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Grammatical Analysis
Bhikkhu: [m.] a Buddhist monk; mendicant; almsman. Traditionally derived from the root bhikh (to ask, beg for alms). In doctrinal contexts, the commentaries trace it to bhī (to fear), rendering it as “one who sees fear and danger in the cycle of samsāra” (saṃsāre bhayaṃ ikkhatī’ti bhikkhu).
Orthodox Definition
A bhikkhu is a fully ordained male member of the Theravāda monastic community. He is not a priest or intermediary, but a renunciant who has left the household life (pabbajjā) to devote himself fully to the realization of Nibbāna.
According to the Vinaya Piṭaka, full admission into the Order (upasampadā) requires an applicant to be a male at least 20 years of age, free from specific disqualifying factors, and approved by a formal chapter of monks via a legal act (ñatti-catuttha-kamma).
A bhikkhu lives in strict dependence on lay generosity for his basic requisites (cīvara, piṇḍapāta, senāsana, bhesajja) and must train under the 227 major training rules codified in the Pātimokkha. The life of a bhikkhu is structurally split into two traditional duties: gantha-dhura (the burden of study and preservation of scripture) and vipassanā-dhura (the burden of insight meditation).
Quote
65. ‘‘yo pana bhikkhu jānaṃ ūnavīsativassaṃ puggalaṃ upasampādeyya, so ca puggalo anupasampanno, te ca bhikkhū gārayhā, idaṃ tasmiṃ pācittiya’’nti.
“If any bhikkhu, knowing, should give the upasampadā to a person under twenty years old, and that person is not fully ordained, and those bhikkhus are blameworthy, that is a pācittiya in that case.”— Pācittiyapāḷi, Pācittiya 65 (and Kaṅkhāvitaraṇī)
Textual References
- Vinaya: Pācittiyapāḷi (Pācittiya 65) – The rule forbidding the ordination of anyone under 20 years of age.
- Vinaya: Pārājikapāḷi (Vinaya Book I) – Outlining the heaviest rules and standard definitions for monastics.
- Sutta: Samaññaphala Sutta (DN 2) – Beautifully charting the fruits, progression, and training of a dedicated bhikkhu.
- Commentary: Kankhāvitaraṇī (Buddhaghosa’s commentary specifically on the Pātimokkha rules).