Lzh Mu Bu Vb Pc 72Ordaining Under Twenty
Pāli / Sanskrit:Ūnavīsativassa
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Explanation of the Ūnavīsativassa Sutta (Ordaining Under Twenty)
Background
The Ūnavīsativassa Sutta is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the Pātimokkha, the ethical code of the Sangha. It is one of the most basic rules concerning the qualifications of a person requesting ordination (Pabbajjā) in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition.
According to the Vinaya Piṭaka, the Buddha Śākyamuni did not establish this rule from the very beginning. Rather, rules arose from specific events. The Ūnavīsativassa Sutta records the reason the Buddha laid down the rule that a person wishing to go forth must be at least twenty years old. This occurred during the Buddha’s lifetime, when the Sangha was growing and needed to establish clear standards to protect the purity of the Dharma discipline.
Main Content
The sutta states that before this rule was established, youths under twenty years of age were permitted to go forth. However, this caused practical problems. Those still young, not yet mature in body and mind, often encountered difficulty when they ordained early and tried to practice the discipline. They might lack the strength to endure austerities, lack the awareness to observe the precepts, or run back to household life when hardship arose.
Moreover, when a person went forth and then abandoned the life, this harmed the honor and trust of the Sangha in the community. The community would lose faith in Buddhism when it saw practitioners who were unstable, ordaining and then giving up.
Therefore, the Buddha prescribed that one requesting ordination, or those requesting full admission as bhikkhu or bhikkhunī, must have reached twenty years of age. This age is calculated by the solar calendar. Ūnavīsa means “not yet twenty” in Pāli, but this rule requires a minimum age of twenty. This is an inviolable rule of the Pācittiya class in the code; if violated, confession and atonement are required.
Practical Meaning
This rule expresses the Buddha’s wisdom in establishing the Sangha.
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