Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha

The Nuns’ Rules

The Bhikkhunī-pātimokkha, “the Monastic Code for nuns”, contains the core rules of the monastic life in the form of a long list without any explanatory material. There are 311 such rules for the nuns, grouped according to the type of offense incurred for breaking the rule, with the exception of the last group, the <i lang='pi' translate='no'>adhikaraṇasamathadhamma</i> (“the principles for resolving legal issues”), which are principles to be applied rather than rules in the strict sense. At present the Pātimokkha is only found embedded in the Suttavibhaṅga (“the Analysis of the Pātimokkha rules”), in which each rule is surrounded by explanatory material. Originally, however, the Pātimokkha probably existed as an independent text, known as the Pātimokkha-sutta. This can be seen from the fact that rules sometimes refer to other rules that immediately precede them, a connection that is now severed since the Suttavibhaṅga material separates the rules from each other.

• PārājikaExpulsion8 ข้อ
• SaṅghādisesaSuspension17 ข้อ
• Nissaggiya PācittiyaRelinquishment with Confession30 ข้อ
• PācittiyaConfession166 ข้อ
• PāṭidesanīyaAcknowledgment8 ข้อ
• SekhiyaRules of Training75 ข้อ
• AdhikaraṇasamathaThe Settling of Legal Issues7 ข้อ