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Eight Garudhammas
The controversial Eight Garudhammas (Sanskrit: guru-dharma, translated as 'rules of respect', 'principles of respect', 'principles to be respected') were considered additional precepts required of bhikkhunis (fully ordained Buddhist nuns) above and beyond the monastic rule (vinaya) that applied to monks. They are controversial because they attempt to prescribe an inferior role for nuns, and bhikkhunis have revealed scholarly evidence that the Eight Garudhammas are not found in the historical teachings of Gautama Buddha.
Garu literally means 'heavy' and when applied to vinaya, it means "heavy offense that entails penance (mānatta) consisting of 2 weeks" as described in garudhamma rule No. 5. The authenticity of these rules is contested; they were supposedly added to the (bhikkhunis) vinaya "to allow more acceptance" of a monastic order for women, during the Buddha's time
The first nun was Mahapajapati Gotami (Sanskrit Mahaprajapati Gautami), the aunt and adoptive mother of the Buddha. Five years after his enlightenment, she was the spokesperson of a group of women who requested he ordain women as monastics. Bhikṣuṇī Karma Lekshe Tsomo writes,
Although modern scholarship questions their validity, traditional renditions of this incident recount that the Buddha hesitated three times before admitting these women to the order, saying "Be cautious, Gautamī, of the going forth of women from home into homelessness in the Dharma and the discipline proclaimed by the Tathāgata." When the Buddha's attendant (and cousin) Ānanda questioned him concerning the spiritual capacities of women, the Buddha is said to have replied that women were as capable as men of achieving liberation, a fact verified by the multitude of women who achieved the state of an arhat during his lifetime. Having thus affirmed women's equal capacity for spiritual enlightenment, the Buddha is said to have relented and agreed to establish the female counterpart of the Bhikṣu Sangha.
Bhikkhu Analayo has stated that the historicity of the gurudharmas is "a rather doubtful matter" but notes that they are present in all Vinayas. He says
When evaluated from the viewpoint of their narrative context, it seems clear that the formulations of the gurudharma concerning bhikṣuṇī ordination found in the Mūlasarvāstivāda, Sarvāstivāda, and Saṃmitīya Vinayas reflect an earlier version. This earlier version did not yet stipulate the necessity of training as a sikṣamāna and it prescribed ordination given by bhikṣus only, not by both communities.
Yin Shun has noted the inconsistency[which?] of the Garudhammas in various Buddhist scriptures. Thich Nhat Hanh believes them to have been intended as temporary rules. Ute Hüsken agrees that there is inconsistency saying
These eight rules serve not only as admission criteria but also as rules that are to be observed for life by every nun. It is therefore striking that this set of rules in the Pāli Vinaya is not part of the Bhikkhunīpāṭimokkha. However, seven of these rules do in fact have parallels either in word or in content with other rules stated in the Bhikkhunīpāṭimokkha. Moreover, it is remarkable that these eight rules, although depicted as a precondition for ordination, are not at all mentioned in the ordination formulas for nuns, as given elsewhere in the Cullavagga.
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Eight Garudhammas
The controversial Eight Garudhammas (Sanskrit: guru-dharma, translated as 'rules of respect', 'principles of respect', 'principles to be respected') were considered additional precepts required of bhikkhunis (fully ordained Buddhist nuns) above and beyond the monastic rule (vinaya) that applied to monks. They are controversial because they attempt to prescribe an inferior role for nuns, and bhikkhunis have revealed scholarly evidence that the Eight Garudhammas are not found in the historical teachings of Gautama Buddha.
Garu literally means 'heavy' and when applied to vinaya, it means "heavy offense that entails penance (mānatta) consisting of 2 weeks" as described in garudhamma rule No. 5. The authenticity of these rules is contested; they were supposedly added to the (bhikkhunis) vinaya "to allow more acceptance" of a monastic order for women, during the Buddha's time
The first nun was Mahapajapati Gotami (Sanskrit Mahaprajapati Gautami), the aunt and adoptive mother of the Buddha. Five years after his enlightenment, she was the spokesperson of a group of women who requested he ordain women as monastics. Bhikṣuṇī Karma Lekshe Tsomo writes,
Although modern scholarship questions their validity, traditional renditions of this incident recount that the Buddha hesitated three times before admitting these women to the order, saying "Be cautious, Gautamī, of the going forth of women from home into homelessness in the Dharma and the discipline proclaimed by the Tathāgata." When the Buddha's attendant (and cousin) Ānanda questioned him concerning the spiritual capacities of women, the Buddha is said to have replied that women were as capable as men of achieving liberation, a fact verified by the multitude of women who achieved the state of an arhat during his lifetime. Having thus affirmed women's equal capacity for spiritual enlightenment, the Buddha is said to have relented and agreed to establish the female counterpart of the Bhikṣu Sangha.
Bhikkhu Analayo has stated that the historicity of the gurudharmas is "a rather doubtful matter" but notes that they are present in all Vinayas. He says
When evaluated from the viewpoint of their narrative context, it seems clear that the formulations of the gurudharma concerning bhikṣuṇī ordination found in the Mūlasarvāstivāda, Sarvāstivāda, and Saṃmitīya Vinayas reflect an earlier version. This earlier version did not yet stipulate the necessity of training as a sikṣamāna and it prescribed ordination given by bhikṣus only, not by both communities.
Yin Shun has noted the inconsistency[which?] of the Garudhammas in various Buddhist scriptures. Thich Nhat Hanh believes them to have been intended as temporary rules. Ute Hüsken agrees that there is inconsistency saying
These eight rules serve not only as admission criteria but also as rules that are to be observed for life by every nun. It is therefore striking that this set of rules in the Pāli Vinaya is not part of the Bhikkhunīpāṭimokkha. However, seven of these rules do in fact have parallels either in word or in content with other rules stated in the Bhikkhunīpāṭimokkha. Moreover, it is remarkable that these eight rules, although depicted as a precondition for ordination, are not at all mentioned in the ordination formulas for nuns, as given elsewhere in the Cullavagga.