Lzh Sarv Bu Vb Np 20Bartering

Explanation of the Kayavikkaya Sutta (Bartering)

Background

Kayavikkaya is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka, especially in the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga (the distinctions for bhikkhunīs), and reflects regulations concerning the economic conduct of those gone forth according to the Buddha’s teaching. This text was recorded from the time when the Buddha was still alive, when bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs had newly begun training within the Sangha.

The background from which this text arose was the incident of certain bhikkhunīs engaging in the exchange of goods, selling, buying, or trading requisites. This caused controversy within the Sangha because it ran counter to the principle of the renunciant life, in which ascetics should live apart from economic transactions. The Buddha, understanding clearly the psychological structure of human beings and the factors that can lead to greed, gave specific admonitions and rules.

Main Content

Kayavikkaya means “bartering” or “trade in goods” (kaya = body; vikkaya = selling). This rule concerns the prohibition against bhikkhunīs engaging in activities of exchange, selling, or buying goods, directly or indirectly, especially transactions pursued for personal benefit.

According to the Vinaya Piṭaka, if a bhikkhunī exchanges or sells requisites, such as robes, bowls, and so forth, for profit or in exchange for other things, this action is considered a violation of one of the basic prohibitions. This is not because exchange itself is evil in the ordinary world, but because it creates conditions for greed, delusion, and attachment to possessions to arise, factors that are chief obstacles on the path of practice.

The text points out that those gone forth should live by receiving what is necessary in the manner taught by the Buddha, not through ordinary economic transactions. The requisites necessary for a bhikkhunī, such as robes, bowls, beds, mats, and so forth, are provided through the support of the Sangha, not through trade.