Lzh Mu Bu Vb Np 10Excessive Prompting for Robe Funds
Pāli / Sanskrit:Rāja
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
The Sutta on Excessive Effort to Request Money for Robes
Background
The Vinaya in the Theravada Buddhist tradition preserves important disciplinary regulations intended to maintain harmony in the Sangha body and protect the purity of monastic practice. The sutta on “Excessive effort to request robe money” (Rāja) is recorded in the section of rules related to restrictions on seeking alms and necessary requisites.
In historical context, monastics relied on offerings from faithful lay supporters (upāsaka) to sustain a minimal life and focus on practice. However, being overly active or painstaking in soliciting money for necessary items such as robes could lead to distortions: an assault on the spirit of having renounced the world, comparisons among monastics, or even harm to the faith of Buddhists.
Main Content
In the Vinaya Piṭaka, especially the rules related to accepting money and material goods, the Buddha established specific guidelines. This sutta deals with the situation in which monastics, instead of being humble and calm, actively “prompt” or hint excessively in order to request financial resources for the need of new robes.
Acts of “excessive prompting” are understood as indirect speech, insinuation, or repeated hints intended to cause others to provide money voluntarily. This violates the spirit of the Pātimokkha (the basic code), because it creates a wrong relationship between monastics and material possessions, also called “paricchaya” (private possession).
The Vinaya stipulates that monastics should receive what is offered voluntarily, but should not actively beg or hint in order to obtain it. One who violates this must acknowledge the fault before the Sangha body and receive admonition.
Practical Meaning
This sutta is not a set of oppressive regulations or something to be regarded as authoritarian.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.