What is the Vinaya? The Vinaya is the name given to the compendium of training rules, protocols, procedures and duties laid down by the Buddha for the monastic order. The Vinaya is intended to maintain harmony within amongst monastic communities and to create the optimum conditions for the practice of Dhamma by each individual monk. The heart of the Vinaya is the Patimokkha, the 227 rules which constitute the basic code of discipline. The Patimokkha is divided into a number of sections. The first consists of four expulsion offenses: sexual intercourse, stealing, killing a human being, making bogus claims of […]