Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Pc 70Upholstery

An Explanation of the Tūlonaddha Sutta (Rule on Cotton Cloth)

Background

The Tūlonaddha Sutta is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the Pātimokkha, the list of ethical rules that bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs must observe. This teaching was given by the Buddha Gotama in the context of building the monastic community and establishing guidance for daily life.

The title “Tūlonaddha” (cotton cloth) reflects a feature of the life of practice: requirements concerning clothing and basic requisites that support the practitioner in focusing on study and practice without sinking into material possessions or adornment. The regulation concerning cotton cloth is not a harsh prohibition, but a wise instruction on how to use the common property of the community.

This is one of the rules connected with Nissaggiya Pācittiya, offenses that require confession and relinquishment of the object, rules that require bhikkhus to relinquish or to hold a proper attitude toward property when an offense has been committed.

Main Content

This sutta addresses the situation in which bhikkhus use padding or cotton cloth to make robes in a way not in keeping with the spirit of practice. Specifically, it warns against accumulating too much cloth, or using cloth that is too thin or too thick and not in accordance with the standards of the Sangha.

In the Theravāda tradition, rules concerning robes are not only practical, but also express the teaching on greed (lobha) and craving (taṇhā). When a bhikkhu chooses cloth that is too durable or too fine, this reveals a mind of accumulation and a desire for long-term possession, factors contrary to the vow not to accumulate property without measure.

The sutta teaches that practitioners should use only cloth suitable to actual need: thick enough to be durable, but not luxurious; sufficient for warmth and public decorum, but not ostentatious. Observing this principle is a way of practicing simplicity in the use of requisites (parikkhāra-samañña).