Lzh Mi Bu Vb Np 6Asking an Unrelated Person for Robes
Pāli / Sanskrit:Aññātakaviññatti
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The Aññātakaviññatti Sutta: Asking an Unrelated Person for Robes
Background
The Aññātakaviññatti sutta (asking an unrelated person for robes) is recorded in the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga of the Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka. This section belongs to Lzh Mi Bu Vb Np 6, where the Buddha Gotama explains in detail the rules concerning how bhikkhunīs receive the necessary requisites of the monastic life.
In the Buddha's time, bhikkhunīs had to follow strict disciplinary rules (Vinaya) about how to receive robes. Not just anyone could provide robes to a female renunciant. In particular, asking for robes from those who had no family relationship (aññātaka - those who were not parents, siblings, or relatives) was carefully regulated in order to protect the purity and honor of the monastic community.
The historical context shows that these rules were established to ensure that bhikkhunīs would not be exploited or misjudged within the Buddhist community and the wider society. This rule also reflects respect for the spiritual independence of female renunciants.
Main Content
The Aññātakaviññatti sutta prescribes that when a bhikkhunī needs to ask for robes (Pāli: cīvara), she may not casually ask strangers or those with no family connection. Instead, the Vinaya requires an appropriate and witnessed procedure.
Specifically, if a bhikkhunī wishes to ask for robes from someone outside her family (aññātaka), she must do so through official channels. This may include asking other members of the Sangha to act as intermediaries, or following formally recorded procedures of the monastic body. The donor of the robe must be clear about his or her intention, and the transaction must be carried out openly, without concealment.
If a bhikkhunī asks for robes without following these regulations - that is, secretly or through unofficial means - she violates rules concerning ethical conduct.
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