San Lo Bu Pm Np 27Bribing Weavers

EXPLANATION OF THE MAHĀPESAKĀRA RULE (BRIBING WEAVERS)

Background

The Mahāpesakāra rule, or "The Great Weaver," is the twenty-seventh rule in the Pācittiya class of San Lo Bu, belonging to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition. The Vinaya Piṭaka is the first division of the Pāli Tipiṭaka, recording in detail the precepts for the Sangha that the Buddha established throughout his forty-five years of teaching.

This rule was established in the context of the Buddha observing some bhikkhus acting improperly in their dealings with male lay followers, especially weavers. At that time, the robes of bhikkhus were mainly offered by lay supporters or sewn by themselves from scraps of cloth. Some bhikkhus took advantage of their relationship with weavers for personal gain, damaging the reputation of the Sangha and creating poor public opinion among laypeople.

Pācittiya is a type of offense that must be confessed before the Sangha, lighter than Saṅghādisesa but still regarded as a serious fault needing immediate correction. This rule expresses the spirit of integrity and the refusal of every form of bribery or manipulation in the monastic life.

Main Content

According to the Mahāpesakāra rule, the Buddha laid down that a bhikkhu commits a Pācittiya offense if he himself, or through another person, gives a bribe to a weaver in order to receive priority in weaving cloth, or to obtain cloth of better quality outside the proper arrangement of the donor.

Specifically, when a male or female lay supporter has generated the intention to offer cloth to a bhikkhu and has entrusted a weaver to carry out this work, that bhikkhu must not go on his own to meet the weaver and request that it be woven in a special way, or give additional property in order to receive priority. Such conduct is regarded as greed (lobha), violating the spirit of contentment and knowing enough (santuṭṭhi), the foundation of the life of an ascetic.

The legal texts state clearly: if the bhikkhu truly has a legitimate need concerning the quality or weave of the robe for the sake of practice, for example cloth needing to be thicker for winter or thinner for the hot season, he is permitted to communicate his wish transparently through the donor, the person who has generated the intention to offer. But he is absolutely not permitted to influence the weaver directly by speech or by property.

The rule also extends to the case in which the bhikkhu uses an intermediary to carry out a similar act. This is an expression of the Buddha’s profound wisdom in establishing the precepts: he understood every way of violating the spirit of integrity, not only direct action.

Practical Meaning

The Mahāpesakāra training rule is not merely an administrative regulation in the Sangha but a profound lesson in the ethics of fewness of wishes and contentment. For those gone forth, it is a reminder that an ascetic life must be maintained with complete purity, not involved in any form of exploiting the trust of donors or manipulating others.

In the present age, although few bhikkhus need to rely on weavers for cloth, the spirit of this rule remains extremely essential.