Eight Garudhammas

The controversial Eight Garudhammas (Sanskrit: guru-dharma,^{[note 1]} translated as 'rules of respect',^[1] 'principles of respect',^[2] 'principles to be respected')^[3] were considered additional precepts required of bhikkhunis (fully ordained Buddhist nuns) above and beyond the monastic rule (vinaya) that applied to monks. They are controversial because they attempt to proscribe an inferior role for nuns, and bhikkhunis have revealed scholarly evidence that the Eight Garudhammas are not found in the historical teachings of Gautama Buddha.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Garu literally means 'heavy'^[7] and when applied to vinaya, it means "heavy offense that entails penance (mānatta) consisting of 2 weeks" as described in garudhamma rule No. 5.^[8] The authenticity of these rules is contested; they were supposedly added to the (bhikkhunis) vinaya "to allow more acceptance" of a monastic order for women, during the Buddha's time^[9]

Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

^ "Bhikkhunīs | the Buddhist Monastic Code, Volumes I & II".
^ "SuttaCentral".
^ Bhikkhu Anālayo. "On the Bhikkhunī Ordination Controversy" (PDF).
^ Kusuma, Bhikuni (2000). "Inaccuracies in Buddhist Women's History". In Karma Lekshe Tsomo (ed.). Innovative Buddhist Women: Swimming Against the Stream. Routledge. pp. 5–13. ISBN 978-0-7007-1219-9.
^ "A conversation with a sceptic – Bhikkhuni FAQ". Buddhanet. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009.
^ Tathaaloka Bhikkhuni. "On the Apparent Non-historicity of the Eight Garudhammas Story As It Stands in the Pali-text Culavagga and Contemporary Vinaya Scholarship" (PDF).
^ Society, Pali Text (1921–1925). "The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ "Eight Garudhammas". Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ On the Apparent Non-historicity of the Eight Garudhammas Story Archived 3 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine.

[2] "Bhikkhunīs | the Buddhist Monastic Code, Volumes I & II".

[3] "SuttaCentral".

[buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de-4] Bhikkhu Anālayo. "On the Bhikkhunī Ordination Controversy" (PDF).

[Kusuma_2000_5–13-5] Kusuma, Bhikuni (2000). "Inaccuracies in Buddhist Women's History". In Karma Lekshe Tsomo (ed.). Innovative Buddhist Women: Swimming Against the Stream. Routledge. pp. 5–13. ISBN 978-0-7007-1219-9.

[6] "A conversation with a sceptic – Bhikkhuni FAQ". Buddhanet. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009.

[ayyatathaaloka-7] Tathaaloka Bhikkhuni. "On the Apparent Non-historicity of the Eight Garudhammas Story As It Stands in the Pali-text Culavagga and Contemporary Vinaya Scholarship" (PDF).

[8] Society, Pali Text (1921–1925). "The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 8 April 2022.

[9] "Eight Garudhammas". Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Retrieved 8 April 2022.

[10] On the Apparent Non-historicity of the Eight Garudhammas Story Archived 3 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine.

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