The essence of this factor would seem to be that a bhikkhu should not snatch food that a person happens to be carrying past him without showing any indication that he/she wants him to take the food. 3) Is the permission for among villages permissible? Now at that time a certain bhikkhu, living entirely off of what was thrown away (), was staying in a cemetery. And one should not consume meat without having reflected on it (on what it is). I will tell you this matter later. 2023 Buddhist Society of Western Australia. Pcittiya Four: The Food Chapter | The Buddhist Monastic Code, Volumes To take food with the purpose of eating it, thinking that it has been properly given when in fact it hasnt, is also no offense. However, a standard principle throughout the Vinaya formulated in Adhikaraa-samatha 4 in both Pimokkhas is that an offender cannot be penalized until he/she has confessed to an offense. Early next morning, having had the meat prepared, she rose into the air and flew to where the Buddha was staying, in the Bamboo Grove outside of Rajagaha, over 200 kilometres as the crow (or nun?) The same holds true with water into which so many leaves or flowers have fallen that their taste is discernible in the water. The Buddha's Intermittent Fasting - American Buddhist Monk: Bhante The Monastic Law is available in more recensions than any other part of the Tipiaka. There is at least one bhikkhu in Thailand today who has trained a pet monkey to give him things. Although Asian food often contains garlic as an ingredient, none of the texts mention the use of garlic mixed in with food. Life-long medicine mixed with seven-day medicine, when received, is allowable for seven days, but not when the seven days have passed.Mv.VI.40.3. There is also a prohibition against eating from a food warmer (made of metal or wood, says the Commentary), which the V/Sub-commentary explains as a bowl-like container into which hot water is poured, and over which is placed a bowl for keeping the food. Since the very beginning of Buddhism over 2500 years ago, Buddhist monks and nuns have depended on almsfood. What is the permission for two fingerbreadths? As the rule notes, however, there are two exceptions: 1) Water, according to the Commentary, includes ice, hailstones, and snow as well. Nor should one, having eaten and been satisfied, consume food that is not left over if it is brought back from there (the place where the meal was offered), if it was formally accepted before the meal, if it grows in the woods or a lotus pond. General Siha then invited the Buddha, together with the large number of monks accompanying Him, to a meal at his house in the city the following morning. in asking for foodany kind of foodwhen one is ill, and then eating it, even if one has recovered in the meantime (); in eating food that has been requested for the sake of an ill bhikkhu and is leftover after his meal; in asking from those who have offered an invitation to ask; in asking for the sake of another person; or. 8) Is the permission for unfermented toddy permissible? In other words, when regurgitated food comes into the mouth, one may swallow it if it flows back down the throat, but not if it stays in the mouth. Thus if the donor places many vessels on a mat while the bhikkhu touches the mat with the intention of receiving them, all of the food is considered to be properly received as long as the donor is within reach of the bhikkhu. Stored means kept overnight, even if the food has not been formally offered. According to the Commentarys treatise, taking the food also includes deliberately touching it or the vessel containing it with the intention of eating it. Furthermore, he should ask for no more than the journey will require. There is no basis for it in the Vibhagas definition of stored-up, nor is there anything else in the Vibhaga to this rule from which the Great Standards could be used to support the allowance. Vinaya plays a pivotal role in their monastic way of life. Should any bhikkhun eat garlic, it is to be . I allow anything falling while being presented to be picked up by oneself and eaten. The Commentary, noting that the intention I will store it up is not mentioned, adopts the first interpretation: It here means food already stored up. None of the texts mention any permission for the bhikkhu, after he has searched for the provisions, to store them longer than usual or to cook them in any way. The origin story here reports that he made a practice of keeping leftover rice from his alms round, drying it, and then moistening it to eat on a later day. Whoever should do so is to be dealt with in accordance with the rule (Pc37).Cv.V.25, I allow storing indoors I allow cooking indoors I allow that one cook for oneself I allow what is stored indoors, cooked indoors, and cooked by oneself.Mv.VI.17.7, I allow that where one sees non-staple fruit, and there is no one to make it allowable, having picked it up and carried it away, having seen someone to make it allowable, having placed it on the ground, having formally received it, one may consume it. As we have seen, though, the Vibhaga defines its terms to fit the situation covered by each particular rule and is not always consistent from one rule to another. Because the treatise is a compilation of the opinions of various teachers and does not pretend to explain the meaning or intent of the Buddhas wordsand because the Buddha warned bhikkhus against making up their own rules (NP15.1.2)the opinions expressed in the treatise are not necessarily normative. The Vinaya, then, is quite clear on this matter. First I would like to let you know the reason why the Buddha allowed Bhikkhus to hold the Kathina ceremony. Life-long medicine mixed with time-period food, when received that day, is allowable in the time period, but not outside of the time period. Had the compilers meant for the principle under NP23 to be applied here, they could have done so themselves. The question of making fruit allowable has been discussed under Pc11. Should any bhikkhu who is not ill, having requested finer staple foods such as these for his own sake, then consume them, it is to be confessed. Here we will give a summary of some of the Commentarys opinions that have influenced practices found in some, if not all, Communities of bhikkhus at present. According to the Commentary, indoors here means in an akappiya-kui (a building that has not been designated as a food storage place) that would count as a same lodging with a bhikkhu under Pc5 & 6. But one should not take in (ingest) anything brought outside of the mouth. If the food is then presented to the bhikkhu on a later day, he may eat it that day without penalty. Vinaya: What the Buddha Says About Eating Meat There are many places in the Buddhist scriptures which tell of the Buddha and his monks being offered meat and eating it. Place and time to eat - budsas.org In other words, the bhikkhu would not incur the dukkaa for taking the food if he perceived it as properly given even when in fact it wasnt. 2) Tooth-cleaning sticks, as used in the time of the Buddha, were semi-edible. If one should consume what has been stored outside, cooked indoors, cooked by others: an offense of wrong doing. The Ordination Procedure & Some Vinaya Rules One should not consume what is stored indoors, cooked indoors, cooked by oneself; or what was formally accepted after having been picked up: Whoever should consume it: an offense of wrong doing. Factor (e): The effort involved in receiving the item may be minimal indeed. sthaviras, broke away from the . On the one hand it fits in with the pattern for tooth-cleaning sticksit is semi-edible and not intended to be swallowedbut on the other hand it contains substances, such as mineral salts, that the Canon classes as medicines (Mv.VI.8) and that are meant to have medicinal value for the teeth and gums. In today's society where allegations of sexual abuse are rife, and are often just one person's word against another's, keeping these important rules is more than just a protection from the opportunity for abuse, but also a guard . Vinaya Pitaka: The Basket of the Discipline - Access to Insight On my first Christmas in N.E. How to say Vinaya in English? Ajahn Brahmavamso . If for some reason the donor does not comply with the bhikkhus request, the bhikkhu may still accept the food but should then take it to another unordained personwithout setting it down and picking it up again in the meantime (see below)and have it properly given before eating it. According to the Commentary, any food other than these nine finer staple foods is grounds for a dukkaa under Sk37. What is the permission for among villages? None of the texts mention the issue, but this rule apparently refers only to finer staple foods that have been offered in response to ones requesteither from the person to whom the request was directed or from another person who has learned of the request. It seemed too good to be true, he had a turkey farm and yes, he quickly understood how we lived and promised us a turkey for Christmas. However, immovable objectssuch as a floor, the ground, or anything fixed to the floor or groundmay not be used as items connected to the body to receive food in this way. These points from the Commentarys treatise may seem like a lot of hair-splitting, but remember that the gift of food ranks with sexual temptation as one of the largest issues in a bhikkhusor anyoneslife. Thus if a donor brings a pot of stew to the monastery, and one of the bhikkhus, curious to see what is going to be offered that day, tilts the pot to peek inside, none of the bhikkhus may eat the food, and the donor must either give it to the novices and any attendants at the monastery, if there are any, throw it to the dogs, or take it home. to add to any bland food one might receive on a later day. The rule means what it says: It covers each of the foods mentioned in it, whether pure or mixed with other ingredients. PDF Monastic Meat: The Question of Meat Eating and Vegetarianism in Tibetan Even if one is chewing it for the sake of cleaning the teeth but accidentally swallows the juice, one has committed an offense all the same. nanda had fixed medicinal conjey, intending not to eat it himself but to present it to the Buddha. But, you should not knowingly make use of meat killed on purpose for you. [2]. Once, during a famine, the Buddha made the following allowances: A bhikkhu could eat what had been stored indoors, cooked indoors, and cooked by oneself. [1] Vinaya | Encyclopedia.com Perhaps he feeds on human flesh.. 1) Is the permission for a salt horn permissible? Even the Buddha ate meat. If one should consume what has been stored outside, cooked outside, cooked by others: no offense.Mv.VI.17.3-5, There are badland roads with little water, little food. Mv.VI.14.6 allows a bhikkhu bitten by a snake to make an antidote of urine, excrement (burned in fire), ashes, and soil.