Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (摩訶僧祇律)

About 摩訶僧祇律

Eastern Jin · Source text translated by 佛陀跋陀羅共法顯

452,444 · about 1508 min

The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya is a Buddhist monastic code translated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty by Buddhabhadra and Faxian, representing the transmission of the Indian Mahāsāṃghika school. This Vinaya was brought back by Faxian from India in its Sanskrit original and later translated into Chinese in collaboration with Buddhabhadra. It systematically prescribes the organizational structure of the monastic community, the daily conduct norms for monastics, and the detailed implementation of precepts, covering regulations for Uposatha, retreats, clothing, food, lodging, and conduct. As one of the early important Vinaya texts in Chinese Buddhism, it reveals the original framework of Buddhist monastic life, provides invaluable documentation for the study of Indian Buddhist disciplinary history and Sino-Indian cultural exchange, and has profoundly influenced the development of Vinaya studies in later generations.