Lzh Mg Bi Pm Pc 112Sunshades and Sandals
Pāli / Sanskrit:Chattupāhana
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The Chattupāhana Sutta: On Requisites for Monastics
Background
The Chattupāhana Sutta (छत्तुपाहन — "Sunshades and Sandals") is recorded in the Pātimokkha, the Vinaya Piṭaka of Theravāda Buddhism. This portion of the text belongs to the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha, the code of conduct prescribed specifically for the community of nuns.
During the lifetime of the Blessed One, the assembly of nuns and their female disciples regularly made use of everyday requisites such as sunshades and sandals to protect the body from harsh weather. However, on account of irregularities in the manner of their use, or owing to the distinctive character of such articles, the Blessed One set forth specific guidelines in order to ensure simplicity and purity within the monastic community of monks and nuns. These rules reflect a fundamental aim: to establish a pure and holy community focused on the cultivation of the path, undistracted by superfluous external objects.
Principal Contents
In the Chattupāhana Sutta, the Blessed One lays down the rule that nuns are not to make use of sunshades (chatta) or thong sandals (pāhana) in an excessively luxurious manner. Such requisites are to be used solely as protection against the elements, and not as a means of display or as an expression of status. Should any nun make use of these articles immoderately, without restraint, or in service of a distinctive personal purpose — such as ostentation — she will have transgressed one of the rules of the Pātimokkha.
This regulation is also directly connected to the principle of contentment with little (appicchatā) — one of the fundamental characteristics of the Buddha's teaching. A nun who rightly observes the Pātimokkha will choose the most modest requisites, just sufficient to protect her health, without exceeding their original purpose. This safeguards the mind from being drawn astray toward material desires.
Furthermore, this rule carries social significance as well: it prevents the arising of distinctions between the wealthy and the poor within the monastic community, thereby cultivating equality and harmony among the assembly of monastics.
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