“The Discipline in Four Parts”: Rules for Nuns According to the Dharmaguptakavinaya - Part I: Introduction

The opening section explains the historical position of the Dharmaguptaka tradition, the transmission of its Vinaya into Chinese, and the textual sources used in the study. Heirman combines a close translation of the Chinese text with evidence from Sanskrit fragments, Pāli Vinaya materials, parallel Chinese Vinayas, commentaries, and technical dictionaries. This comparative methodology clarifies ambiguous passages, reconstructs Indic terminology behind the Chinese translations, and identifies similarities and differences among early Buddhist disciplinary traditions. The principal analysis follows the institutional life of a Buddhist nun. It discusses the first bhikṣuṇīs, the going-forth ceremony, the probationary training of a śikṣamāṇā, ordination by the communities of nuns and monks, and regulations applying after ordination. It then classifies the principal categories of offences—including pārājika, saṃghāvaśeṣa, naiḥsargika-pācittika, pācittika, pratideśanīya, śaikṣa, and rules for settling disputes—and examines their interpretation, legal consequences, and corresponding sanctions. The concluding sections study the communal procedures through which the Bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha maintained discipline, harmony, and institutional continuity.