Xct Mu Bi Pc 139Not Returning Period Cloth to Sangha
Pāli / Sanskrit:Not returning period cloth to Sangha
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Explanation of the Sutra: Not Returning Period Cloth to the Sangha
Background
This text originates from the Vinaya Piṭaka, the section of the Pāli Canon that prescribes monastic discipline in the Buddhist Sangha. It belongs to the Pacittiya section, offenses of a lighter kind when violated, yet still requiring acknowledgement and correction (pāṭidesanīya).
The background of the event is this: the Buddha established this rule when some bhikkhus failed to observe the principle of sharing communal property with the Sangha. Specifically, certain bhikkhus were given period cloth, a periodic allowance of cloth, but did not return it to the Sangha when the prescribed period ended, instead keeping it for themselves. This violated the spirit of the Sangha, where communal property is managed collectively to ensure fairness and reduce personal ambition.
Main Content
The text stipulates that when a bhikkhu receives period cloth from the Sangha, usually garments used during the rains retreat or on special occasions, after the period of use has ended, the bhikkhu must return it to the Sangha. If the bhikkhu does not return it in such ways as concealing it, failing to make it public before witnesses, or intentionally appropriating it as private property, this is an offense against the disciplinary rule.
This rule does not apply if the bhikkhu has a valid reason, such as the robe being damaged beyond repair, or if the official donor of the cloth permits him to keep it. However, the default case is that it must be returned, and failure to return it is regarded as a fault of dishonesty and greed (lobha).
The disciplinary consequence for this offense is that the bhikkhu must acknowledge the fault before the Sangha (pāṭidesanīya), a form of public confession intended to restore trust and renew the cultivation of virtue.
Practical Meaning
This text emphasizes a profound principle of Buddhism: communal property is a way of removing the mentality of possession and ambition.
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