Monks’ Expiation (Pācittiya) 89 (PLI-TV-BU-VB-PC89)

… at Sāvatthī in the Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time a piece of cloth to sit upon was allowed to monks by the lord. The group of six monks, thinking: “A piece of cloth to sit upon is allowed by the lord,” used pieces of cloth to sit upon that were not of a (proper) measure; they made (these) hang down in front of and at the back of a couch and a chair. Those who were modest monks … spread it about, saying: “How can this group of six monks use pieces of cloth to sit upon that are not of a (proper) measure?” …

“Is it true, as is said, that you, monks, use pieces of cloth to sit upon that are not of a (proper) measure?”

“It is true, lord.”

The enlightened one, the lord, rebuked them, saying:

“How can you, foolish men, use pieces of cloth to sit upon that are not of a (proper) measure? It is not, foolish men, for pleasing those who are not (yet) pleased … And thus, monks, this rule of training should be set forth:

“When a piece of cloth to sit upon is being made for a monk, it must be made to a (proper) measure. This is the (proper) measure here: in length two spans according to the accepted span, in breadth one and a half spans. In exceeding this (measure), there is an offence of expiation involving cutting down.”

And thus this rule of training for monks came to be laid down by the lord.

Now at that time the venerable Udāyin became very fat. He, having made ready a piece of cloth to sit upon before the lord, pulling it out all round, sat down. Then the lord spoke thus to the venerable Udāyin:

“Why do you, Udāyin, pull out the piece of cloth to sit upon, just as if it were an old skin?”

“It is because, lord, the piece of cloth to sit upon allowed by the lord is very small.”

Then the lord, on this occasion, in this connection, having given reasoned talk, addressed the monks, saying:

“I allow you, monks, a border of a span for a piece of cloth to sit upon. And thus, monks, this rule of training should be set forth:

“When a piece of cloth to sit upon is being made for a monk, it must be made to a (proper) measure. This is the (proper) measure here: in length two spans according to the accepted span, in breadth one and a half spans, the border a span. In exceeding this (measure), there is an offence of expiation involving cutting down.”

A piece of cloth to sit upon means: it is so-called if it has a border.

Is being made means: making or causing to be made.

It must be made to a (proper) measure. This is the (proper) measure here : in length … the border a span means: if he makes it or causes it to be made having exceeded this (measure), in the business there is an offence of wrong-doing; having cut it down on acquisition, an offence of expiation is to be confessed.

If what was incompletely executed by himself he has finished by himself … If he makes others finish what was incompletely executed by others, there is an offence of expiation. If he makes it or causes it to be made for another, there is an offence of wrong-doing. If having acquired what was made for another, he makes use of it, there is an offence of wrong-doing.

There is no offence if he makes it to the (proper) measure; if he makes it less than the (proper) measure; if having acquired what was made for another (but) exceeding the (proper) measure, having cut it down, he makes use of it; if he makes a canopy or a ground-covering or a screen-wall or a mattress or a squatting-mat; if he is mad, if he is the first wrong-doer.

The Seventh

The Book of the Discipline was translated by I.B. Horner.

Digital edition prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato

A complete digital edition can be downloaded here.

Published in 2014 by SuttaCentral.

Originally published by the Pali Text Society in the following years:

Vol. 1: 1938

Vol. 2: 1940

Vol. 3: 1942

Vol. 4: 1951

Vol. 5: 1950

Vol. 6: 1966

In May 2013, these volumes were kindly released by the Pali Text Society under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 licence (CC BY-NC 3.0). The current digital edition, including all revisions, corrections, additions, and modifications, is released under the same terms, which are as follows.

You are free to:

Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.

Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material.

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.