BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

Buddhist Monastic Code 1Under shared ownership: The first owner takes the cloth on trust, or the secondowner formally rescinds the shared ownership.Under determination: The owner rescinds the determination, or (if the cloth hasbeen determined as one of the three basic robes) the cloth develops a hole. Thislatter case comes in the Commentary, which gives precise standards for decidingwhat kind of hole does and does not make the determination of the robe lapse:1) Size. The hole has to be a full break (through both layers of cloth, if in the outerrobe) at least the size of the nail on one's little finger. If one or more threads remainacross the hole, then the hole makes the determination lapse only if either of thetwo "halves" divided by the thread(s) is the requisite size.2) Location. On an upper robe or outer robe, the hole has to be at least one span(25 cm.) from the longer side and eight fingerbreadths from the shorter; on a lowerrobe, at least one span from the longer side and four fingerbreadths from theshorter. Any hole closer to the edge of the robe than these measurements does notmake the determination lapse.Because of these stipulations, the Commentary notes that if one is patching a wornspot — not a hole as defined above — more than the maximum distance away fromthe edge of one's robe, the determination lapses if one cuts out the worn spotbefore applying the patch, but not if one applies the patch before cutting out theworn spot. If the determination lapses, it is an easy matter to re-determine the robe,but one must be mindful to do it within the time span allotted by this rule.Effort. According to the Vibhaṅga, if one keeps a piece of extra robe-cloth past theeleventh dawnrise (except when the robe-season privileges are in effect), onecommits the full offense under this rule. The Commentary explains this by sayingthat the dawnrise at the morning of the day on which one receives the cloth, or letsits determination/shared ownership lapse, counts as the first dawn. Thus theeleventh dawnrise would actually be the tenth dawnrise after one receives, etc., thecloth.Because neither the Canon nor the Commentary gives a precise definition of dawnor dawnrise, their exact meaning is a controversial point. The clearest definition ofdawnrise — and the one that seems most consistent with the Canon's use of theterm — is in a sub-commentary called the Vinayālaṅkāra, which states that atdawnrise "a red band in the eastern direction and a whiteness in the remainingdirections, due to the diffusion of sunlight, can be discerned." In modernterminology, this corresponds to the onset of civil twilight. This is the definitionfollowed in this book. For further discussion, see Appendix I.Mv.V.13.13 states that if one is informed of a gift of robe-cloth, the counting of thetime span does not begin until the cloth has reached one's hand. The Commentaryto that passage insists that this means either physically coming to one's possessionor when one is informed by the donors that the robe-cloth is with so-and-so orwhen one is informed by another to the same effect. However, this interpretationseems to contradict the Vibhaṅga, which expressly says, "There is no counting of146