Lzh Sarv Bu Vb Pc 72Ordaining Under Twenty
Pāli / Sanskrit:Ūnavīsativassa
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Ūnavīsativassa Sutta (Being Unmarried Under Twenty Years of Age)
Background
The Ūnavīsativassa Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition of the Buddha-Dharma. It is part of the Vinaya Piṭaka, the code for bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, and those who have gone forth according to the teaching of Buddha Śākyamuni. This discipline was compiled after the Buddha’s nirvana and was confirmed and transmitted by successive councils of recitation.
The matter of the proper age for ordination is one of the points the Buddha clearly regulated in order to protect the ritual integrity, ethics, and spiritual maturity of those who go forth. The standard of age is not an arbitrary restriction, but arises from deep understanding of mental development and the capacity to practice the Dhamma fully.
Main Content
The Ūnavīsativassa Sutta states that a person wishing to go forth to become a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī must have completed twenty years of age. A person under twenty, however strong the wish may be, cannot legally be given the going-forth or full ordination under the Vinaya.
This rule has three important aspects. First, psychologically and spiritually, the age of twenty is regarded as an important threshold at which a person has sufficient maturity to commit to the strict life of practice. Second, this rule protects young people from hasty decisions they may later regret. Third, it ensures the legitimacy of the Sangha, the community of practice, because only those of proper age who have gone forth may take part in sacred Sangha activities such as Uposatha, the recitation ceremony, Pavāraṇā, the ceremony of inviting admonition, and decisions related to the Dhamma.
If a person under twenty is allowed to receive ordination, that procedure is considered invalid. That person is not recognized as a true bhikkhu or bhikkhunī, and therefore cannot take part in the official activities of the Sangha. This is not a punishment or discrimination, but the natural result of observing the Dhamma-Vinaya.
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