Lzh Sarv Bi Vb Pc 52Hiding Robes

THE RULE ON HIDING ROBES (Cīvaraapanidhāna)

Background

The rule on Hiding Robes is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga, the explanation of the rules for female monastics, within the Pātimokkha. All these disciplinary texts arise from specific situations that occurred among the Buddha’s disciples in the early period, when the Buddhist community was still forming its rules and customs.

The Vinaya Piṭaka is the first component of the Tipiṭaka, recording the regulations and rules that the Buddha Śākyamuni laid down for male monastics (bhikkhus) and female monastics (bhikkhunīs). Each Pātimokkha rule was not constructed as an arbitrary prohibition, but as the result of actual circumstances: when a violation occurred or a problem arose in the community, the Buddha then promulgated or amended the rule appropriately. Therefore, each rule carries deep significance concerning discipline, diligence, protection of the teaching, and the honor of the community.

Main Content

The rule on Hiding Robes is one of the Pācittiya rules, minor offenses requiring confession, for female monastics. This fifty-second Pācittiya is directly related to the handling and preservation of monastic property, especially one’s personal robe (cīvara).

The main content of this rule concerns the act of “hiding” or “concealing” one’s robe. The robe in the Buddha’s teaching is one of the basic items a monastic may possess, together with the three robes (cīvara), an alms bowl (patta), and a water filter. A female monastic is not permitted to conceal her property, whether to prevent it from being lost or for any other reason.

Hiding the robe is not merely a matter of formal regulation; it reflects deeper qualities: lack of honest record-keeping, unnecessary secrecy, and especially craving (lobha), the desire to protect personal possessions beyond what is necessary.