in the southern countries, when a lay buddhist enters a monastery or a monk’s room he should take off his shoes before worshipping bhikkhus. at the bhikkhus’s request to sit down, he should take a lower seat or sit on the ground, and he must not sit on the bhikkhus’s bed.
the contents of the study of dhamma and the practice of meditation are simply the 37 requisites for enlightenment. the basic practice among the 37 is the “four stations of mindfulness”, i.e. contemplation of the four views
according to the buddha’s rules, a bhikkhu should lead a pure and frugal life, and strictly observe the precepts of abstaining from killing, stealing, sex (including sex with his former wife), irresponsible speech, speech inciting discord, harsh speech, lewd talk, alcoholic drinks, taking untimely food (i.e., taking food after noon), the use of perfumes and adornments, singing, dancing and watching others sing and dance, sitting or sleeping on high luxurious seats or beds, accepting treasures like gold, silver, elephants, horses, etc.
arhat is the status attained by a buddhist practitioner upon enlightenment. there are four stages to reach this goal: the first stage is to dispel wrong views. that is called sotapanna (the fruition of stream winning), i.e. the initial fruition. the second stage, sakadagani (the second fruition of non-return) are gradually reached by casting off erroneous thought have been completely wiped out and nibbana attained. such an arahat is worthy of receiving offerings from man and deity alike. so, one of the meanings of arahat is “deserving offerings”. it is the highest status attained by savakas. (from essentials of buddhism: questions and answers)
before answering this question, it is necessary to explain the buddhist doctrine of panca-yana (five vehicles). yana means a vehicle which can carry passengers to their destinations, far or near. it is used here as a metaphor of the buddha’s teachings.
the first block-printed edition of the tipitaka in chinese appeared in 971 ad or the 4th year of the kaibao era of the song dynasty. in the following 1000 years, through the dynasties of song, liao, jin, yuan, ming and qing, more than 20 block-printed editions were published. in 1936, a block-printed edition of the tipitaka from jin dynasty (12th century) was discovered at guangsheng temple in zhaocheng county, shanxi province, so it was named the zhaocheng tipitaka.
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