Ordination & Debt
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Ordination & Debt
I completed 2.5 years of university & accumulated quite a bit of debt in the process. I dropped out after this time because I had decided I wish to ordain & did not want to accumulate more debt. I know ordainees are expected to not have unpaid debts, but I am not sure what the specific requirements & conditions are. I would ordain by the end of this year if I could. But if I have to pay off all my debt beforehand I am not sure if I will ever be able to. Any information regarding what constitutes debt as a prohibition of ordination is much appreciated.
susukhaṃ vata nibbānaṃ,
sammāsambuddhadesitaṃ;
asokaṃ virajaṃ khemaṃ,
yattha dukkhaṃ nirujjhatī
Oh! extinction is so very blissful,
As taught by the One Rightly Self-Awakened:
Sorrowless, stainless, secure;
Where suffering all ceases
etaṁ santaṁ etaṁ panītaṁ yadidaṁ sabbasaṅkhārasamatho sabbūpadhipaṭi nissaggo taṇhakkhayo virāgo nirodho nibbānaṁ
This is peaceful, this is excellent, that is: the stilling of all fabrications, the relinquishment of all attachments, the destruction of craving, detachment, cessation, extinction.
sammāsambuddhadesitaṃ;
asokaṃ virajaṃ khemaṃ,
yattha dukkhaṃ nirujjhatī
Oh! extinction is so very blissful,
As taught by the One Rightly Self-Awakened:
Sorrowless, stainless, secure;
Where suffering all ceases
etaṁ santaṁ etaṁ panītaṁ yadidaṁ sabbasaṅkhārasamatho sabbūpadhipaṭi nissaggo taṇhakkhayo virāgo nirodho nibbānaṁ
This is peaceful, this is excellent, that is: the stilling of all fabrications, the relinquishment of all attachments, the destruction of craving, detachment, cessation, extinction.
Re: Ordination & Debt
It's in the Vinaya / Khandhaka / Mahāvagga / Iṇāyikavatthu:
“Na, bhikkhave, iṇāyiko pabbājetabbo. Yo pabbājeyya, āpatti dukkaṭassā”ti.
[The Buddha] said: “Monks, a debtor should not be let go forth. Whoever should let (one such) go forth, there is an offence of wrong-doing.”
https://suttacentral.net/en/pi-tv-kd1
“Na, bhikkhave, iṇāyiko pabbājetabbo. Yo pabbājeyya, āpatti dukkaṭassā”ti.
[The Buddha] said: “Monks, a debtor should not be let go forth. Whoever should let (one such) go forth, there is an offence of wrong-doing.”
https://suttacentral.net/en/pi-tv-kd1
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Dhammarakkhito
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Re: Ordination & Debt
is the context not important here? the debtor (http://dictionary.sutta.org/browse/i/i% ... %C4%81yiko) in this case had run away and was probably some sort of indentured servant; "Now at that time a certain man, a debtor, having run away, came to have gone forth among the monks. The creditors, having seen (him), spoke thus: “This is our very debtor. Come along, let us bring him (back).”"
in my country (and the op's) a financial institution cannot imprison someone who has failed to pay a debt; they can't collect money from you if you aren't working.. you would only be required to make payments (working or not) if it were a court-ordered payment such as for one who's on parole.
furthermore, the story of a debtor is sandwiched between the story of a branded man and one of a slave; also in that section there are the story of a scourged man, one of a thief with a wanted notice and one of a thief who has broken out of jail. is the context clearer now? there is little danger for the saṅgha to accept someone who simply has failed to make student loan payments ((imo they're designed to be nigh unpayable)), as opposed to harboring fugitives
in my country (and the op's) a financial institution cannot imprison someone who has failed to pay a debt; they can't collect money from you if you aren't working.. you would only be required to make payments (working or not) if it were a court-ordered payment such as for one who's on parole.
furthermore, the story of a debtor is sandwiched between the story of a branded man and one of a slave; also in that section there are the story of a scourged man, one of a thief with a wanted notice and one of a thief who has broken out of jail. is the context clearer now? there is little danger for the saṅgha to accept someone who simply has failed to make student loan payments ((imo they're designed to be nigh unpayable)), as opposed to harboring fugitives
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"Just as the ocean has a single taste — that of salt — in the same way, this Dhamma-Vinaya has a single taste: that of release."
— Ud 5.5
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— Ud 5.5
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Dhammarakkhito
- Posts: 820
- Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2017 7:31 am
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Re: Ordination & Debt
"Just as the ocean has a single taste — that of salt — in the same way, this Dhamma-Vinaya has a single taste: that of release."
— Ud 5.5
https://www.facebook.com/noblebuddhadha ... 34/?type=3
— Ud 5.5
https://www.facebook.com/noblebuddhadha ... 34/?type=3
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