Purpose
These rules were instituted, whether by the Buddha himself or other members of the early sangha, to fulfill certain requirements put on them by society. Monks and nuns had to be sufficiently separated to give no accusation of impropriety between them, but not so separate that the nuns became an autonomous group of women without at least formal subordination to some male authority; this was unacceptable to society at large, and would have rendered the sangha socially unacceptable. Social acceptability was vital for the sangha, as it could not survive without material support from lay society.
Read more about this topic: The Eight Garudhammas
Famous quotes containing the word purpose:
“Certain books seem to have been written not for the purpose that we learn something from them but that we know that the author was a knowledgeable person.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“Rule of criticism: only attend to the shape, and the purpose will manifest itself.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“And the purpose of the many stops and starts will be made clear:
Backing into the old affair of not wanting to grow
Into the night, which becomes a house, a parting of the ways
Taking us far into sleep. A dumb love.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)