San Mu Kd 7Cīvaravastu

Exposition of Cīvaravastu (The Section on Robes)

Background

Cīvaravastu is an important part of the San Mu Khandhaka, the seventh Khandhaka of the Vinaya Piṭaka. This is a fundamental normative document in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, where the Buddha and his bhikkhu and bhikkhunī disciples established rules for communal life and practice.

Cīvara, that is, the monastic robe, is one of the four requisites (Paccaya) indispensable for bhikkhus: robes, food, lodging, and medicine. This sūtra does not merely speak about cloth, but is guidance on managing, sharing, and respecting the communal property of the Sangha. It reflects an early communal spirit in the original monastic order, where bhikkhus relinquished private possessions to live in the purity of collective discipline.

Main Content

Cīvaravastu details the principles for distributing robes to the whole Sangha. According to the Vinaya Piṭaka, each bhikkhu is permitted to possess at most three robes (Ticīvara): the upper robe (uttarāsaṅga), the lower robe (antarvāsaka), and the outer robe (saṃghāṭi). This number is strictly regulated to avoid the accumulation of possessions, which could cause distraction on the path of practice.

This section also addresses practical situations: how to handle the case when a bhikkhu’s robe is damaged, the procedure for requesting robes from the Sangha storehouse, and rules for exchanging robes among members. In particular, Cīvaravastu emphasizes fairness: how newly ordained bhikkhus may receive robes, and whether senior or ill monastics may be given priority.

The regulations in Cīvaravastu also concern the period for retaining robes. Most robes are considered communal property of the Sangha, except those personally donated. A bhikkhu may not arbitrarily take robes out of the community or give them to outsiders without consent. If he violates this, it is considered an undisciplined act.