BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

The Robe-cloth Chapter Chapter 7.12. When a bhikkhu has finished his robe and the frame is dismantled(his kaṭhina privileges are ended): If he dwells apart from (any of) histhree robes even for one night — unless authorized by the bhikkhus —it is to be forfeited and confessed.In the origin story here, a number of bhikkhus went off on tour, leaving their outerrobes with their friends at the monastery. Eventually the robes became moldy, andthe bhikkhus at the monastery were burdened with having to sun them to get rid ofthe mold. The Buddha thus formulated this rule so that bhikkhus would beresponsible for looking after their own robes.The offense here consists of two factors: object and effort.Object: any one of the robes that a bhikkhu has determined as his basic set of three— the antaravāsaka (lower robe), uttarāsaṅga (upper robe), and saṅghāṭi (outerrobe). This rule thus does not apply to spare robes or other cloth requisites.Effort: greeting dawnrise at a place outside of the zone in which any of one's robesare located, except when the exemptions mentioned in the rule are in effect.Dawnrise, as stated under the preceding rule, corresponds to the onset of civiltwilight. In Thailand, this point is often measured in a practical way by looking at thepalm of one's hand as it is held out at full arm's length: Dawnrise is the point in timewhen the major lines of the hand are visible by natural light. On a bright moonlitnight, dawnrise is measured by looking at the foliage of trees: Dawnrise is the pointwhen one can detect the green in the color of the leaves. For further discussion ofsome of the controversies surrounding dawn and dawnrise, see Appendix I.Zones. This is the most complex facet of this rule. The zone where a bhikkhu mustbe at dawnrise depends on the type of location where his robes are placed, whetherthe property around the location is enclosed, and — if it is enclosed — whether itbelongs to one or more than one kula."Enclosed," according to the Commentary, means surrounded with a wall, a fence,or a moat. The Sub-commentary adds that a river or lake would also qualify as atype of enclosure, under the term moat.The term kula normally means clan or family, but in the context of this rule it hasdifferent meanings for the different types of locations. According to theCommentary, a village is single-kula if ruled by a single ruler, and multi-kula if ruledby a council — as in the case of Vesālī and Kusinārā during the time of the Buddha.(In the time of the Canon and Commentary, rulers were assumed to "own" or havethe right to "consume" the territories they ruled.) At present, towns governed undera social contract — such as a town charter — would count as multi-kula even if thehighest authority in the government is invested in a single individual.151