that particular tradition to provide a legal quorum of witnesses. In the present-day debates on the possible introduction of a nuns’ lineage in both these traditions, the historic case of the fifth century Chinese nuns is often referred to. The present article examines firstly in which ways technical issues discussed fifteen centuries ago lingered on among the most prominent Chinese vinaya masters, and secondly how these same issues still fuel and influence present-day discussions. (shrink)

The Origins of Buddhist Monastic Codes in China. An Annotated Translation and Study of the Chanyuan qinggui. Yifa. University of Hawai’i Press, Honolulu 2002. xxx, 352 pp. $60.00. ISBN 0-8248-2494-6.

Pratimoksasutra der Sarvastivadins. Teil II Kritische Textausgabe, Übersetzung, Wortindex sowie nachträge zu Teil I. Edited by Georg von Simson., Vanden-hoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000. 371 pp. DM 98. ISBN 3-525-82519-2.

Chan before Chan: Meditation, Repentance, and Visionary Experience in Chinese Buddhism. By Eric M. Greene. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2021. Pp. xiv + 313. $68 (cloth); $20 (paper).