Bhikkhu Vibhaṅga

The Monks’ Rules and Their Analysis

The Bhikkhu-vibhaṅga or Mahā-vibhaṅga (“the analysis of the monks’ rules” or “the great analysis”), or simply the Vibhaṅga for short, contains the Monastic Code for monks, the Bhikkhu-pātimokkha, embedded in explanatory material. The Vibhaṅga is divided into eight chapters, each dealing with a separate class of rules, grouped according to the offense incurred in breaking them, with the exception of the <i lang='pi' translate='no'>aniyatas</i> (“the undetermined”) and 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. Each rule together with its explanatory material forms an independent unit, a sub-chapter. These units begin with one or more origin stories, which tell the circumstances that led the Buddha to lay down a particular rule. The rule is then stated, followed by a word commentary that analyzes every significant word contained in the rule. After the word commentary follows a permutation series in which a variety of different scenarios are evaluated and offenses assigned as appropriate. At the end comes a non-offense clause, stating important exceptions to the rule, sometimes followed by individual case studies, in which the Buddha decides the offense incurred in ambiguous cases.

• PārājikaExpulsion4 ข้อ
• SaṅghādisesaSuspension13 ข้อ
• AniyataUndetermined2 ข้อ
• Nissaggiya PācittiyaRelinquishment with Confession30 ข้อ
• PācittiyaConfession92 ข้อ
• PāṭidesanīyaAcknowledgment4 ข้อ
• SekhiyaRules of Training75 ข้อ
• AdhikaraṇasamathaThe Settling of Legal Issues1 ข้อ