BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

The Robe-cloth Chapter Chapter 7.1unoccupied Saṅgha residence, he is permitted to take any cloth he finds there —robes, sheets, mats, pillow cases, or whatever — to wear as a makeshift robe aslong as he has the intention of returning it when he obtains a proper robe.Otherwise he should make a covering of grass and leaves.The Commentary adds several points here:1) If one picks leaves or cuts grass to make a covering for oneself under thesecircumstances, one is exempt from the penalty for damaging plant life underPc 11. In other words, the allowance here takes precedence over theprohibition in that rule, rather than vice versa. (The Vibhaṅga does not clearlystate which takes precedence over which.) Other bhikkhus are also exemptfrom that penalty if they pick grass and leaves to help make a covering for abhikkhu whose robes have been snatched away or destroyed.2) If, after getting one's makeshift robe from an unoccupied Saṅgha residence,one has to go a great distance before getting a proper robe, one may leavethe makeshift robe with any convenient monastery as property of the Saṅgha.3) If, under these circumstances, one asks lay people for cloth and receivescloth of a type or color that normally is not allowed, there is no offense inwearing it until one can obtain suitable cloth.4) If one's robes have been taken on trust by another bhikkhu or novice, theycount as "snatched away" for the purpose of this and the following rule.The following rule adds extra stipulations on how much cloth one may ask for incircumstances like this.Offenses. The act of asking for robe-cloth from an unrelated lay person not at theproper time entails a dukkaṭa. The cloth, once received, is to be forfeited and thenissaggiya pācittiya offense confessed. The procedures for forfeiture, confession,and return of the cloth are the same as in the preceding rules. The Pali formula touse in forfeiting the cloth is given in Appendix VI.If one perceives a related householder as unrelated, or if one is in doubt aboutwhether he/she is related, one incurs a dukkaṭa in asking for and receiving a robefrom him/her.Non-offenses. According to the Vibhaṅga, there is no offense if —one asks at the right time,one asks from one's relations,one asks from people who have invited one to ask for cloth,165