On rejection of garments of grass, etc.

^Kd.8.28.2 Now at that time a certain monk, having put on a kusa-grass garment … a bark garment … a garment of wood-shavings^[1] … a hair-blanket … a horsehair blanket … (a dress of) owls’ wings … (a cloak made of strips of) black ^BD.4.437 antelope hide,^[2] approached the Lord; having approached he spoke thus to the Lord: “Lord, in many a figure is the Lord a speaker in praise of desiring little … of putting forth energy. Lord, this (cloak made of strips of) black antelope hide is, in many a figure, useful for desiring little … for putting forth energy. It were good, ^Vin.1.306 Lord, if the Lord were to allow (cloaks made of strips of) black antelope hide for the monks.”

The awakened one, the Lord rebuked him, saying: “It is not becoming … it is not to be done. How can you, foolish man, wear (a cloak made of strips of) black antelope hide, an emblem of members of other sects?^[3] Foolish man, it is not for pleasing those who are not (yet) pleased …”

Having rebuked him, having given reasoned talk, he addressed the monks, saying:

“Monks, (a cloak made of strips of) black antelope hide, an emblem of members of other sects, is not to be wom. Whoever should wear (one), there is a grave offence.”

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^Kd.8.28.3 Now at that time a certain monk, having put on (a garment made of) stalks of swallow-wort^[4] … having put on (a cloth of) fibre,^[5] approached the Lord; having approached, he spoke thus to the Lord: “Lord, in many a figure is the Lord a speaker in praise of desiring little … of putting forth energy. Lord, this (cloth of) fibre is, in many a figure, useful for desiring little … for putting forth of energy. It were good, Lord, if the Lord were to allow (a cloth or) fibre for the monks.” The awakened one, the Lord rebuked him, saying: “It is ^BD.4.438 not becoming … it is not to be done. How can you, foolish man, put on (a cloth of) fibre? It is not, foolish man, for pleasing those who are not (yet) pleased …” Having rebuked him, having given reasoned talk, he addressed the monks, saying:

“Monks, (a cloth of) fibre is not to be put on. Whoever should put (one) on, there is an offence of wrong-doing.”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Phalaka is usually a panel, board or plank. Vinaya Texts ii.246 and A.K. Coomaraswamy, Indian Architectural Terms, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol.48, no.3, p.268 (referring to this passage) take it as a kind of cloth.

[2]:

See BD.1.52f. for notes and references. The story at Vin.3.34 (= BD.1.52) preceding those of monks dressed in these kinds of garments, is about a naked monk; this itself is preceded by a story of a monk clothed in a layman’s dress.

[3]:

titthiyādhaja. Cf. Vin.2.22, where it is said that titthiyādhaja is not to be worn by a monk who has been suspended for not seeing his offences. Commentary says (see Vinaya Texts ii.373, n.6) that titthiyādhaja means that garments of kusa-grass and the rest are not to be worn.; and cf. arahaddhaja at Ja.i.65.

[4]:

akkanāla. Akka is the plant Calotropis gigantea. Word occurs at MN.i.429.

[5]:

potthaka. Vin-a.1135 says that it is made of makaci. This, according to Pali-English Dictionary is a “kind of cloth, material, fibre”. Potthaka occurs in a simile at AN.i.246, and there is no indication that monks should not wear it; it is called painful to handle and of little worth. AN-a.ii.359 describes it as vākamayavatthaṃ, “a cloth made of bark”. Also see Pp.33. Pp-a.216 calls potthaka: sāṇavākasāṭaka, a cloak of bark and coarse hemp. On sāṇa see BD.2.143, n.3.