Lzh Mg Bi Vb Pc 64Beds and Benches
Pāli / Sanskrit:Mañcapīṭha
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The Mañcapīṭha Sutta (Beds and Benches)
Background
The Mañcapīṭha Sutta is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, within the Pātimokkha section of the Pācittiya rules. These are training rules for monastics, promulgated by the Buddha Gotama in order to protect the Sangha and the Dharma during the earliest period of Buddhism.
The rules concerning beds and benches (mañcapīṭha) were set forth in response to specific situations that arose when monastics were making use of worldly furnishings in an excessively luxurious manner. Theravāda Buddhism emphasizes that the Sangha should cultivate a life of simplicity, keeping at a distance from material pleasures so that wisdom and the movement of the mind toward nirvana are not obscured.
This sutta was recorded in the context of monastics beginning to acquire beds of great height and elaborately cushioned seats, which was incompatible with the ethics and way of life of those who have gone forth from the household life.
Principal Content
The sutta establishes that monastics should not make use of beds and benches that are excessively high or excessively luxurious. Specifically, a bed or bench must not exceed a certain height from the ground, as determined by the standards of the time.
The Buddha pointed out that the use of overly luxurious furnishings is a sign of indulgence in worldly sensual ease (sukha), a condition contrary to the spirit of the renunciant life. Instead, monastics are encouraged to use simple beds, serving only the purpose of rest and the maintenance of health in support of practice.
This rule does not prohibit altogether the use of beds and benches — such basic requisites are indeed necessary. Rather, it guides monastics to regulate their level of comfort so that they do not fall into the deliberate pursuit of worldly ease. This is an expression of the Middle Way (Majjhimā Paṭipadā) — the avoidance of two extremes: excessive self-mortification and indulgence in sensual pleasure.
Practical Significance
In early Buddhist practice, the Mañcapīṭha Sutta teaches us about heedfulness (appamāda) in every detail of daily life.
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