Lennart Lopin wrote:

>
> ...maybe because it is the whole reason for being a monk?
>
> Nibbānogadhañhi āvuso visākha, brahmacariyaṃ vussati nibbānaparāyaṇaṃ
> nibbānapariyosānan”ti (ma. ni. 1.466) ettha nibbānaṃ pariyosānanti vuttaṃ
>
> > I agree that meditation like satipa.t.thaana can really help individual
> > monks to observe Vinaya rules but there is no rule to force monks to
> > meditate. I sometimes wonder why the Buddha has not made meditation
> > compulsory for monks.

Well, you have quoted another sutta. However, the picture of Vinaya as seen by Burmese monks in theoretical study and actual practice does appear different from that seen in suttas.

I think I should go into some details here. For us, monkhood will help us to do good deeds more easily while make it more difficult for us to do bad deeds. (At least it is the common motive for us to become monks.) For that privilege, we have to pay a price---we must observe the Vinaya rules. Anything beyond that is up to the individual choice. You even do not have to promise that you will try to achieve liberation! Of course, we believe that Samsara is bad and Nibbaana is good because we have confidence in the Buddha, but it does not mean that we are in a hurry to be liberated.

For us, Buddhism is like a supermarket where you can get anything if you pay the proper price for your choice.

Such an attitude may appear odd to you but a thorough study of Vinaya will reveal the Theravadin monasticism as a safe area where you can have a lot of freedom to choose as long as you do not transgress the Vinaya boundaries.

with metta

Ven. Pandita