Dear Ven. Sujato, David, Nina, Willy and friends,

Bhante and Nina, thanks for your reassuring reply. You may still find
in Chinese temples the Vinaya sections being locked up or placed
separately for this reason.

However, because in the Vinaya there are more narratives of the
Buddha's daily activities, I think we can see in it the real human
aspects of him, where wisdom and compassion come to work as one, in
flesh.

Nina's perspective of the unity of the Tipitaka is interesting. I
believe it means the three pitaka are interrelated and not separate.
There is no doubt about it (at least for Vinaya and Sutta Pitakas).

I also like to point out that Buddhism did not start out as a set of
rules carved onto a stone tablet. Buddhism started out with what the
Buddha realised under the Bodhi tree. The rules were laid down much
later as certain behaviours occured within the Sangha, and were
reported to the Buddha. We all know that in the early years of the
Sangha, there wasn't a single rule for the large group of more than
2500 people. Probably that is why some may find it to be
an 'incomplete' set of rules. Afterall, the Sangha is made up of real
people. I believe the Buddha would keep updating the rules as the group
changes. And probably that is also why He told Ananda that minor rules
can be amended for Sangha communities living under different cultural
and geographical conditions.


metta,
Yong Peng.

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Bhante Sujato wrote:

Yes there is a lot of interesting material in the Vinaya, and lay
people as well as monastics should be encouraged to read it.