Ordination in the Theravada Tradition:
Ordination During the Time of the Buddha
Buddhistdoor
International Jnan Nanda 2014-04-14
The Pali term
pabbajja,
denoting ordination, comes from the prefix
pa
and the root
vaja
(to go forth). It occurs in various sections of the Vinaya and
Sutta Pitaka. The frequency within the Pali Canon of the use of the
phrase ‘agarasma
anagariyam pabbajati’,
or similar phrases recording the action of going forth from home to
homelessness, is a common feature in the ancient Indian
civilization. For example, in the
Cakkavattisihana-sutta,
the Wheel Rolling Monarch renounces the worldly kingdom to take up
celibacy and the spiritual life. Furthermore, several Jataka
stories, which depict the previous lives of Gautama Buddha, also
contain events surrounding renunciation.
The
concept of ordination or renunciation is a pre-Buddhist ideal. The
Vedic texts divide up the life of an individual into four stages,
with celibacy as the last stage. The six heretical teachers, also
contemporaries of the Buddha, were people who had renounced the
worldly life. Sukumar Dutt, in Early
Buddhist Monachism,
mentions wanderers who have renounced the worldly life, designated
by titles such as, pravrajaka,
bhikkhu,
samana,
yati,
sannyasin
etc.
Their objective in seeking renunciation was the search for highest
truth (sacca)
and highest virtue (kusala).
However, the Buddha, also a renunciate of the worldly life, was
different from those wanderers and ascetics.
According
to the Susima-sutta
of
Samyutta
Nikaya,
the Buddhist practices were advanced.
Susima, a wanderer, takes ordination in the Buddhist Order under
the misperception that spiritual life in Buddhism is the attainment
of various supernormal powers. However, the Buddha and some
Arahants later explain to him that this was not so. The
meaning of spiritual life in Buddhism is living in accordance with
the Dhamma that leads to the attainment of
Nibbana. At this stage, the bhikkhu realizes the
five aggregates are impermanent and through the understanding of
Dependent Co-origination, a bhikkhu attains
Nibbana declaring ‘birth is ended, the spiritual life is
lived, done what has to be done and there is nothing more left to
be fulfilled in the life.'
In
the Bhikkhaka-sutta
of
Samyutta Nikaya, the Buddha explains that one does not become
a bhikkhu
by
merely begging for food and wandering with unwholesomeness.
According to the Buddha, a bhikkhu
is
one who has given up
merit as a sin in this world and
observes celibacy with a pure mind. A bhikkhu
is
one who does not acquire merit (punya),
but does wholesome activities (kusalakamma).
Punya
is
for lay followers, kusala
is
for the monastic who is striving on the path to nibbana.
The
Mahatanhakkhaya-sutta
of
Majjhima
Nikaya explains
the nature of a bhikkhu
as a
bird that flies with only its wings: a bhikkhu
is
happy with robes for the use of the body, food for the use of
hunger, as a bird uses its wings wherever it flies. These
statements in various sutta-s
show
that the Buddha has given a very different and standard definition
of bhikkhu
in
Buddhism.
The
Buddhist concept of ordination was formulated in a practical way
and is a natural step towards emancipation. Buddhist teachings are
more practical than metaphysical as in other religions. The
Buddhist practice, once taken up, ultimately leads to
liberation.
According
to the Oghatarana-sutta
of
the Samyutta
Nikaya,
the Buddha crossed the flood of samsara
by
neither pushing forward nor staying in one place (flood/stream).
The Buddha explains that if he stayed, he could have drowned and,
if he struggled too much, he could have lost his achievement. So,
without staying and bothering, he crossed the flood (stream). This
shows the
middle way characteristic of the Buddhist path of practice free
from being extreme.
The Buddha without being an extremist crossed the stream smoothly;
he neither stayed in the middle of the stream nor rushed to cross
the stream. He crossed the stream while following the middle
way.
Such
a meaningful life attracted a vast number of people to lead a
spiritual life under the guidance of the Buddha. In the beginning,
when the size of the Sangha
was
smaller, the Buddha himself granted ordination. However, as
the Dhamma
continued
to spread, more people aspired to be ordained but were unable to do
so. It was difficult to meet the Buddha, as he was the only one
with authority to grant ordination yet journeying from one place to
another preaching the doctrine. At this stage the Buddha decided to
permit his disciples to ordain people who were willing to enter the
Order.
The
authority of granting ordination up until the Buddha finally gave
permission to other monks to do so, had remained fully with him.
The ordination granted by the Buddha at that time was called
‘ehi
bhikkhu pabbajja’,
which means ‘O monk, come and take ordination’, an invitation
extended to those who had expressed a willingness to enter the
Order. The first person to receive this ordination was Kondanna,
the first to understand the Buddha’s first sermon among the first
five disciples. Secondly, the remaining four disciples requested
the Buddha for ordination and were granted ordination in the same
way. When the number of candidates was more than one, the Buddha
used the plural form: etha
bhikkhavo’ti.
According to both the Vinaya and its commentaries, there were
thousands of monks who received the ehi
bhikkhu pabbajja,
taking the Buddha as their preceptor.
The
type of ordination granted by the disciples (with the permission of
the Buddha) to ordain new entrants to the sangha
was
called the tisarana
pabbajja.
This means taking ordination by uttering the Triple Gems three
times separately. The tisarana
form
of ordination was instituted after the Buddha decentralized the
authority of granting ordination. Furthermore, there was no
distinction between samanera
(novitiate)
ordination or upasampada
(higher
ordination) during Buddha’s lifetime. In both formulas,
ehi
bhikkhu pabbajja and
tisarana
pabbajja,
the monks were automatically admitted to full ordination at the
same time when the ordination was granted. The most important
purpose for entering the Order at that time was neither seniority
nor being junior, but to practice spirituality to end
dukkha
and
its root causes.