The Pratimoká¹£a () is a list of rules (contained within the vinaya) governing the behaviour of Buddhist monastics (monks or bhiká¹£us and nuns or bhiká¹£uá¹Âës). ' means "towards" and moká¹£a means "liberation" from cyclic existence (saá¹ÂsÃÂra).
It became customary to recite these rules once a fortnight at a meeting of the sangha during which confession would traditionally take place. A number of prÃÂtimoká¹£a codes are extant, including those contained in the TheravÃÂda, MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghika, Mahëà ÂÃÂsaka, Dharmaguptaka, SarvÃÂstivÃÂda and Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda vinayas. Pratimoká¹£a texts may also circulate in separate pratimoká¹£a sà «tras, which are extracts from their respective vinayas.
The Pratimoká¹£a belongs to the Vinaya of the Buddhist doctrine and is seen as the very basis of Buddhism. On the basis of the PrÃÂtimoká¹£a there exist in Mahayana Buddhism two additional set of vows: The Bodhisattva vows and the Vajrayana vows. If these two sets of vows are not broken, they are regarded as carrying over to future lives.
The Pratimoká¹£a is traditionally a section of the Vinaya. The Theravada Vinaya is preserved in the PÃÂli Canon in the Vinaya Piá¹Âaka. The Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda Vinaya is preserved in both the Tibetan Buddhist canon in the Kangyur, in a Chinese edition, and in an incomplete Sanskrit manuscript. Some other complete Vinaya texts are preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon (see: Taishà  Tripiá¹Âaka), and these include:
The Dharmaguptaka sect are known to have rejected the authority of the SarvÃÂstivÃÂda pratimoká¹£a rules on the grounds that the original teachings of the Buddha had been lost.
The Patimokkha is the Pali equivalent of Pratimoká¹£a (Sanskrit). It is being followed by the monks of the Theravada lineage (Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos). It consists of 227 rules for fully ordained monks (bhikkhus) and 311 for nuns (bhikkhunis). The Patimokkha is contained in the Suttavibhanga, a division of the Vinaya Pitaka.
Buddhist traditions in East Asia typically follow the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya lineage of the pratimoká¹£a, and this is standard for the following Buddhist traditions:
Some traditions of Buddhism in Japan and Korea also carry out full monastic ordination, but most do not. Instead, these traditions have priests and monastics who take the Bodhisattva Precepts instead of the traditional pratimoká¹£a vows.
The pratimoká¹£a of the Mulasarvastivada lineage followed in Tibetan Buddhism is taken for life unless one or more of the four root vows are broken. In Tibetan Buddhism, there are eight types of Pratimoká¹£a vows:
The lay pratimoká¹£a consists of five vows that are also known as the Five à Âëlas:
One is not obliged to take all five vows. The commentaries describe seven types of lay followers:
Only full monks and full nuns are seen as full members of the Buddhist monastic order. A group of four fully ordained monastics is seen as a sangha. The prÃÂtimoká¹£a tells also how to purify faults, how to solve conflicts, and deal with various situations which can happen in the sangha.