The formula by which a monk assigns a robe to another in shared ownership, so that he may keep it without offence.
- When chanted
- Spoken when a monk holds cloth beyond his allowance and wishes to keep it lawfully.
A note on this chant. The book prints this chant in Pali only, with no Thai translation. The English here is a working translation prepared for this edition — it is not the book's own, and has not yet been checked by a teacher.
Historical background
วิกัปป์ is shared ownership — a device by which an extra cloth is put into joint names, so that it is no longer simply the monk's own surplus.
It is the counterpart of forfeiting. Forfeiting deals with a robe that has gone wrong; this deals with one that would go wrong if nothing were done.
Meaning and purpose
อิมัง จีวะรัง ตุยหัง วิกัปเปมิ — I assign this robe to you in shared ownership. One sentence, said to one person, and the cloth now belongs to both.
The second line gives the plural, for several cloths at once. As with the forfeiting formula, the book assumes the situation arises in quantity.
What makes the device work is that it is real. The other monk genuinely has a claim, which is why the formula for undoing it — printed on the same page — has to be spoken by him and not by the original owner.
The chant
As the book prints it: page 302 →
page 302อิมัง จีวะรัง ตุยหัง วิกัปเปมิ.
Imaṃ cīvaraṃ tuyhaṃ vikappemi.
I assign this robe to you in shared ownership.
หลายผืนว่า อิมานิ จีวะรานิ ตุยหัง วิกัปเปมิ.
Imāni cīvarāni tuyhaṃ vikappemi.
For several cloths say: I assign these robes to you in shared ownership.