Lzh Mu Bi Pm Sk 92Shoes
Pāli / Sanskrit:Pāduka
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The Pāduka Sutta (Sutta on Sandals/Shoes)
An Explanation According to the Theravāda Buddhist Tradition
Background
The Pāduka Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka, the disciplinary regulations established by the Buddha for the community of those gone forth. Unlike the texts in the Sutta Piṭaka that speak about Dharma principles, the Vinaya Piṭaka records in detail the ethical and behavioral rules for bhikkhus (male monastics) and bhikkhunīs (female monastics).
The matter of sandals or shoes (pāduka in Pāli) may seem trivial, but it enters into the specific regulations of daily life for those gone forth. The context of this sutta concerns the way monastics should care for clothing and especially for articles that protect the body while walking. These regulations did not arise arbitrarily from temperament, but from specific situations that occurred within the Sangha, when the Buddha or senior elders observed unsuitable behavior that needed correction.
Main Content
The Pāduka Sutta records regulations related to wearing sandals or shoes within the Sangha. Specifically, the content of this sutta revolves around restrictions on, or permissions for, wearing sandals or shoes in different circumstances—such as when walking in the monastery, when going for alms, or in other special situations.
Such regulations may seem very detailed, but they express a basic principle of the Vinaya Piṭaka: self-restraint (saṃvara). Members of the Sangha must maintain cleanliness, dignity, and freedom from luxury or lack of discipline. Wearing sandals that are too large, cumbersome, or unusual compared with the common standard of the community may be regarded as violating the spirit of humility and restraint of the sense faculties (indriya-saṃvara).
The Vinaya Piṭaka also regulates the use, care, and disposal of such articles—part of the training in non-attachment to material things and in cultivating self-mastery in every detail of life.
Practical Meaning
Although the topic is sandals or shoes, the spirit of this sutta is highly relevant to practice today.
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