pātimokkha, Buddhist monastic code; a set of 227 rules that govern the daily activities of the monk and nun. The prohibitions of the pātimokkha are arranged in the Pāli canon according to the severity of the offense—from those that require immediate and lifelong expulsion from the order, temporary suspension, or various degrees of restitution or expiation to those that require confession only. Also given are rules for settling disputes within the monastic community. The entire pātimokkha is recited during the uposatha, or fortnightly assembly of Theravāda monks.
A comparable set of 250 monastic rules is contained in the Sanskrit canon of the Sarvāstivāda (Doctrine That All Is Real) tradition that was widely known in northern Buddhist countries. The Mahāyāna tradition in China and Japan more generally rejected those rules that were not applicable locally and substituted disciplinary codes that differed from sect to sect and sometimes even from monastery to monastery.