Studies in Buddhist and Jaina Monachism

Author(s): Nand Kishor Prasad
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

Page 74

THE SALIENT FEATURES OF BUDDHIST VINAYA
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dust-heaps and cemeteries (paṁsuküla). Subsequently this practice was made optional with the sanction to put on lay-robes (gahapati-civara)* made of flax (khoma), cotton (kappasa), silk (koseyya), wool (kambala) and hemp (saṇa-bhanga).
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Normally the Buddhists liked those material and colour for their dress, which were not used by the heretics. The use of robes made of grass (kusa), bark (baka), feathers (pakkha) and skin (ajinakkhipa), etc. was banned on this very plea.* Likewise, except those dyed saffron (kasaya), all other robes which were coloured blue, yellow, crimson, brown, black and the like were discarded by them. The dyeing materials allowed to them were made from roots, trunks, bark, leaves, flowers and fruits of trees."
Of course, the problem of seeking robes was made easy for the monks with the sanction to use lay-robes. But at the same time strict restrictions were imposed on them in order to arrest the frivolous use of this laxity, which are manifest in the regulations debarring a monk from asking a laity for robes, giving materials or directions to weavers, giving to or receiving a robe from a nun not related to him." It was really very difficult for the mendicants to get their share reserved in the kathina robes, one of the important sources of getting robes, as there were a good number of causes for debarring them from their due share.
Unlike the Jainas, the Buddhists preferred robes made out of small pieces of cloth sewn together. Ordinarily they used a set of three robes a double waist-cloth (sanghati), a single upper-garment (uttarasanga) and a single under-garment (antaravāsaka)." So also the dress of the nuns normally consisted of the same three robes.9 Besides this, the monks as well as the nuns were allowed some extra pieces of cloth like rain-robe (vassikasaṭaka), itch-cloth (kandupaticchădim)11, bathing-robe (udakasaṭika)12, etc. for their occasional use.
1. MV, 1. 22. 73, p. 55.
2. Ibid, 8. 8. 12, p. 297.
3. Ibid, 1. 22. 73, p. 53.
4. Ibid, 8. 25. 46, pp. 320-321.
5. Ibid, 8. 26. 47, p. 321.
6. Ibid, 8. 13. 19, pp. 302-303.
7. Ibid, 8. 10-19-10-37 pp, 299-314.
8. Ibid, 8. 15. 21, pp. 304-5.
9. Vinaya Texts (SBE. Vol. XVII), p. 213 fn.
10. MV, 8. 17. 27, p. 310.
11. Ibid, 8. 18. 29, p. 311. 12. Ibid, 8. 17. 27, p. 310.