Lzh Mu Bi Vb Pc 107Twelve Years of Seniority Without Approval
Pāli / Sanskrit:Paripuṇṇadvādasavassa-asammata
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Scripture of the Twelve Complete Years Without Approval
Background
The Vinaya-piṭaka is the collection of rules and teachings governing the life of the Buddhist fourfold community. The scripture Paripuṇṇadvādasavassa-asammata (Twelve Complete Years Without Approval) belongs to the Pācittiya section—offenses requiring penance and confession. This narrative records an incident concerning seniority (years of monastic training, known as vassa) within the Sangha, and the question of the legitimate recognition of a monastic's standing.
Seniority in training is reckoned by the number of years a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī has been ordained and has completed the rains-retreat. Accurate recognition and recording of vassa is necessary to ensure the proper order of training and the performance of functions within the Sangha. If a monastic has completed twelve full years of training yet has not been formally recognized or confirmed in that standing by the Sangha, a complex legal situation arises.
This scripture has been transmitted in order to clarify the regulation concerning improper conduct when a bhikkhu attempts to exercise seniority that has not yet been legitimately recognized, or when the Sangha has not formally confirmed the rains-retreat years of a monastic.
Main Content
The scripture records the following situation: a bhikkhu has completed twelve full years of training, but for some reason—whether due to incomplete procedure or to a dispute within the Sangha—his seniority has not been legitimately recognized (asammata, meaning "not approved").
In the Theravāda Vinaya tradition, the recognition of seniority is a matter of great importance. It is not merely a matter of title, but concerns legal authority—such as the right to participate in important Sangha assemblies, the right to be accorded respect according to rank, and the ability to perform acts that only senior bhikkhus are permitted to perform.
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