San Mu Bu Pm GBM 3 As 7Admission
Pāli / Sanskrit:Paṭiññātakaraṇa
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THE SUTTA ON ENTRY INTO PURITY: AN EXPLANATION OF PAṬIÑÑĀTAKARAṆA
Background
The Paṭiññātakaraṇa Sutta (Entry into Purity) is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, belonging to the Samantapāsādikā, the most detailed legal text in the Theravāda tradition. This discourse addresses an important aspect of the ordination procedure (Upasampadā) for a bhikkhu, specifically the confirmation or formal declaration of the intention to study the Buddha-Dharma.
In the context of the early Sangha community, entry into training was not an arbitrary act. It required an official commitment before the community, an important legal instrument for maintaining discipline and the responsibility of one who has gone forth. Paṭiññātakaraṇa, meaning "the act of declaring or confirming," is an indispensable step in this process. It is the measure by which the monastic community verifies that the applicant has clearly understood the commitment they are about to undertake, and that they do so voluntarily and have the spiritual capacity to carry it out.
Main Content
Paṭiññātakaraṇa focuses on the decisive moment when the candidate (samaṇa) declares before the Sangha: "I ask to go forth under the Buddha, under the true Dharma, under the Sangha." This declaration is not merely empty speech, but a commitment that must be attested by three witnesses, three members of the Sangha, and recorded through the declaration of the Upajjhāya, the venerable preceptor.
The discourse explains in detail that the candidate must be asked three times about prior conditions: whether they are someone formerly declared subject to the five prohibitions, a person not permitted to go forth; whether debts have been repaid; and whether the parents have consented. Only when these conditions are clearly confirmed does the declaration become effective.
This declaration is also called a "voluntary admission" (paṭiññā). It is a legal instrument creating moral responsibility between the candidate and the community. Once the declaration has been made, that person must follow the Pāṭimokkha, the list of 227 rules for bhikkhus, and any violation will have corresponding consequences as prescribed by the Sangha.
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