BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

The Robe-cloth Chapter Chapter 7.1would be allowed under "hemp." Applying the Great Standards, nylon, rayon, andother synthetic fibers would count as suitable as well. Unsuitable materials — suchas cloth made of hair, horse-hair, grass, bark, wood-shavings, or antelope hide(and by extension, leather) — do not come under this rule. (For a full list ofunsuitable materials, see Mv.VIII.28 — BMC2, Chapter 2.) Mv.VIII.29 gives a list ofcolors — such as black, blue, and crimson — and patterns that are not suitable forrobes but that, according to the Commentary, are suitable for things like bed sheetsor for linings (inside layers?) in double-layer robes (see BMC2, Chapter 2). Piecesof cloth dyed these colors or printed with these patterns would come under this rule.Mv.VIII.21.1 states that if a bhikkhu receives a piece of suitable cloth measuring fourby eight fingerbreadths or more but does not yet plan to use it, he may place itunder shared ownership (vikappana) until he has need for it. Once he decides tomake use of the cloth, he must rescind the shared ownership (see Pc 59) beforemaking it into a finished requisite (if it isn't already). Once it is finished, he may thendetermine it for use (adhiṭṭhāna) or place it under shared ownership again,depending on the nature of the article:Each of the three basic robes, handkerchiefs, bed sheets, and the sitting clothare to be determined, and may not be placed under shared ownership.A rains-bathing cloth (see NP 24) may be determined for the four months ofthe rainy season and is to be placed under shared ownership for theremainder of the year.A skin-eruption cloth (see Pc 90) may be determined when needed and is tobe placed under shared ownership when not.Other items of cloth may be determined as "requisite cloths."(The procedures for determining and placing under shared ownership are given inAppendices IV & V.)Any cloth made of any of the suitable materials and of the requisite size counts asan extra cloth if —it has not been determined for use or placed under shared ownership,it has been improperly determined or placed under shared ownership, orits determination or shared ownership has lapsed.Many of the cases in which determination and shared ownership lapse also exemptthe cloth from this rule: e.g., the owner disrobes or dies, he gives the cloth away, itgets snatched away, destroyed (bitten by things such as termites, says theCommentary), burnt, lost, or someone else takes it on trust. There are a few cases,however, where determination and shared ownership lapse and the cloth does fallunder this rule. They are —145