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Prātimokṣa

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The Pratimokṣa () is a list of rules (contained within the vinaya) governing the behaviour of Buddhist monastics (monks or bhikṣus and nuns or bhikṣuṇīs). Prati means "towards" and mokṣa means "liberation" from cyclic existence (saṃsāra).

Wikidata facts

Subclass of
monastic rule
Has use
monastery
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Buddhism

via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Encyclopedic overview

15 sections
Contents
  • Overview
  • Texts
  • Pratimokṣa in Buddhist traditions
  • Indian Buddhism
  • Theravada Buddhism
  • East Asian Buddhism
  • Tibetan Buddhism
  • Vows for laity
  • Vows for monastics
  • See also
  • Bibliography
  • Indian Buddhism
  • Tibetan Buddhism
  • Notes
  • External links

The Pratimokṣa () is a list of rules (contained within the vinaya) governing the behaviour of Buddhist monastics (monks or bhikṣus and nuns or bhikṣuṇīs). Prati means "towards" and mokṣa means "liberation" from cyclic existence (saṃsāra).

It became customary to recite these rules once a fortnight at a meeting of the sangha during which confession would traditionally take place. A number of prātimokṣa codes are extant, including those contained in the Theravāda, Mahāsāṃghika, Mahīśāsaka, Dharmaguptaka, Sarvāstivāda and Mūlasarvāstivāda vinayas. Pratimokṣa texts may also circulate in separate pratimokṣa sūtras, which are extracts from their respective vinayas.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Prātimokṣa” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.