Lzh Mu Bi Vb Pc 146Letting the Time Expire
Pāli / Sanskrit:Kālaatikkamana
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The Kālaatikkamana Sutta (Letting the Time Pass)
Background
The Kālaatikkamana Sutta is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, specifically in the Pātimokkha, the basic discipline of bhikkhus. This is a minor offense (pācittiya) that monastic practitioners must observe in order to maintain purity of conduct. According to the Theravāda tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka was laid down by the Buddha not to punish, but to protect the harmony of the Sangha, nourish spiritual life, and help practitioners examine themselves.
This sutta reflects a specific situation in monastic life during the Buddha’s time: the issue of time management, responsibility, and intentionality in action. The core question posed by the Pātimokkha is this: how can those who have gone forth live together harmoniously when each person has different needs and responsibilities?
Main Content
Kālaatikkamana concerns allowing the prescribed time to pass without completing a responsibility or a specific practice. Specifically, if a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī is assigned a task or requested to perform an action within a certain period, but intentionally lets that time pass without doing it, that is a pācittiya offense.
Intention (cetanā) is the determining factor in the Vinaya Piṭaka. Letting time pass is not a fault if there is a legitimate reason, such as illness or difficult circumstances. But if it is due to carelessness, negligence, or deliberate resistance, it is a violating act. This offense emphasizes that in the community of practice, responsibility and the spirit of cooperation are vital factors.
According to Theravāda teaching, when a monastic acknowledges a fault, they must perform the rite of pāyatti, disclosure of the offense, before another bhikkhu or before the Sangha, depending on the seriousness of the act. This is not a punishment, but a process of purifying consciousness and restoring trust.
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