Parajikapali

Parajikapali

 The PArAjikapAli, the first book of VinayapiTaka gives elaborate explanations of important rules of disciplines concerning PArAjika and ßaMghadisesa åniyata and ñīssaggiya which are major and minor offences.

1. Parajika

The PArAjika (penalties) means some disciplinary rules if they are committed by any monk he is an offender. They are the gravity offences which can not be purified by any undergoing punishment.  The text explains it with some simile such as: a person whose head has been cut off from the body; he can become alive by fixing it again, a ripen leave which is fallen down from branch of a tree that the yellow leave regain green colour. This is only for monks and nuns. There are four such rules for monks and eight for nuns. The four pArAjikas which laid down for monks are as follows:

1.   Sexual engagement

2.   Steal what is not given

3.   Taking life of human

4.   Claiming the quality which his does not have.

If any monk has committed one of these four he has become either novice or lay man.

2. ßaGghAdisesa

In ßaGghAdisesa there are thirteen disciplinary rules for monks and seventeen for nuns that can be recovered with the participation community if the monk or nun informs it the order with wishing of purifying his impurity.  The offender is called paravAsa.

3. åniyata

åniyata means indefinite, uncertain. There are two types of aniyata offences for monks but not any rules were promulgated by the Buddha for nuns. The aniyata offence is take place if only when a pious lady accuses a monk on seeing him associating in a place where immoral things can be done with another lady. The pious lady could offence in any pArAjika, saGghAdisesa and pAcittiya but if the does not accept it could be so he is not an offender.

4. ñissaggiya pAcittiya

There are thirty categories of ñissaggiya pAcittiya for monks as well as nuns. These rules were to promulgate for good maintaining of community with sharing the received requisites and not to be slave of his craving for things.  This leads to the real meaning of bhikkhu-hood. This a light offence compare to others – pArAjika and saGghAdisesa.