Originally posted by LFJ, a superb analysis of the monastic derivations in Shaolin (and elsewhere)
i have a friend who was originally ordained at baimasi. then he was accepted at shaolinsi. and is now studying in fengxuesi. so he knows pretty much both sides of monasticism. shaolin and other. i sent him an email asking about levels in shaolin. this is the reply i got:
some of these are new to me, such as the difference between shami and xiaoshami (the latter being the ones under 20). and the xueseng (monk student) is completely new to me. (notice xueseng is different than xuesheng, seng denotes a monastic- xuesheng is a plain no-vows-taken student)
after receiving this reply, i asked the precepts at each level and interestingly enough, this was the response:
so the division may be heshang, wuseng, shami, xiaoshami, and xueseng as the five groups. by the reply it seems wenseng is just another name for the heshang, used to show the difference between heshang and wuseng. but i have asked and am awaiting reply.
so, i hope that helps end some debate, argument, and insults out of ignorance to people who dont deserve it.
amituofo! _/_LFJ
This a compicated question. As far as I know:
1. Layman disciple (chin.: sujiadizi 俗家弟子)
2. Young Buddhist priest, acolyte (chin.: xiaoshami 小沙彌)
3. Buddhist priest, acolyte (chin.: shami 沙彌)
4. Monk student (chin.: xueseng 学僧)
5. Buddhist monk (chin.: heshang 和尚- in Shaolinsi they used to call them Buddhist scholar (chin.: wenseng 文僧) a title which based on the Sanskrit (chin.: fanwen 梵文) orientation of Buddhism) or warrior monk (chin.: wuseng 武僧)
5. Abbot (chin.: fangzhang 方丈)
A Buddhist monk (chin.: heshang 和尚) can have:
1. Layman disciple (chin.: sujiadizi 俗家弟子)
2. Young Buddhist priest, acolyte (chin.: xiaoshami 小沙彌)
3. Buddhist priest, acolyte (chin.: shami 沙彌)
4. Monk student (chin.: xueseng 学僧)
A warrior monk (chin.: wuseng 武僧) can have:
1. Laymen disciples (chin.: sujiadizi 俗家弟子)
2. Students (chin.: xuesheng 学生)
3. Apprentices/disciples (chin.: tudi 徒弟)
Amituofo
1. Layman disciple (chin.: sujiadizi 俗家弟子)
2. Young Buddhist priest, acolyte (chin.: xiaoshami 小沙彌)
3. Buddhist priest, acolyte (chin.: shami 沙彌)
4. Monk student (chin.: xueseng 学僧)
5. Buddhist monk (chin.: heshang 和尚- in Shaolinsi they used to call them Buddhist scholar (chin.: wenseng 文僧) a title which based on the Sanskrit (chin.: fanwen 梵文) orientation of Buddhism) or warrior monk (chin.: wuseng 武僧)
5. Abbot (chin.: fangzhang 方丈)
A Buddhist monk (chin.: heshang 和尚) can have:
1. Layman disciple (chin.: sujiadizi 俗家弟子)
2. Young Buddhist priest, acolyte (chin.: xiaoshami 小沙彌)
3. Buddhist priest, acolyte (chin.: shami 沙彌)
4. Monk student (chin.: xueseng 学僧)
A warrior monk (chin.: wuseng 武僧) can have:
1. Laymen disciples (chin.: sujiadizi 俗家弟子)
2. Students (chin.: xuesheng 学生)
3. Apprentices/disciples (chin.: tudi 徒弟)
Amituofo
after receiving this reply, i asked the precepts at each level and interestingly enough, this was the response:
A heshang is fully ordained with the pratimoksha precepts.
A wuseng is ordained with 5 precepts and usually he is considered as a secular. (but there are also some exceptions with 10 precepts.)
A shami and xiaoshami are ordained with 10 precepts.
A xueseng is ordained with 48 vows.
A wuseng is ordained with 5 precepts and usually he is considered as a secular. (but there are also some exceptions with 10 precepts.)
A shami and xiaoshami are ordained with 10 precepts.
A xueseng is ordained with 48 vows.
so, i hope that helps end some debate, argument, and insults out of ignorance to people who dont deserve it.
amituofo! _/_LFJ
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