Lzh Mi Bu Pm Np 6Asking an Unrelated Person for Robes
Pāli / Sanskrit:Aññātakaviññatti
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THE SUTTA ON VIÑÑATTI TOWARD AN UNRELATED PERSON
Background
The Aññātakaviññatti Sutta is found in the Vinaya Pitaka of the Pāli Canon, where the rules of conduct for the Buddhist Sangha are recorded in detail. This sutta belongs to the Nunnery Rules (Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha), in the Minor Offences section, concerning the request for robes from people who are not relatives or who have no direct relationship with a bhikkhunī.
In the Buddha's time, the Sangha lived by the generosity of laypeople. However, to maintain stillness of mind and avoid complicated relationships that could lead to attachment or clinging, the Buddha limited the ways in which bhikkhunīs could ask for robe cloth from those outside their circle of acquaintance. This regulation was meant to protect the purity of discipline (śīla) and maintain internal order.
Main Content
According to the rule in the Aññātakaviññatti Sutta, a bhikkhunī may not on her own ask for robes from male or female lay followers whom she does not know or to whom she is not related. This "viññatti" (request, solicitation) is permitted only when the person is "āñatta" (known, related, or connected). If a bhikkhunī violates this rule by actively asking for a robe from a stranger, this is considered a minor violation, of the category dukkaṭa (wrongdoing), or more specifically pācittiya (an offense requiring confession).
The sutta states clearly: if a robe is not offered voluntarily by the layperson, but is obtained because the bhikkhunī actively asked for it, the act violates discipline. However, there are exceptions: if the bhikkhunī has publicly announced her need for a robe, without directly asking a particular person, or if the donor voluntarily asks what the bhikkhunī needs, then receiving the robe is permitted.
The core principle of this regulation is to avoid creating expectations in the mind of the donor, while also preserving the spiritual independence of the bhikkhunī.
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