Lzh Mg Bu Pm Np 25Rainy-Season Robes
Pāli / Sanskrit:Vassikasāṭika
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Commentary on the Vassikasāṭika Sutta (The Rains-Season Cloth)
Background
The Vassikasāṭika is a section belonging to the Vinaya Piṭaka within the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, recorded among the Pātimokkha rules governing the discipline of the Sangha. This text relates directly to the communal life of bhikkhus during the rainy months, when monastics are unable to travel freely for the propagation of the Dhamma owing to storms and rain throughout the land.
The Rains Retreat (Vassa, known as the Summer Retreat in East Asian Buddhism) is a distinctive period in the training calendar of bhikkhus. By tradition, these monastics remain in a fixed location — ordinarily a temple or meditation monastery — throughout the three months of the rains, in order to concentrate on practice and to avoid causing inconvenience to the inhabitants of nearby villages. The Vassikasāṭika teaches on practical matters concerning garments, and in particular the rains-cloth, during this period.
Principal Content
This text deals with the regulations pertaining to the obtaining and use of cloth (sāṭika) suitable for the rainy season. Within the context of the Vinaya Piṭaka, rules concerning garments are not mere peculiarities or irrelevancies, but practical guidelines intended to protect the physical health of the bhikkhus, enabling them to focus on mental cultivation without being distracted by material discomforts.
The text addresses the conditions under which bhikkhus are permitted to obtain a suitable rains-cloth, the manner and timing of such obtaining, and the restrictions regarding material and color. This reflects a fundamental principle of the Vinaya Piṭaka: bhikkhus should avoid things that give rise to infatuation and attachment, yet they should likewise neither torment themselves nor neglect their basic health.
The specific regulations are directed toward ensuring that a bhikkhu's possessions do not exceed what is necessary, and that all obtaining of requisites must be carried out within the framework of the monastic community. No bhikkhu may independently decide to obtain a rains-cloth without the approval or review of the community.
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