Upasampada

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Upasampadā (Pali) literally means "undertaking" and, specifically, refers to the ordination rite by which one undertakes the Buddhist monastic life.[1]

According to Buddhist monastic codes (Vinaya), a person must be 20 years old in order to become a monk or nun. A person under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a monk (bhikkhu) or nun (bhikkhuni), but can ordain as a novice (m. samanera, f. samaneri). (For how a layperson becomes a novice, see the pabbajja or "lower ordination.") After a year or at the age of 20, a novice will be considered for the higher upasampada ordination enabling them to become a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni.[2]

Some monasteries will require people who want to ordain as a monk to be a novice for a set period of time, as a period of preparation and familiarization.

The issue of ordination is different for samaneras and samaneris; the rules governing higher ordination are different for samaneras and samaneris.

In Theravada countries the Upasampada ceremony is performed in a structure called a Sima (Sima malaka), surrounded by water, and has to be attended by a specified number of senior monks with an unbroken upasampada succession from Teacher to pupil.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 147, article on "Upasampadā" (retrieved 26 Sep 2007 at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:3930.pali).
  2. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica (2007).

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