四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 3.63

3.63

Second, rag-robes (pāṃsukūla). The intent of prescribing wearing them: these are discarded by worldly people and no longer fit for use, their meaning being equivalent to sweepings from dung. The treatise says: First, their substance is a base object, separating oneself from greedy attachment; second, they are not coveted by kings or thieves; they can constantly sustain the body and advance the Way, and being of few desires and saving trouble, they suffice to relieve physical suffering. Therefore, superior people wear them. The Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā states ten kinds of benefits in wearing rag-robes: first, one does not associate with householders for the sake of robes; second, one does not display signs of begging for robes; third, one also does not make expedient hints to obtain robes; fourth, one does not seek improperly in the four directions for the sake of robes; fifth, if one does not obtain robes, one does not sorrow; sixth, if one obtains them, one does not rejoice; seventh, being base objects, they are easy to obtain without faults; eighth, it accords with practicing the four dependences initially received; ninth, it falls into the category of coarse clothing; tenth, they are not greedily snatched away by people. Regarding the material of the robes, the Dharmaguptaka has ten kinds: namely, robes chewed by cows, robes gnawed by rats, robes burned by fire (in that country, possessing these three is taboo, so they are discarded); menstrual robes, and puerperal robes; if robes in shrines of deities have been pecked away by birds or blown by the wind away from their place, one may take them; as well as cemetery robes, prayer robes, and return-journey robes (brought back upon reaching the cemetery). These are the above kinds. Regardless of whether they are new or clean, superior colors cannot be used directly; they must be dyed into the color of a kāṣāya before being received and kept. Moreover, one must not take the robes of a deceased person whose body is not yet decomposed (the Samantapāsādikā says decomposed down to at least the size of a needle). If one obtains in a cemetery brocaded woollen sleeping rugs, mattresses, pillows, kojava rugs, or single-seater couches, with the sole exception of leather ropes and hair ropes, the rest should be kept. Moreover, if one obtains sedan-chair canopies, hand-drawn carts, water vases, washing jars, staffs, fans, hoe-hooks, knives, and chains, these may also be kept. If one finds money, break it and keep it oneself to use as copper. When gathering rag-robe materials, there was originally no shared agreement; when going to the cemetery to take robes, one cannot claim it from afar saying it is one's share; whoever arrives first obtains it (if it has already been moved and set aside, it belongs to the previous remover). One must not take robes from shrines of deities. Lately, many high-ranking practitioners enter various deity shrines, strip the clothing off the statues, and collect banners, canopies, and silks. The Buddha prohibited this; the reasoning is profound. If one takes them foolishly and rashly, one commits the offense of theft. If one definitely knows yet does it, it is not without harassing others; in cases where one avoids the presence of the deity master and conceals oneself to rob, this is a grave pārājika, as explained in the chapter on Corresponding Specific Marks. The Daśādhyāya-vinaya states that taking the robes of a deceased person not yet decomposed incurs a sthūlātyaya. The Samantapāsādikā states: If the corpse has a small sore like a needle-point and the skin is not broken, have a layperson take it. The Daśādhyāya-vinaya lists four kinds of rag-robes: first, those wrapping a dead person in a cemetery; second, those that have wrapped a dead person and are then brought to give to a bhikṣu; third, ownerless robes; fourth, earthen robes, meaning discarded and worn-out items in lanes, alleys, or cemeteries. In the Dharmaguptaka, upon obtaining a rag-robe, wash and dye it, and mark the four corners to purify and keep it. If one obtains high-priced leather shoes, even if heavy, one is permitted to keep them; the Buddha said, it is because they are rag-items.