Lzh Mi Bi Vb Np 6Requesting Fine Robes From a Robe Fund
Pāli / Sanskrit:Upakkhata
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The Upakkhata Sutta: Requesting Fine Robe Cloth From the Sangha’s Robe Fund
Background
The Upakkhata Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically to the Nissaggiya Pācittiya section, offenses requiring forfeiture and confession, one of the most important sets of rules concerning monastic discipline. This collection is preserved in the Pāli Canon and shows the strictness with which the discipline of the Sangha is protected, especially in the management of material goods and common property.
The content of this sutta arises from specific situations in monastic life. The cause for this rule concerns the use of the common robe fund (kathinam) of the Sangha. This fund was established to provide monastic robes for members of the Buddhist community, but some monks exploited it to request cloth of excessively fine quality, beyond what was necessary, thereby turning the common fund toward private greedy purposes. Therefore, the Buddha established a specific principle to regulate this conduct.
Main Content
The Upakkhata Sutta states that members of the Sangha are not to request robes or cloth that are too fine or expensive from the Sangha’s common robe fund. Specifically, if a monk or bhikkhunī actively requests (upakkhata) high-quality cloth, silk, or the finest materials from this fund for personal use, this is regarded as a Nissaggiya Pācittiya offense, an offense requiring forfeiture of the offending object and confession.
The rule emphasizes that monastic robes are considered a "requisite" (paccaya), one of the four basic supports: robes, food, lodging, and medicine. However, their use must follow the principle of ethical restraint (sīla) and freedom from greed (lobha). The purpose of the robe fund is to meet essential needs, not to satisfy longing for luxurious material things.
The penalty for this violation is not expulsion from the Sangha. Rather, the offender must relinquish that fine cloth and return it to the fund, then confess before the assembled Sangha.
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