Lzh Dg Bi Pm Pc 143Staying Apart From Monks
Pāli / Sanskrit:Abhikkhukāvāsa
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Commentary on the Abhikkhukāvāsa Sutta (Staying Apart from Monks)
Background
The Abhikkhukāvāsa Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon — the collection of training rules and regulations for the governance of the Saṅgha that the Buddha established. The Vinaya Piṭaka does not consist of arbitrary prohibitions, but rather guidelines designed to protect purity, harmony, and progress in communal practice.
This sutta addresses the matter of "staying apart from monks" (abhikkhukāvāsa), relating to regulations concerning the dwellings and communal living arrangements of monastics. This context arose when the Buddha discovered that certain monks were not adhering to the principle of communal residence, thereby exerting a negative influence upon the monastery. Accordingly, the regulations were established to ensure that the monastic life would maintain both the necessary degree of freedom and the discipline and common purpose required.
Principal Content
The Abhikkhukāvāsa Sutta stipulates that monks should not dwell alone for extended periods or form small groups separated from the broader monastic community. Specifically, monks must maintain regular contact with the Saṅgha, participate in communal activities, and abide by the regulations concerning places of residence.
The reasons underlying this regulation are profound. First, dwelling apart may give rise to conceit, leading a monk to believe that he can practise more effectively in separation from the Saṅgha. Second, isolation weakens the spirit of mutual support and instruction in practice. Third, the Buddha emphasized that practising within the Saṅgha and under collective governance is the key to avoiding transgressions and making proper progress.
Monks are permitted time alone for meditation — meditation itself being of the utmost necessity — but such time must receive the approval of the Saṅgha and must not be extended indefinitely. The balance between independent practice and life within the community is regarded as the ideal.
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