The Vinaya was the way the Buddha’s sangha created harmony 2500 years ago, and it is still used today in lay and monastic communities. The Vinaya is not in and of itself the dharma; rather, it is a set of codes of conduct that help lay and monastic practitioners remove obstacles to studying and practicing the dharma and working together for the greater good.

The Vinaya-Pratimoksha is a list of rules for eight types of practitioners: those fasting for one day, laymen and laywomen, male and female novices, probationer nuns, fully ordained nuns, and fully ordained monks.

Monks and nuns from all three yanas take the Pratimoksha vows and practice Buddhism full-time in a disciplined way, free from the responsibilities of household life. The Pratimoksha vows are the basic rules of monastic discipline from the Vinaya. Novice monks and nuns take 36, while fully-ordained monks/bhikkhus and nuns/bhikkhunis take 227 to 354 vows, depending on their school and tradition. Mahayana traditions add 18 bodhisattva vows. In the Vajrayana, monastics also take tantric vows, depending on the tradition and teachings received.

Codes of conduct are sets of rules and guidelines—just like the Vinaya—that outline the expectations and responsibilities of a group of people or an organization. Community rules can be created by the group, considering what behaviors best support the community’s purpose and well-being. By following codes of conduct and avoiding actions that harm others, the group’s well-being can be improved.