Buddhist Monasticism

Thesis Statement: The New Year is the most significant celebration among Buddhists.

Introduction

Classification

Buddhist monasticism is sub-divided into two assemblies; bhikkhu (male) and bhikkhuni (female). (Thera and Hecker, pp. 140). The Buddha initiated the female assembly after his stepmother, Mahaprajapati, requested to be included as an ordained practitioner. The female monastic communities do not exist in Tibet and Nepal, among the Vajrayana communities. The ordination of females in the bhikkhuni lineage is most common among the East Asian communities. They have tried to prevail in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka, but the attempts have failed so far. The focus of the essay ...