Content

Overview of Pabbajja & Upasampada

1. What is pabbajjā?
2. What is Upasampada?
3. three stages in the development of the Acceptance
procedures
1.1. What is pabbajjā?
Pabbajja literally means wandering forth or going forth.
 refers to the religious state of 'going forth from the homelife into
homelessness'.
-A commonly frequent reflection leading up to this action is:

 'Confined is the household life, a path of dust; the going forth is open
and spacious. Not easy is it living in a house to lead the religious life
absolutely fulfilled and purified, as polished as mother-of-pearl.
Suppose I were to shave off my hair and beard, cloth myself in yellow
robes and go forth from homelife into homelessness?'
 the initial step for a religious seeker intending to spiritual life.
 After going forth from the homelife,
 would seek out a respected Teacher (from whom to receive instruction)
 join their community of disciples.

This will be called the Going Forth.

1.2. What is Upasampada?

-the request for full membership is referred to as Upasampada
- literally means "taking, acquiring; obtaining, taking upon oneself,
undertaking (PEDi);1471
 - this means "taking upon oneself” the bhikkhu lifestyle, "undertaking"
the bhikkhu training and hence "obtaining" the privileges that membership in
the Sangha provides-spiritual friendship and support, close association with
Teachers and experienced people, and a way of life ideally suited to allow for
the total focusing of human energy upon spiritual values.

- may refer to this as Acceptance, to emphasize the dual aspects of the

candidate accepting the responsibilities incumbent upon one entering the
Sangha and the Sangha accepting the candidate as someone who earnestly
strives towards liberation - In the early years of the Buddha's teaching,

 the Going Forth and the Acceptance were conferred simultaneously.

 whether they are a samaṇ a, ascetic, member of another sect or a lay
person, the same words are used:
 'May I receive, sir, in the Exalted One's presence, the Going Forth,
may I receive the Acceptance?
-Later, as the Sangha grew in size and began to receive young boys as
novices (samaṇ era),
- the two terms for entry into the Sangha - came to designate two distinct
levels of membership with two distinct degrees of training.
- The Mahāvagga gives a historical account of the events following the
Buddha's Awakening
- the Acceptance of the first disciples forming the Sangha.
 These first disciples were all given the Acceptance by the Buddha
personally.
-to have delegated the right to give Acceptance to other bhikkhus and,
later still, to have introduced the Acceptance as a formal communal procedure
of the Sangha.

-This became the standard form of Acceptance after further refinements,

limitations and additions which needed to be made as situations arose calling
for particular responses.
 1.3. three stages in the development of the Acceptance procedures
a. Acceptance by the Buddha personally,
b. Acceptance by another disciple,
c. Acceptance as a formal act of the Sangha-Sangha-kamma
(or)
these three stages as Acceptance by:
a. the Buddha,
b. the Dhamma and,
c. the Sangha.

A. Acceptance by the Buddha

The First form of Acceptance_
 by personal invitation or agreement from the Buddha himself.
The Buddha’s own formula:
“Come, bhikkhu, well-taught is Dhamma. Live the religious life for the
complete ending of suffering."
B. Acceptance by Dhamma
-the second form of giving Acceptance- the allowance for other bhikkhus
to do SO-

-after the account of the Acceptance of Yasa and his 4 and 50 friends
(Now there were sixty-one Arahants in the world' i.c., the Buddha+5+Yasa+4+
50) and before the Acceptance of the 30 friends of honourable reputation (Vin
1.21).

The Buddha's encouragement to disperse and teach Dhamma:

“Wander about, bhikkhus, for the benefit and happiness of the manyfolk, out
of compassion for the world, for the welfare, benefit and well-being of human
and celestial beings. Let not two of you go by one path. Teach the Dhamma
which is beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle and beautiful in the
end. Explain the religious life, in spirit and in letter, completely fulfilled and
pure."

This encouragement would have been a factor giving rise to an increase in

prospective candidates for entry into the Sangha.
 the bhikkhus brought to him candidates for Going Forth and Acceptance
from various places.
 the candidates were 'discomforted
 'Reflecting upon this situation,
 decided to delegate the Acceptance to the other bhikkhus
 'Bhikkhus, I allow you yourselves, in any place or in any country, to give
the Going Forth and the Acceptance.

C. Acceptance by the Sangha

 The third form of the Acceptance

 A certain brahmana asked for the Going Forth
 Sariputta gives the brahmana the Going Forth and Acceptance
 Sariputta asked how this should be done
 the Buddha responded:
 “Bhikkhus, that Acceptance by going for Triple for Triple Refuge which I
allowed. I henceforth revoke. Bhikkhus, I allow the Acceptance by a
formal act ( of the Samgha) consisting of a motion and three
announcements”. Vin. 1, 56
i
Pāli English Dictionary

 What is the meaning of Pabajja?

 Tradition of Pabbajja
 What are the characteristics of Pabbajja?
 Why do ancient people take up the life of Pabbajja?

The meaning of Pabbajja

 Pabbajja(Pāli)
 Pravrājya (Skt)
Derives from the pa+ √ vaj+a, meaning going forth from household to
homeless state.
Stands as the most common term for the lifestyle of a world renouncer
both in Pāli and Sanskrit.

• Pāli-Mya, Concise pāli- Eng& PTS pāli- English Dictionary

 Taking up of the ascetic life, becoming a monk;

 Leaving the world,
 Adopting the ascetic life;
 The monastic life
 State of being a Buddhist monk

Tradition of Pabbajja
The community of pabbajja is varied and miscellaneous in character, so
various in its particular features that is extremely difficult to generalize upon it.
Its members:
o Live by going for alms- round,
 o Have no settled dwelling.
(except during the rains, when the observance of the Rain-Retreat is a
common custom among them),
o Moves about from place to place, singly or in parties, and either ascetic
practicing austerities.

What are the characteristics of Pabbajja?

• No other common characteristic can be attributed to the community as a
whole.
• One common characteristic: professed religious, homeless wanderers
without kinship or social bonds.
• Taking up such lifestyle is considered to be a very ancient tradition in
India religious life.

Taking up the life of pabbajja is necessarily originated by one’s realizing the

disadvantages of sense pleasure and the advantages of renouncing them.
In many suttas the Buddha is found to preach gradual teaching
( anupubbikathā), clarifying disadvantages of sense pleasures and advantages
in renouncing them.
in many other suttas the Buddha is found to encourage his disciples to discern the
gratification and peril of sense pleasures and emancipation from them. Therefore,
understanding peril of sense pleasures and the safety of seclusion from them plays an
important role for the renunciation of the household life or to take up the life of
Going Forth.

A simple of discerning the faults in sensual pleasures and existence:

Because household life is the dwelling place of all kinds of defilements,

because of bondage of wife and children, etc. restricting one’s meritorious
performances, because one gets involved in endless routine activities such as
trading and cultivation, it is not a proper place where happiness of Boing Forth can
be achieved.
 The sense pleasures, like a drop of honey on the sharp blade pf a sword, do
more harm than good. Sense enjoyment is short-lived like a theatrical show seen
only by intermittent flashes of lightning, perpetuating insatiable thirst in its wake as
is aroused in one by drinking saline water.
And they reflect in the disadvantages of a household life which is constrained
with social bonds and the advantages of the life of a monk, which can be likened to a
space vast and free from such obligations.

At a time when there is no teaching of a Buddha, noble persons such as

Bodhisatta, Paccekabodhisatta, Sāvakabhdhisatta, etc. take up on an ascetic life
under recluses or wanderers who uphold the Doctrine of Action (kammavādī) and
the Doctrine of Efficacy of Action( kiriyavādā).
However, when an Enlightened one appears in the world, they join the Order
of monks and nuns i.e., the Dispensation of the Buddha. Therefore, the life of Going
Forth can be traced back to a time prior to the Buddha and it can be found within and
without the Dispensation of the Buddha.

Four kinds of Pabbajja

1. Tāpasa (isi) pabbajja= Going Forth as an ascetic or hermit,
2. Upasamda pabbajja =Going Forth as a monk or nun,
3. Sāmaṇera pabbajja = Going forth as a male or female novice
4. Aññatitthiya paribbājaka pabbajja= Going Forth as mendicant in the
other heretical sects
Content
 Four kinds of Pabbajja
 The meaning of four Pabbajja
 The requisites of Tāpasa Pabbajja
 The rules for Sāmaṇ era Pabbajja
 Eight kinds of Upasampadā
 The meanings of four pabbajja
The meaning of Tāpasa

- Refers to ascetics or hermits who are outside the teaching of the Buddha
- Regarded as holy persons of the time as it is literary explained as the one who
has the practice of morality, concentration etc.
- The life and type of the Tāpasa are mentioned in the Dīghanikāya aṭṭhakathā
and the Suttanipāta Atthakathā.
- Renouncing the world as a Tāpasa is called Tā pasa pabbajja.
(Tāpasa- [tapas] one who practices tapas, an ascetic [brahmin])
Tapa& Tapo; torment, punishment, penance, esp. religious austerity, self-
chastisement, ascetic practice.

Eight kinds of Tāpasa- hermit

1. Saputtabhariyā
2. Unchācariyā
3. Anaggipakkikā
4. Asāmapākā
5. Asmamuṭṭhikā
6. Dantavakkalikā
7. Pavattaphalabhojanā
8. Paṇ ḍ upalāsikā
The requisites of Tāpasa pabbajjā
 Vākacira= grass robe for wearing,
 Tidaṇ da = wooden tripod to place water pot or jug,
 Khārikāja = water jug and yoke,
 Ajinacamma =the hide of a black antelope
Note: they bear jatā, matted hair,
Jatāmaṇ ḍ ala, round headdress made of hair

The meaning of Upasampadā

The fullest possible admission to the privileges of the Buddhist monk or
nun.
Commentator explains:
The highest accomplishment with nobility( uparibhūtā+ sampadā)
because of abiding by the training rules numbering over nine thousand million
promulgated by the Buddha.
The attainment of noble life ( uparibhāvaṃ + sampanno) excels the other
endowments of wealth, health, etc., because it is more dignified than the rest.
The meaning of Sāmaṇera
Sāmaṇ era is the one, who gives up the worldly life to become a novice
in the teaching of the Buddha.

The rules for Sāmaṇera pabbajja

 Ten lingas
 Ten Dandas
 Fourteen Vattas( dities)
 Seven-five Sekhiyas( trainings) and

Considering the fewness of the training rules, the life of

Sāmaṇ era is relatively low in status.
However, it is one of the three kinds person whothy of veneration and
addressed as “ shin”( a respectful religious title more or less equivalent to Pāli
word “ Sāmi”) in Myanmar: Tāpasa ( venerable hermits), Upasampada
(venerable monks) and sāmaṇ era ( venerable novices)