Xct Mu Bu Pm Np 3Out-of-Season Robe Cloth
Pāli / Sanskrit:Akālacīvara
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Discourse on Out-of-Season Robe Cloth (Akālacīvara)
Background
The Akālacīvara discourse is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka, the body of training regulations representing the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. This discourse revolves around rules related to receiving and using cloth for robes (cīvara) by bhikkhus. In the context of the early Sangha community, the management of personal property, especially essential requisites such as robes, was an inseparable part of the life of practice.
During the Buddha’s time, bhikkhus were permitted to possess three robes to serve the work of practice. However, a problem arose when laypeople or other bhikkhus wished to give cloth to a bhikkhu outside the prescribed season, that is, outside the "robe season" (cīvarakhandhaka) accepted by the community. This discourse records the Buddha’s decisions intended to balance the compassion of donors with the necessary discipline of the Sangha.
Main Content
The Akālacīvara discourse addresses the situation in which a bhikkhu receives robe cloth out of season (akāla). According to the Vinaya Piṭaka rule, at an unsuitable time, when it is not the period for the annual robe offering, a bhikkhu should not hastily receive cloth from lay devotees, except under special circumstances such as damaged clothing, loss, or sudden displacement.
The Buddha’s decision reflects the principle of "timeliness" (kāla), a profound concept in Buddhism, not only a matter of compatibility with the calendar, but also related to harmony within the community of practice. When a bhikkhu accepts cloth out of season arbitrarily, this may create unfairness among members of the Sangha and weaken the spirit of communal service and purity.
However, the Buddha also recognized that refusing offerings from people could hurt their compassion. Therefore, exceptions were permitted: if a bhikkhu had a genuine need, or when the community officially recognized the receiving of cloth out of season, then the rule could be applied with allowance.
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