Xct Mu Bi Np 7Accepting Too Many Robes
Pāli / Sanskrit:Tatuttari
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The Tatuttari Rule: Exposition on Accepting Too Many Robes
Background
The Tatuttari rule is part of the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, belonging to the detailed regulations on monastic property. It is not a sermon but a disciplinary text, recording specific incidents that occurred in the time of the Buddha Gotama, through which the Buddha laid down prohibitions (Vinaya) for monastics to observe.
The background records that some monastics, on occasions such as the rains season, the hot season, or because of the compassion of laypeople, accepted too many robes beyond their actual need. This conduct led to greed and forgetfulness of the purpose of monastery property, which is to serve the minimum needs for practicing the Buddha-Dharma, not for accumulation or trade.
Main Content
The rule states that monastics are not permitted to store more than three or four sets of robes beyond what they use. In the Theravāda tradition, these detailed Vinaya provisions are classified as binding rules (Pārājika), serious rules (Saṅghādisesa), and lighter rules (Pācittiya). Accepting too many robes is regarded as a heedless or greedy act, creating unnecessary complexity for one who practices.
The Buddha taught that the purpose of possessions is to protect the body from cold, heat, and the hardships of nature, so that monastics have the conditions for practice. When this need is exceeded, the three poisons, greed, hatred, and delusion, begin to arise. Greed appears in the desire to have more; hatred arises when one cannot keep them all; delusion is forgetting the true purpose of possessions.
The provisions connected with “tatuttari” (exceeding what is necessary) also apply to other requisites such as bowls, mats, pillows, or implements for practice. This rule applies not only to monks but also to bhikkhunīs, reflecting the ideal of equality in monastic discipline.
Practical Meaning
The Tatuttari rule teaches us a profound lesson about having few wishes (appicchatā) and contentment (santuṭṭhi), two fundamental virtues of one who practices.
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