San Mu Bu Pm GBM 3 Sk 21Nolambikayā gamiṣyāma

Source Status

This item has the descriptive information: number San Mu Bu Pm GBM 3 Sk 21, tradition Sectarian Scriptures · Comparative, collection Comparative Vinaya — Sanskrit, and Vietnamese, English, and Pali titles all recorded as “Nolambikayā gamiṣyāma.” The data contains no full original text, no complete translation, no terminological notes, and only the truncated ending of the Vietnamese text. Therefore, it is not possible to determine with certainty whether this rule concerns posture while walking, a manner of movement, an implement, reliance, or a specific deportment.

The old ending interprets in the direction of “not relying,” sense restraint, and non-attachment to external conditions. This may be a spiritual reflection, but in the present state of the source it should not be treated as content already verified from the text. This rewritten version is based only on the descriptive information and maintains cautious language.

Context

In the training rules of the Vinaya, rules related to “walking” often mean more than physical movement. Walking is one of the four basic postures: walking, standing, lying down, and sitting. A renunciant is trained not to lose mindfulness in the most familiar actions. If one is mindful only while chanting or sitting in meditation, but is heedless when going about, practice has not yet permeated bodily karma.

The title “Nolambikayā gamiṣyāma” contains the element “gamiṣyāma,” which may suggest “we will go” or “will move,” but the full sentence must be compared before it can be understood correctly. The part “Nolambikayā” should not be explained with certainty merely on the basis of sound or conjecture. In Vinaya study, a word connected with gait, carrying something, bodily support, or bodily state can lead to very different meanings. Therefore, the most reasonable context is the deportment of walking: the body should be restrained, and the mind should know clearly where it is going, why it is going, and how it is going.

Deportment is not the art of performance. It is the way the body expresses a mind that has been trained. A person who walks hurriedly, swaying, heedlessly, or dependent on supports may cause others to lose respect for the renunciant life; but more importantly, that person is also missing the opportunity to abide in awareness.

Content That Can Be Determined from the Descriptive Information

From the descriptive information, it can be determined that this is an item in the Sanskrit comparative Vinaya group and is somehow related to the act of “going” or “moving,” because the title contains “gamiṣyāma.” Beyond that, there is not enough data to state specifically what the training rule prohibits. One should not affirm that the text discusses devotees, ethnicity, luxurious lifestyles, reputation, or a doctrine of non-self if such details do not appear reliably in the data.

Nevertheless, from the remaining line of thought, it can be recognized that the earlier interpretation wanted to place emphasis on non-attachment and inner self-mastery. Used as a general interpretation for practice, this may be acceptable: when entering the world, practitioners should not allow the mind to be dragged along by sense objects. But it must be clearly stated that this is a developed meaning, not the determined content of the original text.

In Vinaya study, a small detail of bodily conduct often has two levels. The outer level is conformity to communal form: walking and standing with dignity, not drawing attention, not harming the image of the Sangha. The inner level is mental restraint: knowing that the body is moving, knowing that the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are contacting objects, and knowing the feelings and reactions that arise. Within the limits of the descriptive information, Sk 21 can be read in this direction without adding unsupported details.

Meaning for Practice

For students of Buddhism, walking is an accessible Dharma practice. Every step can be a place for the mind to return, if one knows that one is walking. There is no need to wait for the meditation hall or a special practice period; as soon as one crosses a threshold, walks on the road, enters the workplace, or returns home, one already has the opportunity to practice. The question is not only “where am I going,” but “with what mind am I going?”

If one walks with a mind dependent on praise and blame, one loses balance before the gaze of others. If one walks with a mind seeking gain, every step carries calculation. If one walks with anger, the body may be moving but the mind is pushing and striking. If one walks with mindfulness, the step becomes simple: no need to display, no need to attract attention, no need to make oneself important. This is the practical meaning that can be drawn from the theme of walking deportment.

In modern life, “going” also means entering environments of information, relationship, and consumption. People may move very quickly through many places, meet many people, and read many things, while the mind becomes increasingly scattered. A training rule on deportment reminds us that speed is not the measure of insight. Knowing how to stop, how to walk slowly, and how not to let body and mind be pulled along is practical cultivation.

Still, the practice of deportment should not become stiffness. Dignity is not forced constraint. Awareness is not tension. A step with the flavor of the Dharma is natural but not heedless, gentle but not lax, steady but not arrogant. When the body walks in clear knowing, the mind clings less to past and future. In that ordinary act, the student of Buddhism recognizes that the path is not apart from each small action.

Comparative Note

The full source text is not available to compare the term “Nolambikayā gamiṣyāma,” so every explanation of its lexical meaning should be regarded as provisional. One should not add information about persons, originating circumstances, translations, chapters, or specific recensions beyond the descriptive information. When the source text is available, it is necessary to check whether this training rule relates to gait, means of support, bodily carriage, or another deportment. The content above is an AI interpretation oriented toward practice and does not replace translation and commentary on the original text.