Lzh Dg Bi Pm Pc 149Stingy With Families

Kulamaccharinī Sutta — The Fault of Stinginess Toward Families

Background

The Vinaya Piṭaka is the collection of rules and guidance for practice for the Sangha, recorded after the Buddha's passing into nirvana. The Kulamaccharinī Sutta belongs to the Pāṭimokkha, or more specifically to the Pācittiya training rules, prohibitions concerning improper action. The term "Kulamaccharī" (कुल-मच्छरिणी) means "stingy or possessive toward families."

This sutta was taught when a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī fell into the habit of being stingy with property, food, or items connected with the affairs of relatives' families, refusing to share or give them to other members of the religious community, or even hiding what had been received from relatives. This is an ethical violation in the relationship with family and community.

Main Content

According to the Theravāda Vinaya, when a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī regards good things from a family, portions of food, cloth for robes, or items of practice as separate personal property and refuses to share them with female lay supporters or members of the Sangha, that person falls under the Pācittiya training rule. This act is considered a form of macchariyā (stinginess), one of the faults strongly criticized by the Buddha.

The purpose of this rule is not to make monastics live in hardship, but to free them from emotional bonds with family. A true monastic must abandon "secret" or "concealed" conduct in relation to relatives. All benefits received from family should be shared openly; in this way, the monastic is not bound by emotional debt or injustice.

Practical Meaning

The Kulamaccharinī Sutta teaches us that the path of practice is the path of release from emotional and material bonds. Stinginess toward family is one of the most subtle forms of violating the Dhamma.