Ka Bu Pm Pc 85Beds and Benches
Pāli / Sanskrit:Mañcapīṭha
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Mañcapīṭha Rule (Beds and Benches)
Context
Mañcapīṭha, beds and benches, is a Pacittiya rule in the Vinaya Pitaka of Theravada Buddhism. This rule is recorded in the Pali Canon and reflects practical regulations issued by the Buddha for the monastic community in order to manage the life of practice.
The origin of this rule comes from a specific situation. When monastics lived together in monasteries, the use of communal property became important. Beds and benches are necessary items, but they are also objects that can easily give rise to greed and delusion concerning comfort. The Buddha wanted his disciples to stay away from attachment to luxurious and alluring objects.
The Buddha's establishment of rules concerning beds and benches was not intended as oppressive control, but as education of the mind. Each prohibition is an opportunity for monks and nuns to practice fewness of wishes and contentment, virtues considered foundational in Buddhist practice.
Main Content
In Pacittiya 85, the Buddha provides that monks and nuns should not obtain or ask others to obtain beds and benches with decorations, padding, or materials that are excessively luxurious. Specifically, things such as velvet-covered beds and mattresses higher than three finger-breadths were prohibited. This does not mean that monks and nuns must sleep on the ground or practice extreme self-mortification, but that they should use possessions in accord with the spirit of renunciation: simple, unshowy, and sufficient to sustain the body.
Monastics also must not compel others to buy such luxurious items for them, because that action amounts to indirect greed. In addition, this rule indicates that chairs used for guests or for communal recitation should be assessed properly and should not exceed standards appropriate to the people and local circumstances.
If monks or nuns violate this rule, that is, intentionally acquire prohibited things, they must confess this fault, called a Pacittiya, a lesser offense than Sanghadisesa but still requiring confession.
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