The Chapter on Going Forth
Glossary

Buddhas have abandoned five branches or factors that perpetuate saṃsāra: pursuing desires, ill will, lethargy and languor, regret and agitation, and view and doubt.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, counted among the six heavens of the desire realm, it is home of future Buddha Maitreya.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

To accept (e.g., a person) as a novice.

As in to account for the income and allocations of a monastery.

Matters that govern the saṅgha community’s daily life, regular observances (such as the rains retreat and the restoration) and special events (like ordination) are ratified by a formal act of the saṅgha. There are one hundred and one such types of formal acts, all of which fall into one of three categories depending on the procedure needed for ratification. An act of motion alone requires only a motion; an act whose second member is a motion require a motion and the statement of the act; while an act whose fourth member is a motion require a motion and three statements of the act.

One of five types of disciplinary acts meted out by the saṅgha. This was first imposed on the Pandulohitaka monks for their quarrelsomeness.

One of five types of disciplinary acts meted out by the saṅgha.

One of five types of disciplinary acts meted out by the saṅgha.

A formal act of the saṅgha in which the motion suffices, with no need to formally state the act. Such an act is employed before a candidate for ordination is asked about private matters pertaining to his fitness for ordination.

One of five types of disciplinary acts meted out by the saṅgha.

One of five types of disciplinary acts meted out by the saṅgha. A monk may be suspended on one of seven grounds: failing to acknowledge an offense; refusing to amend or rehabilitate one’s behavior; deviant views; being overly belligerent and quarrelsome; creating the circumstances for a quarrel; maintaining overly close relations with nuns, unruly people, and ne’er-do-wells; and refusing to let go of a Dharma matter that has been peacefully resolved.

A formal act of the saṅgha that requires an initial motion followed by the statement of the proposed act, repeated three times. Such an act is required for several proceedings‍—among other occasions, to fully ordain someone, or to officially threaten an intransigent monk.

A formal act of the saṅgha that requires an initial motion followed by the statement of the proposed act. Such an act is needed to grant the vows of full ordination to a nun, among other occasions.

The Mūlasarvāstivādin tradition grouped the Buddha’s early sūtra discourses into four divisions, or āgama (Tib. mdo sde’i lung sde bzhi): the Dīrghāgama (Tib. lung ring po), the Madhyamāgama (Tib. lung bar ma), the Ekottarikāgama (Tib. lung gcig las ’phros pa), and the Saṃyuktāgama (Tib. lung dag ldan/yang dar par ldan pa’i lung). They are more familiar to many English-speaking Buddhists through the translations of their Pali correlates: the Dīgha Nikāya, Majjhima Nikāya, Aṅguttara Nikāya, and the Samyutta Nikāya, for which see the Wisdom Publications titles: The Long Discourses of the Buddha, The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha, The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, and The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, respectively.

Sesbania grandiflora.

The son of King Bimbisāra.

See “Ajita of the hair shawl.”

One of the six tīrthika teachers contemporaneous with Śākyamuni.

A tīrthika order.

An acceptable form of food for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

To always abide by the six spheres means to always be aware of and attentive to the six objects of visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental consciousness.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

The Buddha’s nephew and attendant who recited the Buddha’s sūtra discourses from memory after the Buddha passed.

King of Ujjayinī and father of Pradyota.

Name of a lake.

A kingdom on the southern bank of the Ganges (in modern day Bihar and Bengal) whose influence waned during the life of Śākyamūni Buddha at the hands of the kings of Magadha. Its capital was at Campā.

An acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual. Cloth from foreign countries to the west of Magadha, such as Aparānta (also Aparāntaka), an ancient kingdom in western India.

A junior monk who lives with and under the guidance of a senior monk.

King of Śrāvastī and father of Prasenajit.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

Specifically non-Vedic ascetics; śramaṇa ascetics are typically contrasted with brahmin householders.

See also n.­25.

A kind of apprentice disciple.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

One of the Five Excellent Companions, with whom Siddhārtha Gautama practiced asceticism near the Nairañjanā River and later heard the Buddha first teach the Four Noble Truths at the Deer Park in Sarnath. He was renowned for his pure conduct and holy demeanor so Buddha sent him to attract Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana to the order.

One of the notorious “group of six” monks whose antics and heavy-handed interference prompted a great many of the Buddha’s injunctions on conduct.

Mindfulness, discernment, diligence, joy, pliancy, samādhi, and equanimity (Kalyāṇamitra, folios 217.b.6–218.b.2).

The park of Veṇuvana was the first settled residence specifically dedicated to the Buddhist saṅgha, offered to the Buddha by King Bimbisāra of Magadha.

The Buddha’s father, King Śuddhodana, donated this park on the outskirts of the Śākya kingdom of Kapilavastu, in present day Nepal, to the Buddhist community.

A synonym for the wood splint used as a sundial to mark time in ordination ceremonies.

Cloth made from the bark of the valkala tree was worn by Indian ascetics but forbidden to Buddhist monks and nuns.

One of the five excellent companions, with whom Siddhārtha Gautama practiced asceticism near the Nairañjanā River and who later heard the Buddha first teach the Four Noble Truths at the Deer Park in Sarnath.

Another name for the river Gaṇgā, mentioned by the teacher Sañjayin in encouraging Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana to seek out the Buddha who was born on its banks.

The queen, wife of King Mahāpadma and mother of Bimbisāra.

The king of Magadha and a great patron of Śākyamūni Buddha. His birth coincided with the Buddha’s. His father, mistakenly attributing the brilliant light that marked the Buddha’s birth to the birth of his son by Queen Bimbī (Goldie), named him ‘Essence of Gold.’

Yakṣa and other spirits that appear at the same time a person is born in order to protect them.

A euphemism for those who seek alms, understood to refer to Buddhist monks.

Illnesses that may be considered an impediment to ordination

See also n.­125.

See n.­105.

Bondmen bound to serve the saṅgha.

Someone born into service, e.g., the children of slaves, serfs, and servants.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

An area demarcated by the saṅgha which then functions as the community’s borders. Such boundaries may be set to define the area monks are confined to during the rains retreat. A gathering of all the monks within these boundaries constitutes a “consensus,” during which formal acts of saṅgha may be performed.

An implement used by brahmins for pūjā.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).

A wealthy householder from Śrāvastī who fathered Saṅgharakṣita.

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

To call up reserves or members of a standing army.

The capital of Aṅga.

Someone seized and held captive by another government, as with prisoners of war.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination. See also n.­125.

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

One of the notorious “group of six” monks whose antics and heavy-handed interference prompted a great many of the Buddha’s injunctions on conduct.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

An acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual. In this case, a “fitting color” has equal shades of blue, yellow, and saffron while “ill-colored” means exclusively blue, yellow, or saffron.

A coin of variable value, sometimes worth as little as a burnt bun and other times equal to twenty gold coins.

The informal ordination first employed by the Buddha.

A monk to whom one may give one’s proxy in case one cannot attend a official saṅgha function.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

A gathering of all the monks present within a monastery’s boundaries for an official function (such as an ordination ceremony); with consent from any absentee monks. Also rendered here as “in concord.”

See also n.­123.

A monk absent from an official saṅgha function, such as the restoration, must send word he will consent to any actions taken in his absence. Such consent is sent by proxy.

A person, who though once a Buddhist later converts, barred from joining the renunciate order.

An acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

Buddhas have crossed the rivers of desire, existence, view, and ignorance.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

The most severe of the five types of offenses a monk can incur. It cannot be expunged and results in the monk’s defrocking, unless the saṅgha sees fit to allow him to engage in rehabilitory training.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally, “to flow” or “to ooze.” Mental defilements or contaminations that “flow out” toward the objects of cyclic existence, binding us to them. Vasubandhu offers two alternative explanations of this term: “They cause beings to remain (āsayanti) within saṃsāra” and “They flow from the Summit of Existence down to the Avīci hell, out of the six wounds that are the sense fields” (Abhidharma­kośa­bhāṣya 5.40; Pradhan 1967, p. 308). The Summit of Existence (bhavāgra, srid pa’i rtse mo) is the highest point within saṃsāra, while the hell called Avīci (mnar med) is the lowest; the six sense fields (āyatana, skye mched) here refer to the five sense faculties plus the mind, i.e., the six internal sense fields.

A loanword from the Graeco-Roman denarius, meaning coin.

A skill taught to brahmins and kings that may relate to finance or grammar.

See also n.­60.

One of seven grounds for suspension from the saṅgha community.

Butön includes the Kashmiri preceptor Dharmākara in his list of ninety-three paṇḍitas invited to Tibet to assist in the translation of the Buddhist scriptures. Tāranātha dates Dharmākara to the rule of *Vanapāla, son of Dharmapāla. With Paltsek, he translated two of Kalyāṇamitra’s works on Vinaya, the Vinayapraśnakārikā (’dul ba dri ba’i tshig le’ur byas pa, Toh 4134, Degé Tengyur, vol. SU, folios 70.b.3–74.b.5) and the Vinayapraśnaṭīkā (’dul ba dri ba rgya cher ’grel pa, Toh 4135, Degé Tengyur, vol. SU, folios 74.b.5–132.a.2).

“He Who Has Long Fingernails,” Koṣṭhila’s name after he joined an order of wandering ascetics to continue his studies of Lokāyata philosophy. He later joined the Buddhist order and was known as Koṣṭhila again.

An acceptable type of clothing for a Buddhist monk, as detailed in the Four Supports section.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

A formal act of the saṅgha requiring a act whose fourth member is a motion, meted out to a wayward monk or monks. There are five types: acts of censure, chastening, expulsion, reconciliation, and suspension.

See n.­135.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

A member of an oceangoing ship’s crew whose job was to dive for pearls. Can also mean “fisherman.”

The name by which the Jaṭila ascetic order is known in the Vinaya. Jaṭila were early converts of the Buddha. Many were said to have converted en masse after the Buddha delivered the “Fire Sermon” (Pali Ādittapariyāya Sutta) to Kāśyapa and his followers at Uruvilvā. See the Saṅghabhedavastu (Tib. dge ’dun dbyen gyi gzhi) for the Mūlasarvāstivādin account of their conversion.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

Also spelled dukula and dugulla, this has been identified differently over the centuries as a kind of bark-fiber cloth, woven silk, linen, and cloth made from cotton grown in Ganda. It is considered an acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

The quality of someone who has done something to be removed from a monastery or harbored intentions that contradict the Dharma.

The early ordination rite, later adapted to include stricter criteria for admission and introduce the intermediate step, between joining the order and ordination, of induction into the novitiate.

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

See n.­172.

A monk who possesses the qualities of stability and skill.

One of the eighteen nikāya schools.

A physical condition considered an impediment to ordination.

See “shape shifter.”

An acceptable form of food for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

An illness such as measles or rubella, considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

A skill taught to brahmins and kings that may relate to finance or grammar.

See also n.­60.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

Buddhas have no fear in proclaiming that they have achieved perfect buddhahood, exhausted defilements, teach the path of renunciation, and teach precisely what constitutes an obstacle to that path and realization.

Feasts falling on these days of the lunar month are considered an acceptable form of food for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Those who are engaged in the same celibate spiritual path as the protagonist.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

An acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

In “The Chapter on Going Forth,” this is presumably a reference to Vedic sacrifices, which brahmins offered to, and hence burned in, a sacred fire.

See n.­134.

Epileptic or otherwise, symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

The 253 different offenses a monk may incur are divided into five types: defeats, saṅgha remnants, offenses, transgressions, confessable offenses, and misdeeds.

See also n.­122.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

One of “the four medicines.” This category of medicine is comprised of juices and selected other strained or pulp-free liquids, which were mainly allowed as they helped to combat the “illness” of thirst. This includes coca (coconut milk), moca (gum of the śālmalī tree), kola (jujube, sour juice or vinegar), aśvattha (juice of leaves of the fig-tree or bodhi tree), udumbara (juice of leaves of the fig-tree), pāruṣika (juice of Frewia Asiatica), mṛdvikā (raisin juice), kharjura (date juice).

One of “the four medicines.” “Food fit for a time” is food eaten between dawn and noon, the appropriate time according to the monastic code. It refers mainly to maṇḍa (scum of boiled rice), odana (boiled rice gruel), kulmāsa (sour gruel), and māṃsapūpā (meat cake). It is medicinal in that it is primarily aimed at combating the “illness” of hunger. An acceptable form of medicine for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

‍—

Refers to the knowledge and stability that conduce to abandoning disturbing emotions or the basic precepts one pledges to uphold when going for refuge, such as refraining from killing.

Aspiration, diligence, attention, and analysis.

Buddhas attract disciples through generosity, speaking pleasantly, consistency in action, and acting altruistically.

In getting ordained, a monk pledges to make do with a restricted set of supports that conduce to the holy life. These fall into four categories: clothing, shelter, food, and medicine.

A full probation is imposed when a monk who has incurred a saṅgha stigmata offense nurses for a full night his intention to conceal that offense (Viśeṣamitra, folio 135.b).

See also “probation” and n.­144.

Imposed on a monk who incurs a third saṅgha remnant offense while serving his probation.

The term usually (and elsewhere in this text) refers to a class of nonhuman beings sometimes known as “celestial musicians.” In this particular context, however, it designates a disembodied sentient being in the intermediate state between death and rebirth, seeking a new body in which to take rebirth.

An elongated, shoulder-held wooden bar (or beam) struck with a wooden striker to call the saṅgha community to assembly.

One of the first to join the Buddha’s order of monks. He followed his friend Yaśas into the Buddhist order.

Site of a stūpa where the Buddha instructed the thousand monks from Uruvilvā by displaying three miracles, thereby freeing them from the wilds of saṃsāra and establishing them in the utterly final state of perfection and the unsurpassably blissful state of nirvāṇa.

An acceptable form of medicine for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

A monk who gives you instruction for even a single day. One of five types of instructors named by the Buddha when asked to elaborate on the role of an instructor.

To leave the life of a householder and embrace the life of a wandering, renunciant follower of the Buddha.

A physical condition considered an impediment to ordination.

One of the six tīrthika teachers contemporaneous with Śākyamuni. Teacher and head of the Ājīvika sect.

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

See n.­167.

An acceptable form of food for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination

See also n.­125.

An acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

A euphemism for celibacy.

An acceptable form of medicine for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual. Also used to translate the Sanskrit “madhu.”

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

An acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual. In this case, a “fitting color” has equal shades of blue, yellow, and saffron while “ill-colored” means exclusively blue, yellow, or saffron.

A monk who has been ordained for at least ten years yet still cannot recite thePrātimokṣasūtraor its supplements and is thus not entitled to grant entry into the order, grant ordination, accept charge of novices, give refuge, or live independently.

Personal qualities or circumstances that impede the start of or success in a person’s monastic career.

Someone who pretends to have been ordained though they have not. One class of person barred from joining the renunciate order.

One of several official administrative or managerial positions at a monastery.

Someone obtained through sale.

A demarcated area within a larger boundary. An official act of the saṅgha requires a “consensus” of all monks present within the monastery’s boundaries or of a quorum of monks within an “inner circle.”

Along with the position of preceptor, this is one of two official positions created by the Buddha to ensure that new monks would receive sufficient training. The Buddha specified five types of instructor: instructors of novices, privy advisors, officiants, givers of instruction, and recitation instructors.

An instructor who grants refuge and the novice precepts. One of five types of instructors named by the Buddha when asked to elaborate on the role of an instructor.

Someone born with both male and female sexual organs. One of the five types of person labeled a paṇḍaka, all of whom are barred from joining the renunciate order.

The rite by which one is inducted into the novitiate and confirms a candidate’s status as a novice in the Buddhist order of renunciates.

To be invited to eat on a whim is an acceptable way to receive food for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Food served at a banquet to which one has been invited is an acceptable form of food for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

See “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park.”

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the first Buddhist monasteries, located in a park outside Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. This park was originally owned by Prince Jeta, hence the name Jetavana, meaning Jeta’s grove. The wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, sought to buy it from him, but the prince, not wishing to sell, said he would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold coins. Anāthapiṇḍada agreed, and managed to cover all of the park except the entrance, hence the name Anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ, meaning Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The place is usually referred to in the sūtras as “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park,” and according to the Saṃghabhedavastu the Buddha used Prince Jeta’s name in first place because that was Prince Jeta’s own unspoken wish while Anāthapiṇḍada was offering the park. Inspired by the occasion and the Buddha’s use of his name, Prince Jeta then offered the rest of the property and had an entrance gate built. The Buddha specifically instructed those who recite the sūtras to use Prince Jeta’s name in first place to commemorate the mutual effort of both benefactors.

Anāthapiṇḍada built residences for the monks, to house them during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It was one of the Buddha’s main residences, where he spent around nineteen rainy season retreats, and it was therefore the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses and events. According to the travel accounts of Chinese monks, it was still in use as a Buddhist monastery in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ, but by the sixth century it had been reduced to ruins.

See “Jñātiputra, the Nirgrantha.”

One of the six tīrthika teachers contemporaneous with Śākyamuni. According to some, one and the same with Mahāvira, the last Tīrthaṅkara of the Jains.

An exemplar is one who has one or another of the twenty-one sets of five qualities given in “The Chapter on Going Forth.”

One of the six tīrthika teachers contemporaneous with Śākyamuni. Also rendered here as “Kakuda, a descendant of Kātyāyana.”

A place where the Buddha often resided, within the Bamboo Park (Veṇuvana) outside Rajagṛha that had been donated to him. The name is said to have arisen when, one day, King Bimbisāra fell asleep after a romantic liaison in the Bamboo Park. While the king rested, his consort wandered off. A snake (the reincarnation of the park’s previous owner, who still resented the king’s acquisition of the park) approached with malign intentions. Through the king’s tremendous merit, a gathering of kalandaka‍—crows or other birds according to Tibetan renderings, but some Sanskrit and Pali sources suggest flying squirrels‍—miraculously appeared and began squawking. Their clamor alerted the king’s consort to the danger, who rushed back and hacked the snake to pieces, thereby saving the king’s life. King Bimbisāra then named the spot Kalandakanivāpa (“Kalandakas’ Feeding Ground”), sometimes (though not in the Vinayavastu) given as Kalandakanivāpa (“Kalandakas’ Abode”) in their honor. The story is told in the Saṅghabhedavastu (Toh 1, ch.17, Degé Kangyur vol.4, folio 77.b et seq.).

The nāga king who lauded Siddhārtha after he gave up his austerities and prepared to sit under the bodhi tree.

One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon.

One of Upananda’s two novices whose homoerotic play led the Buddha to forbid allowing two novices to live together.

The Śākya capital, where Siddhārtha Gautama was raised.

Where Buddha converted a noble band of sixty youths.

The old name for Vārāṇasī.

Maudgalyāyana’s birthplace.

One of the Buddha’s principal pupils, who became the Buddha’s successor on his passing. Also the name of the Buddha who preceded Śākyamuni.

One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon. Also the name of the one of the Buddha’s principal pupils.

One of the five excellent companions, with whom Siddhārtha Gautama practiced asceticism near the Nairañjanā River and who later heard the Buddha first teach the Four Noble Truths at the Deer Park in Sarnath. Kauṇḍinya immediately realized its import and entered the stream, shortly thereafter becoming an arhat.

Home to a group of troublesome monks who quarreled with monks from Vaiśālī.

The terms phyag rgya pa and dam bzhag pa are synonyms refering to one of several official administrative or managerial positions at a monastery.

The King of Aṅga was the pre-eminent ruler in the eastern Gangetic region at the time of the Buddha’s birth. His defeat at the hands of Prince Bimbisāra of Magadha is narrated at the start of the Pravrajyāvastu.

One of the classes of people barred from joining the renunciate order.

The name given to Maudgalyāyana by his relatives because it seemed to them he had come to them from the lap of the gods.

Maternal uncle of Śāriputra and son of Māṭhara. He went south to study Lokāyata philosophy with Tiṣya. He later returned to study Lokāyata philosophy with an order of wandering ascetics, pledged not to cut his nails so long as he upheld Lokāyata philosophy and became known as Dīrghanakha, “He Who Has Long Fingernails.”

An acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual. A low-grade cloth made from kotampa fibers or kausheyam silk and linen or cotton weave.

One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon.

Jīvaka is a title meaning “physician.” Kumārabhṛta means “raised by the prince,” in this case Prince Abhaya, who was said to have fostered the future physician. He was personal physician to King Bimbisāra and the Buddha. He asked that ill persons would not be accepted into the order, for it would prove too great a burden on the king’s treasury, which paid for all the treatment he administered, and his own health.

An acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

“Large” meaning twelve cubits. An acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

A lay person who has taken refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha and, in addition, taken at least one of the five lay vows.

An illness considered an impediment to ordination. Can translate both sitapuṣpika and kilāsa.

See also n.­125.

See n.­106.

There are no limits to the length of time monks are permitted to keep medicine proper. Hence those compounds commonly understood to be medicine proper are literally called “kept lifelong,” that is “lifelong medicines.” These are aimed at combating illnesses that arise from the confluence of factors such as bile, phlegm, and wind. The texts describe these medicines as being made from roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and other plant materials.

A ceremony in which restrictions adopted for the rains retreat are relaxed, marking its end. Also short for the Vinayavastu’s third chapter on the same.

An acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Literally, “to live where I do not,” where “I” refers to the Buddha.

A kingdom on the banks of the Ganges (in the southern part of the modern day Indian state of Bihar), whose capital was at Pāṭaliputra (modern day Patna). During the life of Śākyamuni Buddha, it was the dominant kingdom in north central India and is home to many of the most important Buddhist sites, including Bodh Gayā, Nālandā, and its capital Rājagṛha.

One of Upananda’s two novices whose homoerotic play led the Buddha to forbid allowing two novices to live together.

One of the Five Excellent Companions, with whom Siddhārtha Gautama practiced asceticism near the Nairañjanā River and who later heard the Buddha first teach the Four Noble Truths at the Deer Park in Sarnath.

King of Magadha at the time of the Buddha’s birth, husband of Queen Bimbī, and father of Bimbisāra.

One of the eighteen nikāya schools.

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual. Also estate.

One of a Buddhist monk’s three robes

A learned brahmin and author of “Māṭhara’s Treatise.” He was also the grandfather of Upatiṣya, that is Śāriputra.

One class of person barred from joining the renunciate order.

An early name for the abhidharmapiṭaka and also a germinal list or index of topics.

See also n.­146.

The greatest miracle worker among the Buddha’s direct disciples. His relatives named him Maudgalyāyana in honor of his being a descendant of Mudgala. Respectfully referred to as Mahāmaudgalyāyana.

See n.­132.

An acceptable form of medicine for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

An acceptable form of medicine for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

An acceptable form of medicine for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

An acceptable form of medicine for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

A monk who has received a punitive act must perform five kinds of menial deeds that entail his adopting the subservient role of a penitent.

Most of the Buddha’s life and ministry took place in the Middle Country. Its land extended to the Likara Forest in the east; the city of Śarāvatī and the Śarāvatī River in the south; the brahmin towns of Sthūṇa and Upasthūṇa in the west; and Uśīragiri in the north.

One of five types of offenses a monk can incur. Misdeeds are the least grave offense a monk may incur. Thus, a monk must refrain from each of 112 misdeeds. To purify this offense, a monk must only confess it.

An acceptable form of medicine for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

A monk in charge of providing for monastery residents and visitors. One of several official administrative or managerial positions at a monastery.

The monk who acts as intermediary between a candidate for ordination and the saṅgha.

Also, according to certain usage, a phrase used in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya in praise of monks fully committed to the monastic ideal, as opposed especially to those who merely wear the robes.

A rations officer. One of several official administrative or managerial positions at a monastery.

A formal request, e.g., that a postulant be accepted into the renunciate order or that a monk serve as preceptor granting ordination, etc.

After a motion is put to the saṅgha, a monk other than the petitioner must make a move to act on the motion.

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

An acceptable form of cloth for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Śāriputra’s birthplace in Magadha. King Bimbisāra granted Śāriputra’s grandfather Māṭhara and father Tiṣya rights to this village as a victor’s spoils after debates held in his presence.

One of the notorious “group of six” monks whose antics and heavy-handed interference prompted a great many of the Buddha’s injunctions on conduct.

One of two sisters who nursed Siddhārtha Gautama after his six years of austerities.

One of two sisters who nursed Siddhārtha Gautama after his six years of austerities.

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination

See also n.­125.

The four dhyānas, the four absorptions of the formless realm, and absorption in cessation.

In his Gateway to Knowledge, Mipham identifies three groups of three thoughts that inspire aggression: (1–3) the thoughts, “This has hurt me,” “This is hurting me,” and “This will hurt me”; (4–6) the thoughts “This has hurt someone dear to me,” “This is hurting someone dear to me,” and “This will hurt someone dear to me”; and (7–9) the thoughts, “This has helped my enemy,” “This helps my enemy,” and “This will help my enemy” (mi pham rgyam mtsho 1978, p. 74).

An adjective applied to a monk who observes his vows and hence is “in good standing” or to a person who is sound of mind.

A government officer or official. Also a day-laborer.

Such as a courtier. One of the classes of people barred from joining the renunciate order.

The monk that moves the saṅgha act on an aspirant’s request to join the order and be ordained.

This term refers to those who renounce the world late in life, generally after having had and raised children of their own. It is somewhat pejorative; it is telling, for instance, that such monastics are directly addressed as “old-timers” rather than as “venerable,” the customary address for ordained monks.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination. According to Monier-Williams, any cutaneous disease.

See also n.­125.

The formal term for granting orders and confirming a candidate as a monk.

A deprecatory term meaning “old” or “out-of-date.”

Symptom that may be evidence of an illness considered an impediment to ordination.

See also n.­125.

Apart from Butön’s inclusion of Palgyi Lhünpo in his list of translators, there does not appear to be much biographical information available on this ninth-century translator. In addition to his work on the vinaya, Palgyi Lhünpo translated at least two Mahāyāna sūtras (the Buddhapiṭakaduḥśīlanigraha and the Drumakinnararājaparipṛcchā), several chapters of dhāraṇī, and several works in verse included in the Tengyur. The colophons of his translations indicate that Paltsek revised some of his translations, including the Vinayavastu and the Bhikṣuṇī Vinayavibhaṅga, to either complete unfinished work or reflect newly adopted standards.

Paltsek, from the village of Kawa north of Lhasa, was one of Tibet’s preeminent translators. He was one of the first seven Tibetans to be ordained by Śāntarakṣita and is counted as one of Guru Rinpoche’s twenty-five close disciples. In a famous verse by Ngok Lotsawa, Paltsek is named with Chokro Luyi Gyaltsen and Zhang Nanam Yeshé as part of a group of translators whose skills were surpassed only by Vairotsana. He translated works from a wide variety of genres, including sūtra, śāstra, vinaya, and tantra and was an author himself (for a list of his translations and writings, see Martin, 2011). Paltsek was also one of the most important editors of the early period, one of nine translators installed by Trisong Deutsen to supervise the translation of the Tripiṭaka and help catalogue translated works for the first two of three imperial catalogs (the ldan kar ma and bsam yas mchims phu ma catalogs, which were probably the initiative of Tride Songtsen; see Raine, 2010, 8).

An ārāma was a private citizen’s garden, generally found within the limits of a town or city.

Monks’ robes are to be sewn into large sections from small patches of cloth rather than bolts of cloth.

An acceptable form of shelter for a monk, as identified in the Four Supports section of the ordination ritual.

One of the classes of people barred from joining the renunciate order.

The patronage a pure monk is entitled to receive, without the attendant karmic burden, due to his pure ethics and observance of vows.

See also n.­179.

Someone who has put himself up as surety or sold himself as a slave.

A period of penance imposed by the saṅgha if a monk incurs a saṅgha remnant offense and fails to confess it that same day.

A monk who has incurred a defeat but is given the opportunity to engage in rehabilitative training.

In the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the term paṇḍaka (Tib. ma ning) encompasses diverse physiological and behavioral conditions, such as intersexuality, erectile dysfunction, and fetishes that imply an inability to engage in normative sexual behavior. Five different types of person labeled a paṇḍaka are identified in the text (see 4.­111): intersex persons, rhythmic-consecutive persons, sexually submissive persons, persons with a voyeuristic fetish, and persons with a sexual disability (see glossary entries for each). The criteria for being designated a person labeled a paṇḍaka are not strictly physiological, but neither are they grounded exclusively in gender identity or sexual orientation. Person labeled a paṇḍaka is, in effect, a catchall category and, as such, defies easy translations like “neuter,” “androgyne,” “intersexual,” “transgender,” or “paraphiliac.”

See also Gyatso (2003), Cabezón (1993), Zwilling (1992), and Likhitpreechakul (2012).

One class of person barred from joining the renunciate order.

A person whose sexual organs have been disabled by being removed or otherwise. One of the five types of person labeled a paṇḍaka, all of whom are barred from joining the renunciate order.

A person who only becomes erect out of the jealousy they feel when seeing a woman having sex with another person. One of the five types of person labeled a paṇḍaka, all of whom are barred from joining the renunciate order.

The least severe of five types of offenses a monk can incur. There are four types of offense requiring personal confession, which are expunged through personal confession.

Those with a particular physical condition considered an impediment to ordination.

Those who are said to have a particular physical condition considered an impediment to ordination.

Those who are marked by brands on bondage or scars from corporal punishment, or tattooed. A physical condition considered an impediment to ordination.

Persons with stunted growth who exhibit general sluggishness due to hypothyroidism.

Those with a particular physical condition considered an impediment to ordination.

A physical condition considered an impediment to ordination.

Those with a particular physical condition considered an impediment to ordination.

Those having a certain physical condition that is considered an impediment to ordination.