Pātra (alms-bowl) is the Buddhist monk and nun's important material possession and serves as a worldly symbol of their identity recognizable in the secular world. Both the Chinese vinaya texts and the Chinese vinaya master had detailed prescriptions regarding the crafting and measurements of pātra but the many prescriptions varied. These variations shall interest and inform the researchers in the study of monastic discipline. This paper compares and contrasts such variations of prescriptions found in the Chinese vinaya texts as documentary references for and supplements to the field studies with a view to unfolding the causes and course of the development of monastic discipline.