Lzh Mi Bi Vb Pc 60Hiding Robes
Pāli / Sanskrit:Cīvaraapanidhāna
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The Discourse on Hiding Monastic Robes (Cīvaraapanidhāna)
Background
The Discourse on Hiding Monastic Robes belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Pāli Canon, specifically the Bhikkhu Pātimokkha, the list of rules for male monastics. This is not a sermon but a disciplinary rule (pāṭimokkha dhamma) regulating the conduct of monks in daily life, especially in relation to the use of monastic robes (cīvara).
In the Theravāda tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka is regarded as the ethical and disciplinary foundation of the monastic community. Each rule has background stories (apadāna) explaining why the Buddha established it, in order to protect harmony in the Sangha (saṃgha) and nourish the spirit of renunciation.
Main Content
Cīvaraapanidhāna, provisionally translated as "hiding monastic robes," concerns monastics intentionally concealing, storing away, or pretending not to have robes when in fact they do. This may be done to avoid sharing robes with other monastics or to avoid responsibilities within the community.
This discourse prescribes that if a monastic intentionally hides his robe so that others do not know that he owns it, that is a Pācittiya violation, a type of offense accompanied by remorse and requiring confession before another monastic in order to be purified.
The deeper reason behind this rule is to protect transparency, honesty, and trust in the community. When monastics conceal possessions, even only robes, it reflects a state of mind still caught in delusion (moha) and greed (lobha), the basic defilements that the path of renunciation seeks to overcome.
Practical Meaning
Although this discourse regulates monastic robes, its deeper meaning goes beyond material things. The robe (cīvara) in the Vinaya Piṭaka is a symbol of the lawful possessions of a monastic, but it is also a reminder of the relinquishing of greed.
This rule teaches that in the life of the Sangha, honesty about what one owns is the foundation of harmony.
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