THE DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY INDIAN BUDDHISM 71tion, receive instruction from a tutor, who must meet the same qualifications
as the preceptor himself.
Full ordination is conferred by an assembly consisting of a quorum of at
least 10 monks if it is held in the middle Ganges Valley, and 5 ifheld anywhere
else. The candidate, accompanied by one ofhis tutors, comes before these-
nior member of the assembly, whom he asks to be his preceptor. His two tu-
tors then examine him to ascertain that he has his bowl, under robe, upper
robe, and outer cloak, after which they send him to stand a short distance out-
side the assembly, his alms bowl strapped onto his back. Approaching him
there, they ask him whether he is free from certain diseases and whether he is
a free human male (Strong EB, sec. 2.2.1), debtless, exempt from military ser-
vice, furnished with his parents' permission, and at least 20 years of age. The
candidate is then made to go forward, kneel, and ask the assembly for ordina-
tion. The tutors put him through the interrogation again. They then announce
formally that the candidate desires ordination, is free from disqualifications,
has a bowl and a set of robes, asks for ordination, and that the assembly grants
ordination. The public proclamation is made: "Whoever approves should re-
main silent. Whoever objects should speak." When the assembly remains silent
through the third repetition of this proclamation, the two tutors announce
that the candidate has received ordination. The date and the hour are then
noted, as seniority in the order commences from the time of ordination.
The preceptor then gives the new monk an exhortation, telling him that
henceforth his four basic reliances are to be on alms for food, on old rags for
clothing, on the shade of a tree for shelter, and on cow's urine for medicine.
He mentions, however, that more luxurious requisites are also allowed, and
normal monastic life usually entails the allowances; the laity prepare good food
for the monks and donate new robes and other needs as necessary. The new
monk is then informed of the four offenses requiring expulsion and told that
he should avoid them for the rest of his life. Finally, he is directed to train
himself in heightened virtue, heightened concentration, and heightened dis-
cernment so as to realize the end of craving, dispassion, cessation, and nirval).a.
This concludes the ceremony. (For another version of the ceremony, see
Strong EB, sec. 2.2.2.)
Once ordained, the new monk is to live in apprenticeship to a mentor-
his preceptor or another teacher-for a period of at least five years. He is to
regard his mentor as his father and treat him accordingly, acting as his personal
attendant and applying himself diligently to a life of study and meditation. In
return, the mentor is to regard the new monk as his son and to provide for his
needs and training. The new monk, however, does not take a vow of obedi-
ence to his mentor. If he feels that his mentor does not have his best interests
at heart, he is free to search for another senior monk to act as his mentor.
Only when his knowledge of the Dharma and Vinaya are sufficiently exten-
sive, and his behavior sufficiently reliable, is he freed from apprenticeship and
allowed to set out on his own.
A Buddhist nun's ordination was similar in most respects to a monk's ex-
cept that she had to be accepted twice: once by the assembly of nuns with