Back Hurts When I Lay On My Stomach

The Shaolin Temple and ordination (受戒 shou jie)

The ordination of monks and nuns in Budhismus of paramount importance, it provides but for the preservation and protection of the Buddhist community, one of the "three great treasures" (Buddha, teaching, community) to which every Buddhist seeks refuge to which he professes. It is one of the largest and most important rituals of the Buddhist community. On a personal level, it means that by the time of preparation Novitiate of the final transition into a life as a Buddhist monk or Buddhist nun.

the time of the Buddha was the inclusion in the Order still fairly straightforward. If a person who received the first teachings of the Buddha, accepted his teachings and strengthened his confidence in them, had the desire cherished, to become a monk, he asked him: "May I, O Lord, In the presence of the sublime to move away enter the house and received the monastic ordination. . May I exercise in the presence of the sublime to the pure change "then invited the Buddha to him:" Come, monk, and the lesson was well set out, practice the pure change, to the suffering of a final to set the end. "Even Sariputra Maudgalyayana and his friend, and later two of the most outstanding student of the Buddha, were by him, together with 250 monks walking, only with the two words" Come, monks recorded.

Even the Buddha's lifetime, there was worry about his successor. There were attempts to be determined by him as his successor, against whom he fought back but with complete clarity. Before his death, and the entrance to the Parinirvana he stated: "The doctrine and religious discipline, which I have explained to you and says, are after my death your master." It was thus after the Buddha does not successor appointed by him, his authority was walking alone on his teachings and the rules of the breeding of receiving from the Sangha and pass were. Of course, this, those who were in possession of this doctrine, in turn, to authorities.

Since the Sangha for the authentic tradition of the doctrine and rules of the Buddha through the generations was in charge was accurate, "legally valid" definition and implementation of the ordination of great importance. To the established rules are part of the Vinaya Pitaka, the "basket of monastic discipline, one of the three parts of the Buddhist canon, the already formed in the early days of Buddhism and was committed to writing.

for a valid ordination, the regulating them, very detailed rules that relate primarily to location, participants, and implementation, be strictly observed. They include the following main points:

• The Ordinationsort be obtained by appropriate ceremonies, a clear limitation, since the surgery to have the legal validity of action, within a formal monastic boundary (sima) must be completed.

• The ordination ceremony requires the presence of 10 fully ordained monks ("Ten Teachers"; 十 师 shi shi), the chair must be from a minimum of 10 since Years ordained monk out.

• For entry into the Order in general there are no barriers in terms of birth and origin. Certain people should be excluded for various reasons by the inclusion in the Order:
• people who have reached (from the date of conception) is not the minimum age of 20 years. China has always been permitted exceptions, which are then described as "makeshift" rule (fang bian jie 方便 戒) is now generally ordination from reaching the legal age of majority (18 years have allowed).
committed
• eunuchs and hermaphrodites
• people, certain crimes such as murder of father, mother or an Arhat, rape of a nun, malicious injury to a Buddha
• persons without have given admission to the Order of the status of a monk / nun
• people who have a religious schism verusacht

The office provides the following persons for ordaining a break with the rules
, but it loses Searched

• people with certain physical disabilities, missing limbs, including infectious diseases
• soldiers, debtors, slaves
• From prison escapee including police

: not valid Others

Women also initially denied the recording was in the order, they are reluctant to allow
; the Buddha, and then only under the condition of additional rules and obligations,
; The nuns were subordinate to the monks (and there are to date).

• The novice must include possession of an eating tray and the three monastic robes are

• The implementation of the ordination ceremony, the 3-time request from the novice to be admitted into the Order, and a survey of the novice, the confession, survey of the monastic community after objections to the admission, the information of the monastic community about successful teaching and more

• After joining the monastic order is the exact time found the surgery and is listed as this is important for the seniority of the new monk, that is, for the Ranking in the monastery hierarchy. Also, this new monks of the four material foundations of life (食 缘 / paccaya) elucidated.

With the introduction of Buddhism in China and its adaptation to local conditions, the ordination was more and more subject to government control . The Chinese emperor did not allow their subjects without difficulty, the civil obligations as forced labor, military service, tax payment to avoid etc.. With the condition that the monasteries undertook to obtain religious merit for the good of the Emperor and the general public, were given some monasteries (usually "State monasteries"), the imperial permission to perform surgeries at specific intervals. The number of surgeries was by the rulers to their respective limited just seems fair measure. Also been introduced earlier ordination certificates (戒 牒 jièdie). Unauthorized ordinations were severely punished.

parallel, was the "internal" adjustment instead of Buddhism, its development into a "Chinese Buddhism", under which the rules of were subjected to ordination changes. A prominent role played here Daoxuan (道 宣 / 596 - 667), a tangzeitlicher Buddhist monk scholar who is regarded as the founder of the Chinese Vinaya sect (律宗) and numerous articles written about the Buddhist law and rules, which are still important . He changed both the ordination platform (the prescribed place of ordination) and the ordination ceremony based on a contemporary interpretation of ideas of the Mahayana and introduced writings with the aim to make China a single monastic orders and thus a strong monastic identity to create. Shortly before his death he wrote the monumental work "Illustrated Record of the construction of the ordination platform" (关 中 创立 戒坛 图 经 Guanzhong chuangli jietan tujing). It was the first by a Chinese monk written document on the ordination ritual, and a landmark reference work for future construction of platforms ordination and development of the monastic order.

In Chinese, the Buddhist ordination of monks and nuns "maintenance of the rules" (受戒 shou jie), or "passing the Rules" (传戒 chuan jie called). In general, it is part of the "Dhama Assembly to pass the great rules of the three platforms (传授 三 坛 大 戒 法 会 chuanshou san tan da jie fahui) instead, during which the novice rules that monks and nuns rules and the Bodhisattva bids passed. Only with this "triple ordination" is obtained in the recognition of China as a fully ordained monk or as a fully ordained nun.

The Dharma Assembly to pass the rules (传戒 法 会 chuan jie fahui) is performed in today's China by selected "ordination temples" at specified times and in each case for a larger, predetermined number of aspirants. Because of the importance of the ordination of all monastic communities, it is an honor among the approved ordination Temple of belonging. A temple must meet the religious requirements except for certain "secular" conditions. So he has plenty of room for example and have a sufficient number of warehouses that provide the appropriate amount of required materials and the necessary organizational structures can have. Although he received from the candidates, respectively. their masters, a moderate fee for ordination, this is sufficient but in general not to cover the costs. Consequently, the temple also have sufficient financial resources to meet organizational and material terms, the strictness of this important event will be. The necessary foundations are in place, the temple is in the Buddhist Association of China (中国 佛教 协会 zhongguo fojiao xiehui ) a request, is visited by their auditors and may, if suitable, the permission to carry out the event will receive extensive.

The ordination meeting extends over about a month. It starts with registration of participants, the solemn reception of the invited dignitaries and the consecration of the site. To get the surgery to have the monk candidates undergo an examination. Only when they have successfully passed this, they can ask for the receipt of the rules. The candidates will receive training in Buddhist etiquette and the many rules of monastic life. They learn how to walk, how to stand, how to pack his baggage, his tasks (eg in the Warehouses) the next monk passes and how to receive guests, they are instructed in the proper use of the monk robes and eating dishes and much more, much of which they have already learned in the course of her novitiate, but they now have the "final polish" their conduct . At this it can be seen then whether they were ordained in a monastery, were taught the etiquette, ritual behavior and compliance with the rules "right" or only lax manner.
related addition to the teaching of theoretical and practical place in accordance with the provisions of numerous ritual ceremonies. They include the Bussfeiern attended by the candidates, in order to purify the sins of their old life and start cleaning her new life as a monk or nun inside.

The Shaolin monastery has had since the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), an ordination platform and had since been to the temples in China, which is responsible for the dissemination of the Buddhist rules of the following generations wore. In the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), however, was the ordination platform of the temple destroyed and stopped the great ordination meetings. Therefore, we sent for the reopening of the temple in 1979 and the official of the ordination in China the novices of the Shaolin Monastery to receive the monk ordained in the great temple consecration of the country - for a temple with such a great story, as they have the Shaolin Temple can not a very happy state. In order to meet its past, had the temple, the old, prestigious tradition resume. There would Shi Yongxin, abbot of the Shaolin Temple to recover from October 2005 to August 2006 the ordination platform and obtained the appropriate permits from the Buddhist Association of China. For the management of the ordination ceremony, he could win personalities to the highest Buddhist dignitaries China count.

After an interruption found more than 300 years of 24 May to 21 June 2007 Dharmaversammlung to pass on the rules the first time in the Shaolin Temple takes place - because of its enormous scope in cooperation with the Shangqiu Guanyin Temple (商丘 观音 寺). Shi Yongxin writes about this in his book "Shaolin in my heart" ("我 心中 的 少林"). "The passing of the rules symbolizes the light up again a glorious era of the Temple" (传戒 标志着 一个 寺庙 的 盛世 到来) According to his statement in the same book went through more than 1,000 people testing, 500 male and 230 female candidates were allowed to ask for the receipt of the rules.

A highlight of this ordination meeting was the participation of a high dignitary Weixian (惟 贤 长老), one of the most respected figures in Chinese Buddhism of the present. Despite his advanced age of 87 he became tutor to the Presidency of the ordination ceremony.

2010, the ordination meeting at the Shaolin Monastery in the period from 20 April to 21 May take place in their course were only 455 male aspirants who came from all corners of the country were the orders. The next
Dharmaversammlung to share the rules laid down for the year 2013.

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All photos: copyright by Songshan Shaolin Temple, China - Published with kind permission of Yankai fashi.
The contents of this article were considered the best of my knowledge and belief in their truth content and created. Ultimately, they reflect my reflection of things. References are available upon request through available
21/02/2010 - yss
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