Why is there no section about Mahayana Monastic life?

Offer your suggestions about how we can improve this forum to better serve our members, and tell us here about any technical problems.
Chanh Dao
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2019 11:08 am

Re: Why is there no section about Mahayana Monastic life?

Post by Chanh Dao »

Lobsang Chojor wrote: Sun Jul 12, 2020 3:12 pm
Chanh Dao wrote: Sun Jul 12, 2020 1:28 pm In Buddhism traditionally there is no discrimination between monk and priest.
That's because prior to the 20th century the different schools never met, a Thai Bhikshu wouldn't have met a zen priest for example.
In Thailand for example the monk hospital is "Priest hospital"
That's because in English Catholic Priests are celibate whereas a Protestant who isn't celibate is called a vicar.
I personally don't discriminate between married monks and non-married monks.

In Japan many monks are married so... I understand there is a difference but I accept them as monks.
Japanese Priests are not Bhikshu or sramanera and therefore are not monks because of not holding the vinaya. In the same way Tibetan Ngakpas aren't monks because they don't hold monastic vows.

The insistence on being called monks has caused trouble with conferences between Theravadin Bhikshus and Tibetan Bhikshus, as they believe mahayana practitioners aren't celibate.
Very interesting stuff thank you for sharing.
User avatar
Grigoris
Former staff member
Posts: 21938
Joined: Fri May 14, 2010 9:27 pm
Location: Greece

Re: Why is there no section about Mahayana Monastic life?

Post by Grigoris »

Chanh Dao wrote: Sun Jul 12, 2020 12:58 pmMany married monks in Japan and also I believe there is a sect in Korea where the monks can marry.

They do not ordain under a vinaya that prohibits them from marriage.

Japan is the main place where you will find monks that are married. It's common in the Zen tradition and others in Japan.
If they are not ordained in a Vinaya tradition then they are not Bhikksu or Sramanera and thus they are not monks or novice monks.

As somebody mentioned: In the Tibetan Vajrayana there are separate vows for a lay "priest" class, but they are not (and are not considered by the monastic community) Bhikksu or Sramanera.

"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Post Reply

Return to “Suggestion Box”