Xct Mu Bi Pm Pc 149Stingy With Families
Pāli / Sanskrit:Kulamaccharinī
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Kulamaccharinī Sutta: A Teaching on Stinginess Toward Families
Background
The Kulamaccharinī Sutta (Pāli), or “The Woman Stingy Toward Her Family,” is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the Pātimokkha, the code of the Bhikkhunīs. This is part of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, focusing on maintaining ethical discipline for the religious community.
The background in which this sutta arose relates to a specific situation when the Buddha and the monastic community faced issues of conduct in relation to relatives and family. In society during the Buddha’s time, family relationships were the foundation of social life. Therefore, the way nuns treated their families—especially regarding material matters and communal resources—was very important for the honor of the Sangha as well as for their own spiritual development.
Main Content
The Kulamaccharinī Sutta teaches about women renunciants, or in some contexts those with a stingy mentality, who are unwilling to share property or resources with their families; or conversely, family members who are unwilling to provide property for the nuns. Maccharinī (stingy) is a defiled thought (kilesa) deeply rooted in attachment to material things, fear of loss, and dread.
Women affected by stinginess cannot act with muppurithatā—willingness and generosity—which is central to Buddhism. This stinginess may appear as refusing to support relatives when they are in need, or refusing to receive help from family; both ways reflect imbalance in relationships.
This rule, like other rules in the Pātimokkha, also states the consequences of stinginess: it undermines trust, creates tension within the family, and obstructs spiritual development.
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