Ní jiémó 尼羯磨
Karmavācanā for Nuns (Dōngtǎ school) by 懷素 (Huáisù, 集)
About the work
A three-fascicle Dharmaguptaka karmavācanā compendium for the nuns’ saṅgha, compiled by Huáisù (懷素) of the Dōng-tǎ school of Sìfēn lǜ Vinaya. Companion text to the Sēng jiémó (KR6k0047) and parallel in approach. Composed at Cháng’ān in the second half of the 7th century.
Prefaces
Author’s colophon: 唐西太原寺沙門懷素集.
Abstract
The Ní jiémó presents the karmavācanā formulae for the bhikṣuṇī-saṅgha — upasaṃpadā (with the dual-saṅgha procedure), uposatha, pravāraṇā, the aṣṭa-gurudharma recitation, and the various bhikṣuṇī-specific procedures. The text supplied the practical handbook for the conduct of bhikṣuṇī legal acts in the Dōng-tǎ tradition. Like the parallel Sēng jiémó, it was eclipsed by Dàoxuān’s lineage in the late Tang but retained authority in the Sòng under Yuánzhào’s recovery.
Translations and research
- Heirman, Ann. Rules for Nuns according to the Dharmaguptakavinaya. Delhi, 2002.
- Wáng Jiànguāng 王建光. Zhōngguó lǜ-zōng tōng-shǐ. Nanjing, 2008.