How the Status of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis Is Accomplished

Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis must certainly uphold the precepts of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis. However, among the seven Buddhas of the past, the first three—Vipashyin, Shikhin, and Vishvabhu—did not codify or expound the precepts, yet they too had assemblies of seven types of disciples (though after a Buddha's passing, the Dharma would also disappear). In the first five years after Shakyamuni attained Buddhahood, He had not yet established any precepts, yet He already had many Bhikkhu disciples. This shows that Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis do not arise from the precepts; rather, the precepts of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis came into being in response to the needs of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis.

Then how is the status or qualification of a Bhikkhu or Bhikkhuni accomplished? This brings us to the categories of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis. Let us first discuss the categories of Bhikkhus. The various Vinaya traditions also differ somewhat in this regard:

(1) The Mahīshāsaka Vinaya lists eleven kinds of Bhikkhus: 1. Mendicant Bhikkhu; 2. Bhikkhu who wears patched, discolored robes; 3. Bhikkhu who has destroyed evil; 4. True Bhikkhu; 5. Steadfast Bhikkhu; 6. Bhikkhu who has seen the truth; 7. Bhikkhu ordained by one declaration; 8. Bhikkhu ordained by two declarations; 9. Bhikkhu ordained by three declarations; 10. Bhikkhu ordained by the "Come, monk" formula; 11. Bhikkhu ordained through the proper procedure of announcement and three proclamations to the assembly.

(2) The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya-saṃgraha lists ten kinds of approaching perfection (upasampadā): 1. Without a teacher—namely, the World-Honored One; 2. By realization of wisdom—namely, the five Bhikkhus; 3. By inquiry—namely, Udayin; 4. By taking refuge—namely, Mahā Kāshyapa (the Great Kāshyapa); 5. By five persons—namely, in a border country, with the vinaya master as the fifth; 6. By ten persons—namely, in the central region; 7. By receiving the honorable method—namely, the Great World-Matron; 8. By sending a messenger—namely, Dharmadinnā; 9. By two assemblies—namely, when both orders are gathered; 10. By the "Come, monk" formula—namely, the Master's personal summons.

(3) The Daśa-bhāṇaka-vinaya (Ten Recitations Vinaya) lists ten methods of receiving full ordination: 1. The World-Honored One naturally obtained full ordination without a teacher; 2. The five Bhikkhus obtained full ordination upon attaining the Path; 3. The elder Mahā Kāshyapa obtained full ordination upon making a solemn vow; 4. Sūtra, who answered the Buddha's discourse in accord, obtained full ordination; 5. In a border country, a vinaya-holder of the fifth generation could confer full ordination; 6. Mahāprajāpati, the Bhikkhuni, obtained full ordination upon accepting the Eight Heavy Rules; 7. Pañcāśī obtained full ordination through a messenger; 8. Bhikkhus summoned by the Buddha with "Come" obtained full ordination; 9. After taking refuge in the Three Jewels, three times declaring "I follow the Buddha in renouncing the world," one immediately obtained full ordination; 10. Through the procedure of announcement and three proclamations, full ordination was obtained.

(4) The Vinaya-mātṛkā-sūtra lists five methods of receiving full ordination: 1. The "Come, monk" Bhikkhus immediately received full ordination; 2. The three declarations (that is, the Threefold Refuge) immediately conferred full ordination; 3. The procedure of announcement and three proclamations, by which receiving precepts is called receiving full ordination; 4. By the Buddha's decree permitting ordination (the Eight Garudhammas), full ordination was obtained; 5. The supreme ordination, referring to those in the Buddha's time who did not receive precepts but simply listened to the Dharma at the Buddha's side and attained the fruit of Arhatship.

(5) The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Four-Part Vinaya) lists eight kinds of Bhikkhus: 1. Name-only Bhikkhu; 2. Bhikkhu in semblance; 3. Self-styled Bhikkhu; 4. "Come, monk" Bhikkhu; 5. Begging Bhikkhu; 6. Bhikkhu who wears patched robes; 7. Bhikkhu who has broken the fetters (with all defilements severed and the fruit of Arhatship realized); 8. Bhikkhu who has received the great precepts through the proper procedure of announcement and three proclamations, fulfilled in accord with the Dharma, and obtained a place among the assembly.

We have cited the categories of Bhikkhus from five Vinaya texts, each with slight variations, but they can be summarized into ten classes: without a teacher, one declaration, two declarations, three declarations, breaking the fetters, solemn vow, "Come, monk," inquiry, responsive discourse, and announcement with three proclamations (including the two forms of five monks in border regions and ten monks in central regions). The means by which Bhikkhus obtain full ordination likely do not exceed these ten methods; however, the two commonly employed in the Buddha's time were the "Come, monk" Bhikkhu and the Bhikkhu ordained by the procedure of announcement and three proclamations.

The remaining eight were limited to individuals of special capacities. Comparatively speaking, the Bhikkhu who has broken the fetters was more numerous than the other seven. As for the rest: only the Buddha Himself received full ordination without a teacher; only Mahā Kāshyapa received it through his solemn vow; only Udayin (Kālodāyin) received it through inquiry; and only Sūtra received it through responding to the Buddha's discourse. As for the "Come, monk" ordination, it continued in use until the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, after which it came to an end. After the Buddha's passing, the only method of receiving Bhikkhu ordination was the procedure of announcement and three proclamations.

In the Buddha's time, the "Come, monk" and the procedure of announcement and three proclamations were used side by side, but with one distinction: when the Buddha personally ordained a Bhikkhu, He used the "Come, monk" formula. The Buddha had only to say, "Come, Bhikkhu!" and the person being ordained, through their own accumulated roots and the Buddha's spiritual power, would immediately have their hair fall off, the kāṣāya robe appear upon their body, the alms bowl appear in their hand, and they would assume the dignified deportment of a long-practicing senior Bhikkhu. This, however, was possible only for those with profound accumulated roots who could realize the fruit on the spot.

The meaning of "Come, Bhikkhu" can be inferred to contain three layers: 1. Your coming to be free from birth and death is most timely; 2. It is indeed the very best thing that you have come to be a Bhikkhu; 3. In your coming to renounce the world and become a Bhikkhu, Buddhism warmly welcomes you.

As to how many "Come, Bhikkhu" ordinates the Buddha produced in His lifetime: nearly all the great disciples ordained in the Buddha's early period were "Come, Bhikkhu" ordinates. For instance, the five such as Aññata Kondañña, the thirty led by Pūrṇa (Maitrāyaṇīputra), the son of a good family named Shansheng from Benares, Uruvilvā Kāshyapa and his five hundred disciples, Nadī Kāshyapa and his three hundred disciples, Gayā Kāshyapa and his two hundred disciples, Upasena and his two hundred fifty disciples, Mahā Maudgalyāyana and his two hundred fifty disciples, Mahā Kāshyapa, Chanda, Kālodāyin, Upāli, the five hundred royal sons of the Shākya clan, the five hundred including Bhadrika, the five hundred bandits, and the elder's son named Shanlai. From this, it is evident that the "Come, Bhikkhu" ordinates were the leading stratum and the main constituents of the Sangha at that time.

Bhikkhus ordained through the procedure of announcement and three proclamations appeared when the Buddha's Bhikkhu disciples, in turn, ordained a third generation of Bhikkhus. Because India is a vast land, the Buddha's great disciples were already propagating the Dharma in various regions, and in each of these regions there were people seeking ordination. Sending candidates on long journeys to be ordained by the Buddha was extremely troublesome, and incidents might even occur along the way. Therefore, the Buddha decreed that His Bhikkhu disciples might also ordain people and confer full ordination. A person receiving full ordination had to seek unanimous approval and recognition from an assembly of no fewer than ten Bhikkhus in order to be considered a legitimate Bhikkhu.

The so-called procedure of announcement and three proclamations consists of one announcement and three rounds of seeking tacit assent, hence the name. If even one of the ten objects to the proceeding, the assembly is not in harmony, the ordination karma is not established, and the candidate does not receive the Bhikkhu precepts. This is a simple yet solemn ceremony, its purpose being to obtain the recognition of the Sangha rather than a private conferral. Even so, conferring full ordination within the Buddha's Sangha was a common Buddhist function. It was usually performed on the occasion of the fortnightly recitation of the precepts, since that was the designated date for gathering. Apart from this, occasions such as the beginning of the rains retreat and the end of the rains retreat were also opportune times for conferring and receiving full ordination.

For instance, the Buddha stated in the Mahīshāsaka Vinaya (Vol. 16): "I permit that at the time of the poṣadha (recitation), at the time of pravāraṇā (invitation), and at the time of the Sangha's self-gathering, full ordination may be conferred." This is utterly unlike Chinese Buddhism, which has been divided into Chan monasteries, lecture monasteries, and Vinaya monasteries. Only the Vinaya monasteries study the Vinaya, uphold the Vinaya, and transmit the precepts; the Chan and lecture monasteries neither study, uphold, nor transmit the precepts. This, of course, was shaped by social background factors, and we need not be overly critical. Even so, the transmission of precepts in the present day has become somewhat lax.

Let us now discuss the categories of Bhikkhunis' ordination:

(1) The Mūla-sarvāstivāda Bhikkhunī Vinaya lists five kinds of Bhikkhunis: 1. Name-only Bhikkhuni; 2. Self-declared Bhikkhuni; 3. Begging Bhikkhuni (laywomen who live by begging); 4. Bhikkhuni who has broken the defilements; 5. Bhikkhuni ordained by announcement and three proclamations.

(2) The Vinaya-mātṛkā-sūtra (Vol. 1) lists five methods by which Bhikkhunis receive full ordination: 1. Following the teacher's instruction (the Eight Garudhammas), which is called receiving full ordination; 2. Receiving full ordination through the procedure of announcement and three proclamations; 3. Receiving full ordination through a messenger appearing in person; 4. Receiving full ordination through the "Come, monk" formula; 5. The supreme ordination (breaking the fetters).

In fact, the legitimate Bhikkhunis listed in these two Vinaya texts number only four types: breaking the fetters, the Eight Garudhammas, messenger, and announcement with three proclamations. As for the "Come, Bhikkhuni," given the convention that the Buddha did not personally ordain nuns, this must not have been the Buddha's own ordination; rather, it was conferred by a senior Bhikkhuni disciple. Moreover, given that the appearance of Bhikkhunis came fourteen or twenty-some years after that of Bhikkhus, the Bhikkhu Sangha by that time already had the established procedure of ordaining people through announcement and three proclamations. The Bhikkhunis would not still have been imitating the Buddha's method of ordaining Bhikkhus by using the "Come, monk" formula to ordain Bhikkhunis, so this remains a question awaiting further textual research.

Who were the Bhikkhunis who broke the fetters? There is no clear written record. The Bhikkhunis who received full ordination through the Eight Garudhammas were only Mahāprajāpati and the five hundred women of the Shākya clan. As for those who received ordination through a messenger, in Buddhist history there is only one such case: Dharmadinnā (translated as Fǎyǔ, "Dharma-Bestowed," in the Mūla-karma-vastu, Vol. 32), or alternatively Pañcāśī. It was because she was extraordinarily beautiful, and many men, upon hearing of her ordination, wished to violate her along the way. Had she traveled in person from the nunnery to the Bhikkhu assembly to receive ordination, she would not have been able to complete her renunciation. Therefore, the Buddha specially permitted women of extraordinary beauty to renounce the world, and if there was concern about being violated on the way, a representative could be sent to the Bhikkhu assembly to seek the procedural conferral, and ordination could still be obtained. All others were ordained by announcement and three proclamations within an assembly of two orders.

The conferral within an assembly of three orders means that the procedure of announcement and three proclamations is first conducted within an assembly of ten Bhikkhunis (called performing the foundational act), and then the candidate proceeds to an assembly of ten Bhikkhus for the procedure of announcement and three proclamations. The precepts are actually obtained within the Bhikkhu assembly. If one proceeds directly to the Bhikkhu assembly for full ordination without performing the foundational act, ordination can be obtained, but the precept-teacher incurs an offense. Whether the Bhikkhuni precepts in China ever established a system of conferral within the assembly of two orders can no longer be verified from historical records. All cases that can be historically documented show conferral directly within the Bhikkhu assembly. Chinese precept-teachers, although they have incurred offenses from generation to generation by conferring Bhikkhuni precepts, have borne it willingly, yet have been unable to bring the practice into proper accord with the Dharma and the Vinaya.

The so-called "receiving full ordination" means receiving the complete set of Bhikkhu or Bhikkhuni precepts. After receiving and upholding them all, one can enter the sacred realm, ascend to the sacred stage, proceed directly toward the fruit of Arhatship, and arrive at liberation from birth and death. This is unlike receiving the Five Precepts, the Eight Precepts, or the Ten Precepts, which constitute only a portion of the precepts and not the complete set. However, in the newly translated Vinaya texts, it is not called "receiving full ordination" but rather "approaching perfection" (upasampadā). "Perfection" refers to the perfection of nirvāṇa, that is, parinirvāṇa, that is, liberation from birth and death, that is, no-birth and no-death—in other words, the state of the Arhat's fruit.

The word "approaching" can be understood as an adjective, meaning being close to the edge of parinirvāṇa; it can also be understood as a verb, meaning going forward to draw near the realm of parinirvāṇa. Considering the function of the Bhikkhu precepts, interpreting the word "approaching" as a verb is more appropriate. We can, by receiving and upholding the Bhikkhu or Bhikkhuni precepts, gradually approach parinirvāṇa—and we will certainly approach it, and ultimately enter into it. Therefore, the Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni precepts are the bridge by which we cross over into the realm of nirvāṇa.