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SUTTA ON COST OFFICE (Tūlonaddha)

Background

The Tūlonaddha Sutta (“Cost Office”) appears in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, the course of training in Theravāda Buddhism. This is a detailed section of discipline, located in the Pāṭimokkha, the fundamental code, or in accompanying rules, intended to guide the community of monks and nuns regarding specific actions related to property and communal life.

The background of this sutta concerns the early development of the Sangha. As Buddhism expanded, monks and nuns needed clear rules for managing communal property, daily-use items, and the use of objects serving the community. Tūlonaddha, from tūla (“cotton, cloth”) and naddha (“bound, fastened”), seems to refer to the use of cloth, cotton, or materials used in repairing, decorating, or protecting communal property.

Main Content

According to the Vinaya tradition, this sutta regulates the use of woven materials and cotton cloth in the Sangha. Specifically, it concerns who has the authority to decide on the use of communal materials, the conditions allowing their use, and restrictions to prevent abuse or appropriation.

This rule reflects a basic principle of the Vinaya: all property of the Sangha is communal and is managed collectively for the common benefit. No monk or nun may use or take an item on personal initiative without going through the proper procedure. If cloth, cotton, or materials are needed to repair a robe (cīvara), a shelter, or monastic buildings, permission must be requested from the elders or according to the rules of the Sangha.

The sutta may also give instructions concerning the responsibility of the storekeeper, the bhikkhu in charge of property, in preserving, inventorying, and distributing fairly. This is intended to prevent abuses such as taking items to sell, using them for private purposes, or discriminating in their distribution.

Practical Meaning

Outwardly, Tūlonaddha is a rule about material things; more deeply, it is a training of the mind.