Xct Mu Bi Pm Sk 61Nāvarṇakārakaṁ paribhokṣyāma

Explanation of the Nāvarṇakārakaṁ Paribhokṣyāma Sutta

Background

The text Nāvarṇakārakaṁ paribhokṣyāma is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, in the Parivāra section or later sections of the Vinaya Piṭaka. It is a legal text concerning the rules of life in the Sangha.

The context in which this text arose is connected with the communal life of monastics after Buddha Gotama entered nirvana. As the Sangha developed and expanded, practical matters concerning living, clothing, and the use of monastic property became more complex. The Vinaya Piṭaka was therefore formed to maintain discipline, protect the teaching, and provide an example of purity for the community of faith.

The text Nāvarṇakārakaṁ is directly related to the question: how are the material necessities of monastics produced, prepared, and used in accordance with the Dharma? The title suggests “nine kinds of workers or work related to production” (nava = nine; aṇṇa = worker/work; kāraka = maker/doer).

Main Content

In the Vinaya Piṭaka, when referring to the requisites of monastics, such as robes, alms bowls, tools, or necessary materials, the Buddha and the elders established detailed regulations concerning how they should be received, made, and used. This text likely relates to nine kinds of action or nine kinds of workers involved in preparing requisites for the Sangha.

These regulations are not unreasonable but have a deep purpose: (1) to prevent conduct that might cause misunderstanding in the worldly community; (2) to protect the internal discipline of monastics; (3) to ensure justice in the distribution of the Sangha’s shared property; and (4) to educate monastics in the spirit of renunciation and purity.

The identification of the “nine kinds” may relate to nine stages or nine necessary conditions for performing that work properly according to the Dharma, or to nine kinds of people involved in the process of producing or transferring requisites.