Ācārāṅga Sūtra 2.5.1

Begging of Clothes

A monk or a nun wanting to get clothes, may beg for cloth made of wool, silk, hemp, palm-leaves, cotton, or Arkatûla, or such-like clothes. If he be a youthful, young, strong, healthy, well-set monk, he may wear one robe, not two; if a nun, she should possess four raiments, one two cubits broad, two three cubits broad, one four cubits broad. If one does not receive such pieces of cloth, one should afterwards sew together one with the other.

A monk or a nun should not resolve to go further than half a yogana to get clothes. As regards the acceptance of clothes, those precepts which have been given in the (First Lesson of the First Lecture, called) Begging of Food, concerning one fellow-ascetic, should be repeated here; also concerning many fellow-ascetics, one female fellow-ascetic, many female fellow-ascetics, many Sramanas and Brâhmanas; also about (clothes) appropriated by another person.

A monk or a nun should not accept clothes which the layman, for the mendicant's sake, has bought, washed, dyed, brushed, rubbed, cleaned, perfumed, if these clothes be appropriated by the giver himself. But if they be appropriated by another person, they may accept them; for they are pure and acceptpensive clothes of the following description: clothes made of fur, fine ones, beautiful ones; clothes made of goats' hair, of blue cotton, of common cotton, of Bengal cotton, of Patta, of Malaya fibres, of bark fibres, of muslin, of silk; (clothes provincially called) Desaraga, Amila, Gaggala, Phâliya, Kâyaha; blankets or mantles.

A monk or a nun should not accept any of the following plaids of fur and other materials: plaids made of Udra, Pesa fur, embroidered with Pesa fur, made of the fur of black or blue or yellow deer, golden plaids, plaids glittering like gold, interwoven with gold, set with gold, embroidered with gold, plaids made of tigers' fur, highly ornamented plaids, plaids covered with ornaments.

For the avoidance of these occasions to sin there are four rules for begging clothes to be known by the mendicants. Now, this is the first rule: A monk or a nun may beg for clothes specifying (their quality), viz. wool, silk, hemp, palm-leaves, cotton, Arkatúla. If they beg for them, or the householder gives them, they may accept them; for they are pure and acceptable. This is the first rule.

Now follows the second rule: A monk or a nun may ask for clothes which they have well inspected, from the householder or his wife, &c. After consideration, they should say: 'O long-lived one! (or, O sister!) please give me one of these clothes!' If they beg for them, or the householder gives them, they may accept them; for they are pure and acceptable. This is the second rule.

Now follows the third rule: A monk or a nun may beg for an under or upper garment. If they beg for it, &c. (see § 7). This is the third rule.

Now follows the fourth rule: A monk or a nun may beg for a left-off robe, which no other Sramana or Brâhmana, guest, pauper or beggar wants. If they beg, &c. (see § 7). This is the fourth rule. A monk or a nun who have adopted one of these four rules should not say, &c. (all as in II, 1, II, § 12, down to) we respect each other accordingly.

A householder may perhaps say to a mendicant begging in the prescribed way: ‘O long-lived Sramana! return after a month, ten nights, five nights, to-morrow, to-morrow night; then we shall give you some clothes.' Hearing and perceiving such talk, he should, after consideration, say: 'O long-lived one! (or, O sister!) it is not meet for me to accept such a promise. If you want to give me (something), give it me now!' After these words the householder may answer: 'O long-lived Sramana! follow me! then we shall give you some clothes.' The mendicant should give the same answer as above. After his words the householder may say (to one of his people): 'O long-lived one! (or, O sister!) fetch that robe! we shall give it the Sramana, and afterwards prepare one for our own use, killing all sorts of living beings.' Hearing and perceiving such talk, he should not accept such clothes; for they are impure and unacceptable.

The householder' may say (to one of his people): "O long-lived one! (or, O sister!) fetch that robe, wipe or rub it with perfume, &c. (see II, 2, 1, § 8); we shall give it to the Sramana.' Hearing and perceiving such talk, the mendicant should, after consideration, say: 'O long-lived one! (or, O sister!) do not wipe or rub it with perfume, &c. If you want to give it me, give it, such as it is!' After these words the householder might nevertheless offer the clothes after having wiped or rubbed them, &c.; but the mendicant should not accept them, for they are impure and unacceptable.

The householder may say (to another of his people): 'O long-lived one! (or, O sister!) bring that robe, clean or wash it with cold or hot water!' The mendicant should return the same answer as above (in § 11) and not accept such clothes.

The householder may say (to another of his people): 'O long-lived one! (or, O sister!) bring that cloth, empty it of the bulbs, &c. (see II, 2, 1, § 5); we shall give it to the Sramana.' Hearing and perceiving such talk, the mendicant should say, after consideration: 'O long-lived one! (or, O sister!) do not empty that cloth of the bulbs, &c.; it is not meet for me to accept such clothes.' After these words the householder might nevertheless take away the bulbs, &c., and offer him the cloth; but he should not accept it; for it is impure and unacceptable.

If a householder brings a robe and gives it to the mendicant, he should, after consideration, say: 'O long-lived one! (or, O sister!) I shall, in your presence, closely inspect the inside of the robe.' The Kevalin says: This is the reason: There might be hidden in the robe an earring or girdle or gold and silver, &c. (see II, 2, 1, § 11), or living beings or seeds or grass. Hence it has been said to the mendicant, &c., that he should closely inspect the inside of the robe.

A monk or a nun should not accept clothes which are full of eggs or living beings, &c.; for they are impure, &c. A monk or a nun should not accept clothes which are free from eggs or living beings, &c., but which are not fit nor strong nor lasting nor to be worn '-which though pleasant are not fit (for a mendicant); for they are impure and unacceptable.

A monk or a nun may accept clothes which are fit, strong, lasting, to be worn, pleasant and fit for a mendicant; for they are pure and acceptable.

A monk or a nun should not wash his clothes, rub or wipe them with ground drugs, &c., because they are not new. A monk or a nun should not clean or wash his clothes in plentiful water, because they are not new.

A monk or a nun should not make his clothes undergo the processes (prohibited in § 17), because they have a bad smell.

A monk or a nun wanting to air or dry (in the sun) their clothes, should not do so on the bare ground or wet earth or rock or piece of clay containing life, &c. (see II, 1, 5, § 2).

A monk or a nun wanting to air or dry (in the sun) their clothes, should not hang them for that purpose on a post of a house, on the upper timber of a door-frame, on a mortar, on a bathing-tub, or on any such-like above-ground place, which is not well fixed or set, but shaky and movable.

A monk or a nun wanting to air or dry (in the sun) their clothes, should not lay them for that purpose on a dyke, wall, rock, stone, or any such-like above-ground place, &c.

A monk or a nun wanting to air or dry (in the sun) their clothes, should not do it on a pillar, a raised platform, a scaffold, a second story, a flat roof, or any such-like above-ground place, &c.

Knowing this, he should resort to a secluded spot, and circumspectly air or dry his clothes there on a heap of ashes or bones, &c. (see II, 1, 1, § 1), which he has repeatedly inspected and cleaned. This is the whole duty, &c. Thus I say.