Bu Sk 11. Not wearing the sarong evenly all around
Pāli / Sanskrit:Parimaṇḍala
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Theravāda Collection on Monastic Law The Great Analysis
The chapter on training The subchapter on evenly all around 1. Not wearing the sarong evenly all around
Venerables, these rules of training come up for recitation.
Origin story
At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery, the monks from the group of six were wearing their sarongs hanging down in front and behind. People complained and criticized them, “How can the Sakyan monastics wear their sarongs hanging down in front and behind? They’re just like householders who indulge in worldly pleasures!”
The monks heard the complaints of those people, and the monks of few desires complained and criticized those monks, “How can the monks from the group of six wear their sarongs hanging down in front and behind?”
After rebuking those monks in many ways, they told the Buddha. Soon afterwards the Buddha had the Sangha gathered and questioned the monks from the group of six: “Is it true, monks, that you do this?”
“It’s true, sir.”
The Buddha rebuked them … “Foolish men, how can you do this? This will affect people’s confidence …” … “And, monks, this training rule should be recited like this:
Final ruling
‘“I will wear my sarong evenly all around,” this is how you should train.’”
One should wear one’s sarong evenly all around, covering the navel and the knees. If a monk, out of disrespect, wears his sarong hanging down in front or behind, he commits an offense of wrong conduct.
Non-offenses
There is no offense: if it is unintentional; if he is not mindful; if he does not know; if he is sick; if there is an emergency; if he is insane; if he is the first offender.
The first training rule is finished.
The “…” is an abbreviation carried over from the Pāli original itself, called peyyāla. The early canon was memorized and recited, so passages repeated verbatim from a preceding discourse were commonly contracted to an elision mark rather than written out in full. Venerable Thích Minh Châu's translation preserves this convention. Some texts therefore look short — but that is the canonical form, not missing content or a truncated translation. The elided passages can be read in full in the preceding discourses of the same chapter.
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