Bi Np 1919. Requesting a fine robe from a combined fund

Bi Np 19 — Requesting a Fine Robe from a Combined Fund

(Dutiyaupakkhata — Pāli Vinaya, Bhikkhunī Nissaggiya Pācittiya, Rule 19)

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Source Status

The complete original Pāli text of this training rule, belonging to the Pāli Vinaya Piṭaka, has not been directly consulted in the course of preparing this exposition. What is presented below has been constructed entirely on the basis of the descriptive information provided, which includes: the Vietnamese title, the English title, the Pāli name Dutiyaupakkhata, and a summary of the rule's content. Readers who wish to conduct in-depth study should consult the original Pāli text or authoritative scholarly translations directly in order to verify each detail of the rule, the conditions constituting an offense, and the exceptions thereto.

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Background

This training rule belongs to the group of Nissaggiya Pācittiya (Forfeiture with Confession, commonly transliterated as Ni-sac-ki Ba-dat-de) within the Vinaya regulations pertaining specifically to bhikkhunīs. The Nissaggiya Pācittiya rules govern conduct relating to material objects — particularly robes and possessions — such that when a violation occurs, the ordained person must perform two steps of confession and redress: first, forfeiture of the object (nissagga), meaning the return or relinquishment of the wrongly received item; and second, confession of the offense (pācittiya) before the Sangha or before another nun in accordance with the proper procedure.

In the context of practice during the time of the Blessed One, robes (cīvara) were among the four basic requisites of one who has gone forth. Lay donors would often generate merit by offering robes individually to particular bhikkhunīs, according to their own good will and personal choice. This was a voluntary and wholesome act arising from each person's faith. Such voluntariness and individuality are carefully protected by the Vinaya, for they reflect a fundamental principle: one who has gone forth is not permitted to manipulate, solicit, or interfere with a donor's intention to give in order to profit for oneself.

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Content Determinable from Descriptive Information

According to the summary provided, the situation addressed by this rule is as follows:

The situation giving rise to an offense: Two independent lay donors, entirely unrelated to each other, each intend to offer a robe to a particular bhikkhunī. These are two separate gifts, each reflecting the aspiration and financial means of each respective person.

The bhikkhunī, knowing of both donors' intentions, actively requests that they pool their resources — that is, combine their two offerings into a single fund — so that from this combined fund a robe of finer quality may be purchased for her, of higher value than what either donor could offer individually.

Legal consequence under the Vinaya: When a bhikkhunī performs this act of interference and receives a robe from the combined fund that was thus solicited, she commits a Nissaggiya Pācittiya offense. The required redress consists of two inseparable parts: first she must forfeit the robe (surrender the offending item), and then she must confess the offense before the assembly or in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

The Pāli name Dutiyaupakkhata may be tentatively analyzed as follows: dutiya means "second" or "pertaining to the second in a group of related topics"; upakkhata evokes the idea of something "already prepared" or "set aside in advance" — reflecting the situation in which funds have been designated by donors for a particular purpose, but the bhikkhunī intervenes to redirect that purpose.

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Significance for Practice

This rule touches upon a subtle yet profoundly important principle in the holy life: detachment from the desire for material gain.

A bhikkhunī living in accordance with the Dhamma should receive what donors offer voluntarily, with a mind of gladness and contentment (santuṭṭhī). When a bhikkhunī actively solicits donors to pool their resources so that she may receive a finer robe, such an act reveals at least two faults of inner attitude: a mind of desire (wanting a robe of greater value) and a lack of respect for the donor's intention (interfering with another's freely made decision to give).

Furthermore, the life of one who has gone forth is built upon the foundation of relinquishment. Robes serve merely as a means of covering the body and distinguishing the ordained from the lay, and are not objects to be accumulated or competed over on account of their quality. The mentality of wanting robes "finer" or "better" than what circumstances naturally provide — if left untamed — will gradually erode the foundation of renunciation to which one who has gone forth has pledged themselves.

From the perspective of community, this rule also protects the faith and freedom of lay donors. When a layperson gives rise to the intention to make an offering, they are practising dāna — one of the important foundations of merit. The recipient's interference in that decision not only constitutes a Vinaya violation, but may also cause lasting harm to the donor's faith.

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Note on Sources

As the full text of this rule has not been directly consulted, specific details such as the complete conditions required for an offense to be committed, the cases of non-offense (anāpatti), and the explanation of each constituent element of the offense as found in the original Pāli text cannot be presented here with accuracy. Researchers should consult the Pāli Vinaya directly in order to fully grasp the complete scope and limits of this training rule as applied in Vinaya practice.