Lzh Mi Bi Vb Np 3Out-of-Season Robe Cloth

EXPLANATION OF THE AKĀLACĪVARA SUTTA

Background

Akālacīvara belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka within the Pāli Tipiṭaka system of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. It is one of the rules in the Nissaggiya Pācittiya section, the precepts concerning forfeiture of an object and confession, specifically the third rule in this group of thirty rules.

Nissaggiya Pācittiya rules regulate the use and possession of material goods by bhikkhus, especially robes, the most essential requisites in the life of renunciation. When an offense is committed, the bhikkhu must forfeit the object before the Sangha or a group of bhikkhus and then confess the fault. The rule on Akālacīvara was laid down by the Buddha to regulate the appropriate time for bhikkhus to receive and keep robe cloth (cīvara), preventing greed and excessive accumulation in monastic life.

In the Buddha’s time, Indian society had a tradition of offering robe cloth to the monastic community at specific times of the year, especially after the rains retreat (vassa). The rules concerning robes were established to ensure that bhikkhus lived in the spirit of fewness of wishes and contentment, and did not turn Dharma robes into personal property.

Main Content

Akālacīvara literally means "out-of-season robe cloth," cīvara cloth received outside the prescribed time. According to the Pāli Vinaya Piṭaka, the year is divided into two periods related to the receiving of robes:

The robe season (cīvara-kāla) is the period of the final month of the rains retreat, when the Sangha is free to receive and keep robe cloth from devotees. This is the official time for renewing robes after the three months of retreat.

Out-of-season robe cloth (akāla-cīvara) is robe cloth received outside this period. When a bhikkhu receives robe cloth out of season, he may keep it for at most ten days. Within that period, he must use the cloth to make it into a robe, or determine (adhiṭṭhāna) its purpose. If more than ten days pass without handling it, he commits the third Nissaggiya Pācittiya offense.

This rule expresses the strict principle concerning ownership of material goods in the life of a bhikkhu. The Buddha did not want his disciples to accumulate surplus robes, because this leads to attachment and causes the loss of the renunciant spirit of living according to conditions and one’s proper measure. Ten days is a reasonable period for a bhikkhu to prepare to sew a robe or find a tailor, but not long enough to nourish possessive greed.

The specific content concerning exceptions, methods of forfeiture, and confession in this rule has not yet been fully translated, but according to the general structure of the Vinaya Piṭaka, the analysis would include the factors constituting the offense, cases in which there is no offense, and the procedure for confession.

Practical Meaning

The Akālacīvara rule has deep significance for the path of practice leading to liberation. First, it helps a bhikkhu maintain a life of few wishes and contentment, a pillar of the life of the noble ones. When one does not accumulate excessive robes, the mind is not bound to material things and can more easily turn toward meditation and wisdom.

Second, this rule cultivates discipline and mindfulness in daily life.