San Mu Bu Pm GBM 3 Np 28Rainy-Season Robes
Pāli / Sanskrit:Vassikasāṭika
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THE DISCOURSE ON THE RAINY-SEASON ROBE
Background
In the Theravāda tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka is the collection of rules of practice that the Buddha established for the community of monks and nuns. The Vassikasāṭika — "The Rainy-Season Robe" — is a part of the Pāṭimokkha belonging to the Bhikkhunī Vinaya, dealing specifically with the management of rain cloaks for bhikkhunīs during the rains retreat known as Vassa.
Vassa is a three-month period (generally from the seventh to the ninth month of the lunar calendar) during which monastics customarily remain in one place for study and practice. During this time, heavy rainfall makes travel difficult and poses a danger of harming small living beings. For this reason, the Buddha encouraged monastics to stay in a single location. This discourse sets forth regulations for the proper possession and use of the rain cloak, guarding against acquisitiveness and maintaining simplicity of life.
This Vinaya rule reflects a fundamental principle of Buddhism: upholding discipline in order to protect the integrity of the monastic community and to educate the faithful in the virtue of restraint. The rain cloak is not a trivial matter; it pertains to how a monastic uses communal property, manages personal needs, and cultivates the practice of compassion.
Main Content
The discourse stipulates that bhikkhunīs are permitted to possess one rain cloak (vassikasāṭika) suitable for protection during the rainy season. However, this allowance is accompanied by certain conditions concerning duration, quality, and manner of use.
According to the Pāṭimokkha, if a bhikkhunī wishes to have a rain cloak, she must observe the following principles: she may not choose a cloak of excessively fine or excessively poor quality; she may not keep it for long after the rains retreat has ended; she must care for it and use it in a fitting manner without wasting the property of the Sangha. Furthermore, if she receives a rain cloak from the community or from a donor, she must be grateful and must not regard it as her own personal possession.
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