Despite possessing a very good quality education in the spiritual knowledge of his time, the Buddha finally achieved full enlightenment without a teacher. No specific teacher ‘ordained’ the Buddha and other than sitting resolutely within the meditation posture – the Buddha did not follow any ‘Precepts’. The Buddha perfected the ‘Mind Precept’ whereby he cut-off ALL greed, hatred and delusion (breaking the ‘karmic-root’ of the mind) whilst simultaneously ‘returning’ all six senses to the empty mind ground! Overtime, he taught his ‘Dharma’ and supported and strengthened the practice of his disciples through the passing of hundreds of ‘Precepts’. This body of ‘Precepts’ became known as the Vinaya Discipline, and this is preserved within a number of different with slightly varying interpretations. A member of the Sangha, for instance, is any man or woman who has left society, shaved their heads, put on the robe and committed themselves to the hundreds of ‘Precepts’ the Buddha established – the Buddha also defined a member of the Sangha as any ‘lay’ person who has fully realised enlightenment! This is because the Buddha acknowledged that monastics and lay people are both able to realise enlightenment – but that the monastic path is straightforward with minimum distractions, whilst the lay path is thoroughly deluded and premised upon multiple barriers to the realisation of enlightenment (although such a feat is possible as the Buddha, Vimalakirti and Hui Neng, etc, attest). The term ‘Sangha’ has been extended within the Mahayana tradition to include ALL lay and monastic practitioners within a Buddhist community – whilst within the Theravada School lay Buddhists are definitely NOT included in the term ‘Sangha’ which is reserved only for monastics.
The Ch’an tradition understands and recognises all these facts – but does not discriminate in anyway. Why? This is because the empty mind ground underlies all things equally and does not discriminate. If a practitioner can return the sense-data of all six senses back to the empty mind ground – then nothing else matters! This is why the Chinese Vinaya Discipline allows for the concept of ‘Emergency Ordination’ whereby a lay person can shave their heads, set-up a Buddha image and take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha (and the Triple Gem within us) - this is probably the original ‘Precepts’. Added to this can be any number of other Precepts if they are known! If not, assume a vegetarian diet and diligently practice seated meditation, Sutra reading and chanting if applicable. A new name can be chosen and applied at this point. The function of ‘Emergency Ordination’ may involve an individual who has realised full enlightenment and does not want to live within lay society. It might also refer to a lay individual who desperately wants to ‘leave’ the delusion of lay society and does not have access to a Buddhist Temple or qualified Master!
Emergency Ordination is not a matter of material accumulation and the easy assumption of a new status in life. Such a monastic must remain entirely humble in mind, body (and within the environment they inhabit), and only consider themselves a committed lay person and nothing more! The primary purpose of ‘Emergency Ordination’ is that the world of desire and habit must be left behind and the Precepts fully upheld! All psychological tendency (and behavioural habit) emerges from (and returns to) the empty mind ground – mediated through the six senses! When the mind is impure, then all emanations are conditioned by greed, hatred and delusion. Applying the physical Precepts curtails deluded behaviour on the material plane – whilst returning the six senses to the empty mind ground uproots greed, hatred and delusion, and ‘cuts-off’ all aspects of delusion as they emerge from the deepest level of the mind! Then, there appears a ‘turning about’ in the deepest recesses of the mind so that the ‘inverted’ nature of the human mind (which causes ‘suffering’ by seizing upon thoughts in the mind and mistaking them for objects in the physical environment) is ended. This entire process begins, matures and prevails all due to the power of adhering to the Buddhist Precepts!
Chinese Language References:
http://bodhi.takungpao.com/sspt/sramana/2015-04/2963223.html
https://www.chinabuddhism.com.cn/yj/2013-06-13/2931.html