Question

What does the Vinaya Pitaka tell about ‘Sangha’?

Answer 1

Hint:Vinaya Pitaka is a Buddhist scripture. The primary subject matter of it is the monastic rules of cond-uct for monks and nuns. Vinaya Pitaka tells that there were separate wings for both men and women in Buddhist Sangha.It tells how to behave with each other and within the society. In vinaya Pitaka , all the rules for Buddhist Sangha were written down.

Complete answer:
People who lived in Sangha had to live a very simple life- meditating, begging , travelling. Those who left their homes could only attain true knowledge , it was believed by both Mahavira and Buddha, thus forming Sanghas or groups of those who left their homes.Every men could join the Sangha. Children had to seek permission from their homes before joining Sanghas. Slaves were only permitted by the permission of their owners and Women by their husbands. The men and women who begged for food were called bhikkhus (beggar) and bhikkhunis. All the quarrels within Sangha were settled by having the meetings. They taught each other and helped each other whenever necessary. In the first years of Buddha’s teaching , the sangha lived together in harmony with no Vinaya.

Note:Brahmins, Kshatriyas , Vaishyas and Shudras joined all those sanghas.Most of them wrote the teachings of the Buddha and wrote beautiful poems. The teachings of Buddha were called ‘Dhamma vinaya’ which stresses both the philosophical teachings of Buddhism and training in Virtue which embodies that philosophy.