Although śrāmanera (novice), the preparatory stage for becoming bhikkhu, is an essential component of the Buddhist monastic community, it received not enough attention from the academia. This article, based on the Chinese translation of Buddhist Vinaya texts, with reference to Pāli Vinaya and other Buddhist discourses, yields a number of findings not mentioned by previous scholars: young people cannot adapt to the monastic life within a short period of time, so a novice system is established between "going forth" and receiving full ordination as an preparatory stage. Rāhula was not the first novice as tradition says, Cunda may be earlier than Rāhula. The age of novice is as low as seven years old which inherited from ancient Indian tradition, however, some Vinayas do not set the lowest limit. A novice has to follow most of the monks' precepts but the punishment is lighter. The duties of a novice are numerous, including repairing the temple, distributing food, taking care of the sick, tidying up bedding, telling time, handling treasures etc.. Novice usually only gets one-half or one-third of the offering given by the lay Buddhists but the food is the same amount as monk in order to satisfy the capacity for eating of the young. The number of novice led by a monk is limited to two or three due to prevent the monk from over-indulgence in novices' serving. Besides, the novice system is also applied for caring orphans, testing non-Buddhists, and dealing with the people who violate serious precepts. It is hoped that this article contributes to a deeper and broader understanding of the novice system among the academic and religious circles.
