The Vinaya Piá¹Âaka (English: Basket of Discipline) is the first of the three divisions of the Pali Tripitaka, the definitive canonical collection of scripture of Theravada Buddhism. The other two parts of the Tripiá¹Âaka are the Sutta Piá¹Âaka and the Abhidhamma Piá¹Âaka. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules of conduct for monks and nuns of the Sangha.
According to tradition, the Tripiá¹Âaka was compiled at the First Council shortly after the Buddha's death. The Vinaya Piá¹Âaka is said to have been recited by UpÃÂli, with little later addition. Most of the different versions are fairly similar, most scholars consider most of the Vinaya to be fairly early, that is, dating from before the separation of schools.
The PÃÂli Vinaya consists of:
The Pali version of the Patimokkha contains 227 rules for bhikkhus and 311 rules for bhikkhunis. The Vibhaá¹ ga sections consist of commentary on these rules, giving detailed explanations of them along with the origin stories for each rule. The Khandhaka section gives numerous supplementary rules grouped by subject that also consist of origin stories.
According to the sutras, in the first years of the Buddha's teaching the sangha lived together in harmony with no vinaya, as there was no need, because all of the Buddha's early disciples were highly realized if not fully enlightened. As the sangha expanded, situations arose which the Buddha and the lay community felt were inappropriate for mendicants.
The first rule to be established was the prohibition against sexual intercourse. The origin story tells of an earnest monk whose family was distraught that there was no male heir and so persuaded the monk to impregnate his former wife. All threeâÂÂthe monk, his wife and son, the latter of whom later ordainedâÂÂeventually became fully enlightened arhats.
The Buddha called his teaching the "Dhamma-Vinaya", emphasizing both the philosophical teachings of Buddhism as well as the training in virtue that embodies that philosophy. Shortly before his death, the Buddha clarified to his disciples through ÃÂnanda: