Help | Home » Theravada Text Archives » Contemporary Writers » Thanissaro Bhikkhu » Buddhist Monastic Code I

## Glossary

[ Previous Section | Table of Contents | Next Section ]

This Glossary is designed to help the reader in two sorts of situations: (1) when encountering a Pali term in this book in a passage where it is not explained; and (2) when encountering Vinaya terminology in other books or conversations and wanting to know how it is defined and/or where it is discussed here. For terms that have entire chapters devoted to them -- such as nissaya and pacittiya -- see the relevant chapter.

Acariya: teacher. See Chapter Two and Appendix VIII.

Acittaka: a class of offenses carrying a penalty even when committed unintentionally or with incorrect perception.

Adhitthana: determining for use. See NP 1, 3, 21, & 24 and Appendix IV.

Akkosa-vatthu: a topic for abuse. See Pacittiyas 2 & 3.

Anupasampanna: anyone who has not received full ordination. With some rules, this includes bhikkhunis; with others, it doesn't.

Apalokana: declaration; the simplest form for a formal act of the Community, in which a decision is proposed to the Community in the announcer's own words.

Bhattuddesaka: the Community official in charge of meal distribution. See Pacittiya 32 and Appendix III.

Bhikkhu: a male mendicant ordained in the Bhikkhu Sangha, subject to the training rules of the Bhikkhu Patimokkha and the Khandhakas (the Mahavagga and Cullavagga).

Bhikkhuni: a female mendicant ordained by both the Bhikkhuni and the Bhikkhu Sanghas, subject to the training rules of the Bhikkhuni Patimokkha and the eight vows of respect (garu-dhamma). See Pacittiya 21.

Bhojaniya: staple food. See the introduction to the Food Chapter in Chapter Eight.

Bhutagama: a living plant in its place. See Pacittiya 11.

Bijagama: a plant or part of a plant removed from its place but capable of growing again if replanted. See Pacittiya 11.

Chanda: consent by proxy. See Pacittiya 79.

Deva (devata): literally, a "shining one" -- a celestial being.

Dubbhasita: wrong speech. See Pacittiya 2.

Dukkata: wrong doing, the lightest penalty.

Garu-bhanda: a heavy article. Garu-bhanda belonging to the Sangha includes monasteries and monastery land; dwellings, land on which dwellings are built; furnishings such as couches, chairs, and mattresses; metal vessels and tools; building materials, except for such things as rushes, reeds, grass, and clay; and articles made of pottery or wood. See Parajika 2, Sanghadisesa 6, and Pacittiya 81.

Garu-dhamma: a vow of respect mandatory for all bhikkhunis. See Pacittiya 21.

Hatthapasa: a distance of 2 1/2 cubits, or 1.25 meters.

Jhana: mental absorption. See Parajika 4.

Kappiya-vohara: a proper expression, i.e., a way of expressing a hint or desire allowable in the context of a rule where an outright command would be a breach of the rule.

Kathina: a ceremony, held in the fourth month of the rainy season, in which a Community of bhikkhus receives a gift of cloth from lay people, bestows it on one of their members, and then makes it into a robe before dawn of the following day. See NP 1-3 and Pacittiya 81.

Khadaniya: non-staple food. See the introduction to the Food Chapter in Chapter Eight.

Lahu-bhanda: a light article. Lahu-bhanda of the Sangha includes such things as cloth, food, and medicine; small personal accessories such as scissors, sandals, and water strainers; and light building materials, such as rushes, reeds, grass, and clay. See Parajika 2, Sanghadisesa 6, and Pacittiya 81.

Leddupata: the distance a man of average height can toss a clod of dirt underarm -- approximately 18 meters.

Loka-vajja: acts criticized by people in general. See Chapter One.

Lokuttara-dhamma: a transcendent state. See Parajika 4.

Mahapadesa: Great Standard for deciding what is and is not in line with the Dhamma and Vinaya. See Chapter One.

Manatta: penance. See the conclusion to Chapter Five.

Naga: a special kind of serpent, classed as a common animal but having magical powers, including the ability to assume human appearance. Nagas have long been regarded as protectors of the Buddha's teachings.

Ñatti-kamma: a form for a formal act of the Community in which a decision is proposed to the Community in a motion following a set wording.

Ñatti-dutiya-kamma: a form for a formal act of the Community in which a decision is proposed to the Community in a motion and one announcement.

Ñatti-catuttha-kamma: a form for a formal act of the Community in which a decision is proposed to the Community in a motion and three announcements.

Niyasa-kamma: a stripping of status (also called

Nissaya-kamma, an act of dependence) -- a formal act whereby a bhikkhu released from dependence is required to return to dependence under a mentor until he mends his ways. See Chapter Two.

Pabbajaniya-kamma: an act of banishment whereby a bhikkhu is denied membership in a particular Community until he mends his ways. See Sanghadisesa 13.

Pabbajja: going forth -- ordination as a samanera.

Paccuddharana: rescinding from use. See Appendix IV.

Palibodha: commitment. See NP 1.

Pana: juice drink. See the introduction to the Food Chapter in Chapter Eight, and Pacittiya 38.

Pandaka: a man sexually deviant or deformed. See Sanghadisesa 2.

Pannatti-vajja: acts criticized by the training rules. See Chapter One.

Parivasa: probation. See the conclusion to Chapter Five.

Pavarana: (1) an invitation whereby a donor gives permission to a bhikkhu or a Community of bhikkhus to ask for requisites. See Pacittiya 47. (2) a ceremony, held at the end of the Rains Retreat (see vassa), in which each bhikkhu invites the rest of the Community to inform him of any transgressions they may have seen, heard, or suspected that he has committed.

Peta: a hungry shade -- one of a class of beings in the lower realms, sometimes capable of appearing to human beings.

Pubbayoga: a preliminary effort leading up to the commission of an offense.

Sacittaka: a class of offenses that carry a penalty only when committed intentionally and with correct perception.

Samana: contemplative. This word is derived from the adjective sama, which means "in tune" or "in harmony." The samanas in ancient India were wanderers who tried through direct contemplation to find the true nature of reality -- as opposed to the conventions taught in the Vedas -- and to live in tune or in harmony with that reality. Buddhism is one of several samana movements. Others included Jainism, Ajivakan fatalism, and Lokayata, or hedonism.

Samanera: literally, a small samana -- a novice monk observing ten precepts. See Pacittiya 70.

Sangha: Community. This may refer to the entire Community of bhikkhus or bhikkhunis, or to the Community living in a particular location. In this book I have tried to distinguish between the two by calling the first Sangha, and the second Community, but there are some contexts where it is difficult to draw a clear line between the two.

Sangha-bheda: a schism in the Sangha. See Sanghadisesas 10 & 11.

Sangha-raji: a crack in the Sangha. See Sanghadisesa 10.

Sima: boundary or territory related to the performance of formal acts of the Community. See Pacittiya 79.

Sugata: Well-gone, an epithet for the Buddha. Sugata measures are discussed in Appendix II.

Sutta (suttanta): discourse.

Tajjaniya-kamma: an act of censure, whereby a Community may strip a bhikkhu of some of his communal rights if he is a maker of strife, if he refuses to see or confess an offense he admits to having committed, or if he criticizes the Buddha, Dhamma, or Sangha. If he mends his ways, the act can be repealed. See Sanghadisesa 8, Aniyata 1, and Chapter Eleven.

Thullaccaya: grave offense, the most serious derived offense.

Tiracchana-katha: "animal talk," topics of conversation inappropriate for bhikkhus. See Pacittiyas 46 & 85.

Tiracchana-vijja: "bestial/animal knowledge," occult abilities inappropriate for bhikkhus to practice. See Parajika 4 and the Samaññaphala Suttanta.

Ukkhepaniya-kamma: an act of suspension, whereby a Community may deprive a bhikkhu of his right to associate with the Sangha as a whole until he mends his ways. See Pacittiyas 68 & 69.

Upajjhaya: preceptor. See Chapter Two and Appendix VIII.

Upasampada: acceptance -- full ordination as a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni.

Uposatha: Observance day, the day of the new and of the full moon; traditionally, in India, a time of special spiritual practices. The Buddha adopted this as the day for reciting the Patimokkha.

Vassa: Rains Retreat -- a three-month period, generally beginning the day after the full moon in July (or the second, if there are two), during which certain restrictions are placed on the bhikkhus' wanderings; usually considered a time to accelerate one's efforts in study or practice.

Vikappana: an arrangement whereby an item not in use is placed under shared ownership. See NP 1, Pacittiya 59, and Appendix V.

Vissasa: trust between friends. See Parajika 2 and Pacittiya 59.

Yakkha: one of a special class of powerful "non-human" beings -- sometimes kindly, sometimes murderous and cruel -- corresponding roughly to the fairies and ogres of Western fairy tales. The female (yakkhini) is generally considered more treacherous than the male.

Yojana: a league -- a distance of ten miles or sixteen kilometers.

[ Previous Section | Table of Contents | Next Section ]

Revised: Thu 14 March 2002