PATIMOKKHA

( (Pali: that which is binding), ) Sanskrit Pratimoksa, Buddhist monastic code; a set of 227 rules that govern the daily activities of the monk and nun. The prohibitions of the patimokkha are arranged in the Pali canon according to the severity of the offensefrom those that require immediate and lifelong expulsion from the order, temporary suspension, or various degrees of restitution or expiation to those that require confession only. Also given are rules for settling disputes within the monastic community. The entire patimokkha is recited during the uposatha, or fortnightly assembly of Theravada monks. A comparable set of 250 monastic rules is contained in the Sanskrit canon of the Sarvastivada (Doctrine That All Is Real) tradition that was widely known in northern Buddhist countries. The Mahayana tradition in China and Japan more generally rejected those rules that were not applicable locally and substituted disciplinary codes that differed from sect to sect and sometimes even from monastery to monastery.