Which of the following baskets of the Buddhist Tipitaka contains monastic rules?

Question

Which of the following baskets of the Buddhist Tipitaka contains monastic rules?

1. A. Jataka Pitaka
2. B. Sutta Pitaka
3. C. Abhidhamma Pitaka
4. D. Vinaya Pitaka (Correct answer)

Correct Answer

Option D — Vinaya Pitaka

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Vinaya Pitaka.

Key Points

• The Tipitaka (Pali for "three baskets") is the Buddhist canon, and the Vinaya Pitaka contains the rules of monastic discipline governing the *sangha* — conduct, ordination, and the procedures for handling offences.
• The other baskets have distinct content:
  • Sutta Pitaka — the discourses of the Buddha,
  • Abhidhamma Pitaka — the philosophical and psychological analysis of the teachings.
• Jataka Pitaka is not one of the three at all; the Jatakas, tales of the Buddha's previous births, sit *within* the Sutta Pitaka.

Additional Information

• The Tipitaka is written in Pali and was preserved orally for centuries before being committed to writing in Sri Lanka in the 1st century BCE.
• The canon was settled progressively at the Buddhist Councils — the first at Rajgriha immediately after the Buddha's death, where Upali recited the Vinaya and Ananda the Sutta.
• The three-way split maps neatly onto conduct, doctrine and analysis, which is the fastest way to hold them apart.
• The Jaina counterpart is the Agamas, composed in Prakrit — a common paired question.