(; uddhist
Monastic
DisciplineBuddhist Monastic Discipline contains
two significant Buddhist monastic
disciplinary texts—the Sanskrit Pratimoksa
Sititras of the Mahasimghikas and
Milasarvastivadins—for the first time,
translated into English. They are printed
on facing pages for ease of comparison.
One of the texts is that of a very early
Buddhist school first appearing in the
4th century sce, and the other is one not
mentioned in the records until the
7th century cE. The contrasting texts thus
highlight the development of Buddhist
sectarian practices.
Two introductory chapters precede the
translated Sitras. The first gives an
overview of the rise of Buddhist
monasticism; analyzes Vinaya, that
portion of the Buddhist canon regulating
the life of monks and nuns; and
provisionally identifies the problematics
inherent in Pratimoksa study, pointing
the way to needed research. The second
chapter describes how the two translated
Siitras were found and edited.
The translated texts are thoroughly
annotated, often highlighting hitherto
unknown grammatical variants in
Buddhist Hybird Sanskrit, and are
followed by a concordance table of
Bhiksu Pratimoksa Siitras preserved in
Indic languages and by a selected
bibliography.BUDDHIST MONASTIC DISCIPLINE