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:
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“I have sought his aid—but if after endeavoring to do my best in the light which he affords me, I find my efforts fail, I must believe that for some purpose unknown to me, He wills it otherwise.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)