Bu Pc 9191. Making an oversize rainy-season robe
Pāli / Sanskrit:Vassikasāṭikā
A monk who makes a rainy-season robe that is too large must cut it down and confess the offense.
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The Discourse on Making an Oversize Rainy-Season Robe
Background
In the traditional Theravāda Vinaya, the regulations concerning the robes of bhikkhus are not meaningless restrictions, but reflect a fundamental philosophy of practice: restraint and non-attachment to material things. The rainy-season robe (vassikasāṭikā) is one of the three basic robes that a bhikkhu must possess, used specifically during the rainy season to protect the body from rain.
Our forebears in Theravāda Buddhism prescribed exact dimensions for each type of robe: the rainy-season robe must not exceed certain specified measurements. This rule arose from specific situations in which the Buddha gave instruction, when certain bhikkhus, out of laziness or greed for gain, made robes that were too large—both wasting cloth and being inconsistent with the spirit of humility befitting the Sangha. Bu Pc 91 (Pācittiya 91, that is, a pācittiya offense—an offense requiring personal confession before the Sangha) addresses precisely this situation.
Main Content
When a bhikkhu makes a rainy-season robe that exceeds the permitted size, he has committed a pācittiya offense. This is an offense more serious than dukkaṭa (minor offenses causing remorse), yet not as grave as saṅghādisesa offenses (those requiring formal action by the Sangha).
The required method of rectification is clearly prescribed: the bhikkhu must cut down the robe to bring it to the standard size, and then formally confess the offense (āpatti) before the Sangha or before another bhikkhu who is knowledgeable in the Vinaya. This confession is not a punishment, but a transparent declaration that the bhikkhu has recognized his wrongful action and commits himself not to repeat it.
What is important is this: if the robe is reduced to the correct size and the confession is carried out properly in accordance with the prescribed procedure, then the pācittiya offense is absolved. There is no stigma or permanent condemnation—there is only clear recognition of the offense and the determination to make amends.
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