:: 2. Admission to the Sangh. ::
1. The Sangh was open to all.
2. There was no bar of caste.
3. There was no bar of sex.
4. There was no bar of status.
5. Caste had no place in the Sangh.
6. Social status had no place in the Sangh.
7. Inside the Sangh all were equal.
8. Inside the Sangh rank was regulated by worth and not by birth.
9. As the Blessed Lord said the Sangh was like the ocean and the Bhikkhus were like the rivers that fell into the ocean.
10. The river has its separate name and separate existence.
11. But once the river entered the ocean it lost its separate name and separate existence.
12. It becomes one with the rest.
13. Same is the case with the Sangh. When a Bhikkhu entered the Sangh he became one with the rest like the water of the ocean.
14. He lost his caste. He lost his status: so said the Lord.
15. The only distinction observed inside the Sangh was that of sex. The Bhikkhu Sangh was separate in its organisation from the Bhikkhuni Sangh.
Ebook of Buddha and His Dhamma by Dr. Ambedkar [Be Happy- Siddhartha Chabukswar]
359
16. The entrants into the Sangh were divided into two classes: shramaneras and bhikkhus.
17. Anyone below twenty could become a Shramanera.
18. By taking the trisaranas and by taking the ten precepts a boy becomes a Shramanera.
19. "I follow the Buddha; I follow the Dhamma; and I follow the Sangh"—are the Trisaranas.
20. "I shall abstain from killing; I shall not commit theft; I shall follow Brahmacharya; I shall not tell untruth; I shall abstain from drink."
21. "I shall abstain from taking food at an untimely hour; I shall abstain from indecent and immoral acts; I shall abstain from ornamenting and decorating myself; I shall abstain from luxuries; I shall abstain from the love of gold and silver."
22. These are the ten precepts.
23. A Shramanera can leave the Sangh at any time and become a layman. A Shramanera is attached Bhikkhu and spends his time in the service of the Bhikkhu. He is not a person who has taken Parivraja.
24. The status of a Bhikkhu has to be reached in two stages. The first stage is called Parivraja and the second stage is called Upasampada. It is after Upasampada that he becomes a Bhikkhu.
25. A candidate who wishes to take Parivraja with a view ultimately to become a Bhikkhu has to seek a Bhikkhu who has the right to act as an Uppadhya. A Bhikkhu can become an Uppadhya only after he has spent at least 10 years as a Bhikkhu.
26. Such a candidate if accepted by the Uppadhya is called a Parivrajaka and has to remain in the service and tutelage of the Uppadhya.
27. After the period of tutelage ends it is his Uppadhya who has to propose the name of his student to a meeting of the Sangh specially called for the purpose for Upasampada and the student must request the Sangh for Upasampada.
28. The Sangh must be satisfied that he is a fit and a proper person to be made a Bhikkhu. For this purpose there is a set of questions which the candidate has to answer.
29. Only when the Sangh grants permission that Upasampada is granted and the person becomes a Bhikkhu. 30. The rules regulating entry into the Bhikkhuni Sangh are more or less the same as the rules regulating the entry into the Bhikkhu Sangh.
1. The Sangh was open to all.
2. There was no bar of caste.
3. There was no bar of sex.
4. There was no bar of status.
5. Caste had no place in the Sangh.
6. Social status had no place in the Sangh.
7. Inside the Sangh all were equal.
8. Inside the Sangh rank was regulated by worth and not by birth.
9. As the Blessed Lord said the Sangh was like the ocean and the Bhikkhus were like the rivers that fell into the ocean.
10. The river has its separate name and separate existence.
11. But once the river entered the ocean it lost its separate name and separate existence.
12. It becomes one with the rest.
13. Same is the case with the Sangh. When a Bhikkhu entered the Sangh he became one with the rest like the water of the ocean.
14. He lost his caste. He lost his status: so said the Lord.
15. The only distinction observed inside the Sangh was that of sex. The Bhikkhu Sangh was separate in its organisation from the Bhikkhuni Sangh.
Ebook of Buddha and His Dhamma by Dr. Ambedkar [Be Happy- Siddhartha Chabukswar]
359
16. The entrants into the Sangh were divided into two classes: shramaneras and bhikkhus.
17. Anyone below twenty could become a Shramanera.
18. By taking the trisaranas and by taking the ten precepts a boy becomes a Shramanera.
19. "I follow the Buddha; I follow the Dhamma; and I follow the Sangh"—are the Trisaranas.
20. "I shall abstain from killing; I shall not commit theft; I shall follow Brahmacharya; I shall not tell untruth; I shall abstain from drink."
21. "I shall abstain from taking food at an untimely hour; I shall abstain from indecent and immoral acts; I shall abstain from ornamenting and decorating myself; I shall abstain from luxuries; I shall abstain from the love of gold and silver."
22. These are the ten precepts.
23. A Shramanera can leave the Sangh at any time and become a layman. A Shramanera is attached Bhikkhu and spends his time in the service of the Bhikkhu. He is not a person who has taken Parivraja.
24. The status of a Bhikkhu has to be reached in two stages. The first stage is called Parivraja and the second stage is called Upasampada. It is after Upasampada that he becomes a Bhikkhu.
25. A candidate who wishes to take Parivraja with a view ultimately to become a Bhikkhu has to seek a Bhikkhu who has the right to act as an Uppadhya. A Bhikkhu can become an Uppadhya only after he has spent at least 10 years as a Bhikkhu.
26. Such a candidate if accepted by the Uppadhya is called a Parivrajaka and has to remain in the service and tutelage of the Uppadhya.
27. After the period of tutelage ends it is his Uppadhya who has to propose the name of his student to a meeting of the Sangh specially called for the purpose for Upasampada and the student must request the Sangh for Upasampada.
28. The Sangh must be satisfied that he is a fit and a proper person to be made a Bhikkhu. For this purpose there is a set of questions which the candidate has to answer.
29. Only when the Sangh grants permission that Upasampada is granted and the person becomes a Bhikkhu. 30. The rules regulating entry into the Bhikkhuni Sangh are more or less the same as the rules regulating the entry into the Bhikkhu Sangh.
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