Buddhist Monastic Discipline

by Charles S. Prebish

Buddhist Monastic Discipline contains two significant Buddhist monastic disciplinary texts for the first time, translated into English. They are printed on facing pages for ease of comparison. One of the texts is that of a very early Buddhist school first appearing in the 4th century BCE, and the other is one not mentioned in the records until the 7th century CE. The contrasting texts thus highlight the development of Buddhist sectarian practices.

Two introductory chapters precede the translated Sutras. The translated texts are thoroughly annotated, often highlighting hitherto unknown grammatical variants in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, and are followed by a concordance table of Bhiksu Pratimoksa Sutras preserved in Indic Languages and by a selected bibliography.

About the Author:

Charles S. Prebish is a professor in the Religious Studies Program at the Pennsylvania State University. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Critical Review of Books in Religion and Co-Editor of the Journal of Buddhist Ethics, the first electronic journal in Buddhist Studies.