Xct Mu Bi Pm Pc 146Giving Robes

Cīvaradāna Sutta: The Practice of Giving Rise to Intention in Offering Robes

Background

In the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka records detailed ethical rules intended to support monks and nuns in practicing according to the Dharma. The Cīvaradāna Sutta (Offering Robes) belongs to the Pācittiya section, minor violations requiring confession. Yet this sutta does not merely point out wrongdoing; it also illuminates the proper spiritual attitude when offering daily requisites to those who have gone forth.

The historical context of the sutta concerns the simple needs of the bhikkhu Sangha: not storing up or possessing property. Lay Buddhists, with deep compassion, wished to support practitioners by offering necessary items. Clothing is one of the four basic requisites, the four supports in Pāli, catuvareṇi parikkhārehi, along with food, medicine, and shelter. This sutta guides the practice of offering in a pure way, creating no harmful effect for either the giver or the recipient.

Main Content

The Cīvaradāna Sutta focuses on the principle that when offering robes to monks and nuns, the donor must have a pure intention, free from impure motives such as expecting repayment, creating obligation, or elevating oneself. This is the spiritual aspect of the process of “practicing offering” (dānacāra).

According to the traditional Vinaya Piṭaka, one who wishes to offer robes should first examine one’s own intention. There are three kinds of giving: giving with a mind of greed, seeking food, things, or status; giving with a mind of anger, wishing to please out of fear; and giving with a mind of delusion, not knowing why one gives. Those who practice in accordance with the Dharma give with bodhicitta, that is, the wish to help others move toward the realization of nirvana.

In addition, the sutta also indicates that the recipient of the offering, namely monks and nuns, must know how to use robes in accordance with the Vinaya.