San Mu Bu Pm GBM 3 Np 3Out-of-Season Robe Cloth
Pāli / Sanskrit:Akālacīvara
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Exposition of the Out-of-Season Robe Sutta (Akālacīvara)
Background
The Akālacīvara Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the Pātimokkha section, the prohibitions for the Sangha, the bhikkhus. It is a prohibition concerning the possession and use of robe-cloth (cīvara), one of the three basic requisites of bhikkhus: robe-cloth, bowl, and lodging. This sutta records a specific action in the collective life of practice of the bhikkhus and lays down the occasion for the rule.
According to the Theravāda tradition, the Buddha issued prohibitions gradually as bhikkhus committed offenses. The Akālacīvara Sutta presents the situation: when is a bhikkhu permitted to possess robe-cloth at times outside the prescribed season, and when does that become a violation? “Out of season” (akāla) here indicates periods outside the days designated as permissible for receiving new robe-cloth.
Main Content
This sutta establishes that, in the Vinaya Piṭaka, a bhikkhu is permitted to possess at most three sets of robes. In addition, there are specific regulations concerning the period during which a bhikkhu may hold robe-cloth beyond the permitted amount. The prescribed period allowing the keeping of extra robe-cloth is six years.
Akālacīvara concerns the possession of robe-cloth outside the allowable time. If a bhikkhu possesses robe-cloth beyond the prescribed time without a valid reason, or if it is given by another but the bhikkhu does not receive it in the proper way according to the Vinaya, then this is a violation. This prohibition aims to protect the spirit of non-accumulation among bhikkhus and to maintain fairness in the community of practice.
Exempting conditions are also recorded: if a bhikkhu has a valid reason, such as illness or a specifically permitted purpose of practice, he may be granted an exception by senior bhikkhus or by the Sangha.
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