Ancillary vinaya texts
In addition to canonical vinaya texts, there are, finally,
large numbers of commentaries, subcommentaries,
and handbooks. The last of these may have been par-
ticularly important since it seems likely that most
monks did not actually read the enormous canonical
vinayas, but relied instead on summaries, manuals, and
such handbooks. But this too is a literature that has
been very little explored and remains largely accessible
only to specialists.
See also:Festivals and Calendrical Rituals; Precepts;
Robes and Clothing; Sarvastivada and Mulasarvasti-
vada
Bibliography
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Hinüber, Oskar von. “Buddhist Law According to the Theravada-
Vinaya. A Survey of Theory and Practice.” Journal of the In-
ternational Association of Buddhist Studies18, no. 1 (1995):
7–45.
Hinüber, Oskar von. A Handbook of Pali Literature.Berlin and
New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1996.
Hirakawa, Akira. Monastic Discipline for the Buddhist Nuns.
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Horner, I. B., trans. The Book of the Discipline.London:
Humphrey Milford, 1938–1966.
Lamotte, Étienne. History of Indian Buddhism: From the Origins
to the Saka Era,tr. Sara Webb-Boin. Louvain, Belgium, and
Paris: Peeters Press, 1988.
Pruitt, William, and Norman, K. R., eds. and trans. The
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Schopen, Gregory. Bones, Stones and Buddhist Monks: Collected
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Buddhism in India.Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press,
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Sayanasanavastu of the Mulasarvastivadavinaya. Part One.”
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versity of Hawaii Press, 2003.
GREGORYSCHOPENVIPASSANA (SANSKRIT, VIPAS ́YANA)Vipassana(Sanskrit, vipas ́yana; insight) is direct intu-
ition of the three marks that characterize all worldly
phenomena: anitya (Pali, anicca; impermanence),
duhkha(Pali, dukkha; suffering), and anatman (Pali,
anatta; no-self). Buddhism classifies the cultivation
of vipassana as one of two modes of MEDITATION
(bhavana), the other being tranquility (s ́amatha; Pali,
samatha). Vipassanameditation entails perfecting the
mental faculty of MINDFULNESS(smrti; Pali, sati) for the
purpose of analyzing objects of meditation, such as
mental states or the physical body, for manifestations
of the three marks. When fully developed, vipassana
leads to the attainment of liberating prajña (Pali,
pañña; wisdom) and the ultimate goal of NIRVANA
(Pali, nibbana) or the cessation of suffering and free-
dom from REBIRTH. Samathameditation entails the
cultivation of mental concentration (samadhi) for the
purpose of strengthening and calming the mind. When
fully developed it leads to the attainment of dhyana
(Pali, jhana), meditative absorption or trance, and the
generation of various abhijña (Pali, abhiñña; higher
knowledges).The most common method of meditation described
in the Pali canon relies on vipassanaand samathaprac-
ticed together. In this method, jhanais first induced
through samatha.The meditator then exits from that
state and reflects upon it with mindfulness to see that
it is characterized by the three marks. In this way jhana
is made the object of vipassana meditation. One who
uses this method is called a tranquility worker (samatha
yanika), and all buddhas and their chief disciples are
described as having practiced in this way. A less com-
mon method found in the canon relies on vipassana
alone. Developing concentration to a lesser degree than
jhana,the meditator examines ordinary mental and
physical phenomena for the three marks as described
above. The meditator who uses this method is called a
bare insight worker (suddhavipassanayanika).By the tenth century C.E., vipassanameditation ap-
pears to have fallen out of practice in the THERAVADA
school. By that time it was commonly believed that the
religion of Gautama Buddha had so declined that lib-
eration through insight could no longer be attained
until the advent of the future Buddha Metteyya (San-
skrit, MAITREYA) many eons from now. In the early
eighteenth century, however, renewed interest in the
SATIPATTHANA-SUTTA(Discourse on the Foundations of
Mindfulness) led to a revival of vipassana meditationVIPASSANA (SANSKRIT, VIPAS ́YANA)