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Commentary on the Sāmisa Sutta (Reference Material)

Background

The Sāmisa Sutta is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, and reflects the Buddha's deep concern for the material and spiritual conditions that affect the capacity of monks and nuns to practice. The word "sāmisa" means "of a material nature" or "nourished by material provisions," in contrast to "nirāmisa" (non-material, spiritual).

This sutta is presented in the context of the Buddha's guidance to the Sangha regarding the basic necessities required to sustain a healthy monastic community. The orientation of Theravāda Buddhism emphasizes practicality—not seeking to avoid the essential requirements of material life, but rather drawing a clear boundary between legitimate needs and excessive desires.

Main Content

The Sāmisa Sutta focuses on the principle of providing the requisites for practice—comprising robes, food, shelter, and medicine—factors that the Buddha regarded as "the modest needs of one who has gone forth." The Buddha did not object to monastics receiving these requisites, as they are prerequisites for maintaining physical and mental health, and thereby for being able to pursue the Dharma.

The sutta places particular emphasis on the wise use of these requisites. Monastics should not be greedy or accumulate material goods beyond their actual needs. The important distinction established here is between using requisites to support practice—as a tool—and becoming enslaved to desire for those requisites. The Buddha taught that the purpose of providing requisites is not so that one may derive pleasure from these material things, but so that one may dispel the suffering caused by deprivation, and thereby turn one's attention fully toward the practice of the Dharma.