Lzh Mu Bi Vb Np 7Accepting Too Many Robes
Pāli / Sanskrit:Tatuttari
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Sutta on Accepting Too Many Robes (Tatuttari)
Background
In the Early Buddhist tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka records the rules of communal life for monastics in order to protect the nature of the life of going forth. The Tatuttari text appears in the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga of the Pāli Canon and aims to correct issues related to the management of material property by female monastics.
Set in the early days of the Saṅgha, when the Buddha had just established the community of nuns, this text reflects a practical problem: women who had newly gone forth had not yet adapted to the simple way of life. They tended to accumulate too many clothes, leading to the encumbrance of possessions and deviation from the simple virtue taught by the Buddha-Dharma.
Main Content
The text records an incident in which one or more bhikkhunīs accepted too many robes after going forth, exceeding the actual needs of the life of practice. This matter is not only related to material greed but also violates the spirit of going forth, namely the relinquishment of worldly desires.
After the Buddha learned of this, he taught about the consequences of such action. Excessive accumulation not only creates difficulty for practice but also gives conditions for negative mental states such as greed, miserliness, and anxiety. The surplus robes become a mental burden, not garments that protect the body.
On the basis of this event, the Buddha laid down a rule (Pātimokkha): a bhikkhunī should possess only a certain number of robes, enough to keep the body warm and maintain an appearance appropriate to the monastic order. This rule is not a restriction of personal freedom, but a protective boundary guarding the mind against the impulses of craving.
Practical Meaning
The Tatuttari text teaches not only the rule for managing property but also points out the nature of true freedom.
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