First lesson.

704
A monk or a nun wanting to get clothes, may beg for cloth made of wool, silk, hemp, palm-leaves, cotton, or Arkatula, 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.

705
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 Brahmanas; also about (clothes) appropriated by another person.

706
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 acceptable.

707
A monk or a nun should not accept any very expensive 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, Phaliya, Kayaha; blankets or mantles.

708
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.

709
For the avoidance of these occasions to sin there are four rules for begging clothes to be known by the mendicants.

710
Now, this is the first rule:

711
A monk or a nun may beg for clothes specifying (their quality), viz. wool, silk, hemp, palm-leaves, cotton, Arkatula. If they beg for them, or the householder gives them, they may accept them; for they are pure and acceptable.

712
This is the first rule.

713
Now follows the second rule:

714
A monk or a nun may ask for clothes which they have well inspected, from the householder or his wife. 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.

715
This is the second rule.

716
Now follows the third rule:

717
A monk or a nun may beg for an under or upper garment. If they beg for it.

718
This is the third rule.

719
Now follows the fourth rule:

720
A monk or a nun may beg for a left-off robe, which no other Sramana or Brihmana, guest, pauper or beggar wants. If they beg.

721
This is the fourth rule.

722
A monk or a nun who have adopted one of these four rules should not say we respect each other accordingly.

723
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!'

724
After these words the householder may answer:

725
O long-lived Sramana! follow me! then we shall give you some clothes.' The mendicant should give the same answer as above.

726
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.'

727
Hearing and perceiving such talk, he should not accept such clothes; for they are impure and unacceptable.

728
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; we shall give it to the Sramana.'

729
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. If you want to give it me, give it, such as it is!'

730
After these words the householder might nevertheless offer the clothes after having wiped or rubbed them; but the mendicant should not accept them, for they are impure and unacceptable.

731
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!'

732
The mendicant should return the same answer as above and not accept such clothes.

733
The householder may say (to another of his people): 'O long-lived one! (or, O sister!) bring that cloth, empty it of the bulbs; 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; it is not right for me to accept such clothes.' After these words the householder might nevertheless take away the bulbs, and offer him the cloth; but he should not accept it; for it is impure and unacceptable.

734
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.'

735
The Kevalin says: This is the reason: There might be hidden in the robe an earring or girdle or gold and silver or living beings or seeds or grass. Hence it has been said to the mendicant, that he should closely inspect the inside of the robe.

736
A monk or a nun should not accept clothes which are full of eggs or living beings; for they are impure. A monk or a nun should not accept clothes which are free from eggs or living beings, 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.

737
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.

738
A monk or a nun should not wash his clothes, rub or wipe them with ground drugs, because they are not new.

739
A monk or a nun should not clean or wash his clothes in plentiful water, because they are not new.

740
A monk or a nun should not make his clothes undergo the processes, because they have a bad smell.

741
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.

742
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, oil a bathing-tub, or on any such-like above-ground place, which is not well fixed or set, but shaky and movable.

743
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.

744
A monk or a nun waiting 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.

745
Knowing this, he should resort to a secluded spot, and circumspectly air or dry his clothes there on a heap of ashes or bones. Which he has repeatedly inspected and cleaned.

746
This is the whole duty.

747
Thus I say.

Second lesson.

748
A monk or a nun should beg for acceptable clothes, and wear them in that state in which they get them; they should not wash or dye them, nor should they wear washed or dyed clothes, nor (should they) hide (their clothes) when passing through other villages, being careless of dress. This is the whole duty for a mendicant who wears clothes.

749
A monk or a nun wanting, for the sake of alms, to enter the abode of a householder, should do so outfitted with all their clothes; in the same manner they should go to the out-of-door place for religious practices or study, or should wander from village to village.

750
Now they should know this: A monk or a nun dressed in all their clothes should not enter or leave, for the sake of alms, the abode of a householder. , on perceiving that a strong and widely spread rain pours down.

751
If a single mendicant borrows for a short time a robe (from another mendicant) and returns after staying abroad for one, two, three, four, or five days, he (the owner) should not take such a robe for himself, nor should he give it to somebody else, nor should he give it on promise (for another robe after a few days), nor should he exchange that robe for another one. He should not go to another mendicant and say: 'O long-lived Sramana! do you want to wear or use this robe?' He (the owner of the robe) should not rend the still strong robe, and cast it away; but give it him (who had borrowed it) in its worn state; he should not use it himself

752
The same rule holds good when many mendicants borrow for a short time clothes, and return after staying abroad, for one, days. All should be put in the plural.

753
'Well, I shall borrow a robe and return after staying abroad for one, two, three, four, or five days; perhaps it will thus become my own.' As this would be sinful, he should not do so.

754
A monk or a nun should not make coloured clothes colourless, or colour colourless clothes; nor should they give them to somebody else thinking that they will get other clothes; nor should they give it on promise (for other clothes); nor should they exchange them for other clothes; nor should they go to somebody else and say: 'O long-lived Sramana! do you want to wear or use these clothes?' They should not rend the still strong clothes, and cast them away, that another mendicant might think them bad ones.

755
If he sees in his way thieves, he should not from fear of them, and to save his clothes, leave the road or go in to another road. But undisturbed, his mind not directed to outward things, he should collect himself for contemplation; then he may circumspectly wander from village to village.

756
If the road of a monk or a nun on the pilgrimage lies through a forest in which, as they know, there stroll bands of many thieves desirous of their clothes, they should not from fear of them, and to save their clothes, leave the road or go into another road.

757
If these thieves say: 'O long-lived Sramana! bring us your robe, give it, deliver it!' he should not give or deliver it. He should act in such cases.

758
This is the whole duty.

759
Thus I say.

760
End of the Fifth Lecture, called Begging of Clothes.