Lzh Mu Bu Pm Np 3Out-of-Season Robe Cloth
Pāli / Sanskrit:Akālacīvara
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The Sutta on Out-of-Season Robe Cloth (Akālacīvara)
Background
The Akālacīvara Sutta (Out-of-Season Robe Cloth) is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, the oldest documentation of the disciplinary rules of the Theravāda Buddhist Sangha. This text records the detailed regulations of the Buddha concerning the management of the common property of the Sangha, especially the use of cloth for making robes.
In the time of the Buddha, monks were not to possess private property. All requisites, especially clothing, had to be managed by the Sangha according to strict principles. This text aims to protect the harmonious common life of the Sangha and prevent competition and unnecessary accumulation. For example, when the rains retreat (vassa) ended, robe cloth had to be redistributed in a fair manner. New robes or pieces of cloth prepared out of season were not permitted to be taken outside the Sangha, but had to follow the process of distribution within the framework of the religious community.
Main Content
The text states that robe cloth (cīvara) obtained out of season (akāla) must not be used or possessed arbitrarily. Specifically, “out of season” (akāla) refers to the time outside the permitted robe season, that is, the period from after the end of the rains retreat until before the next rains retreat begins.
The Buddha taught that if a monk obtains robe cloth at a time that is not the permitted season, that cloth must be handled according to regulation: it cannot be carried from place to place, nor stored for future use without informing the Sangha. The aim is to avoid a situation in which some monks arbitrarily possess too much cloth, harming fairness and simplicity in common life.
This rule expresses the principle of “suitable character” (yathāsappāya): every requisite must be appropriate to the actual needs and circumstances of the Sangha, not to personal need or individual preference.
Practical Meaning
The Akālacīvara Sutta is not only a rule about administrative arrangement.
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