Lzh Mi Bi Vb Np 21Swapping Robes

Sutta on the Exchange of Robes (Cīvaraparivattana)

Background

Cīvaraparivattana is a provision in the Vinaya Piṭaka, belonging to the Nissaggiya Pācittiya section, the offenses that must be forfeited. The Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition records regulations for the life of monks and nuns, aiming at purity and freedom from dispute in the ordained community.

This sutta arose from a specific incident in which bhikkhus exchanged and swapped robes with one another without following certain rules. Robes (cīvara) in early Buddhism were not merely everyday clothing, but essential requisites of practice, connected with material self-restraint and internal discipline. The regulations on robes reflect the Buddha’s wisdom in building an ordained community free from greed and competition over benefits.

Main Content

According to the Pāli Vinaya tradition, the exchange of robes must follow clear principles. When a bhikkhu wishes to exchange robes with another bhikkhu, the exchange must not take place thoughtlessly or under coercion. It must be done openly and transparently, with the acknowledgment of the community or at least not in secrecy.

The prohibition here concerns certain impure forms of exchange: when robes are exchanged for exploitative purposes, or when the exchange is carried out in a way that may cause misunderstanding, dispute, or greed within the community.

Specifically, if a bhikkhu exchanges robes without properly performing the prescribed procedure—for example, without informing the community, or exchanging with the intention of appropriating or exploiting—this is a Nissaggiya Pācittiya, an offense that must be forfeited publicly before the community and confessed.

Practical Meaning

This sutta teaches that even small material things must be managed consciously and transparently. The foundational principle is to make light of possessions, not cling to them, and always attend to the purity of one’s conduct.