Lzh Dg Bi Pm Pc 112Giving Food
Pāli / Sanskrit:Bhojanadāna
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The Bhojanadāna Rule (The Rule on Providing Food)
Background
The Bhojanadāna rule belongs to the Pācittiya, the section of offenses which, after violation, must be confessed and repented so that purity may be restored. This rule arose from practical situations in the Sangha, the monastic community, when bhikkhus, male renunciants, and bhikkhunīs, female renunciants, had issues related to providing, storing, or consuming food in ways not in accordance with the rules.
The Pācittiya discipline was formulated by the Buddha with the purpose of protecting the spirit of practice and avoiding opportunities for desire, dispute, or greed to arise in the religious community. Bhojanadāna specifically concerns the giving, receiving, and handling of food and the accompanying rules for maintaining purity and restraint in the path of practice.
Main Content
This rule regulates actions connected with providing food to members of the Sangha. The main purpose is not to forbid eating and drinking, but to set clear limits in order to avoid sinking into material needs and psychological faults.
According to the principle of Pācittiya, if a monastic stores food for personal purposes, or provides food to other monastics in a way not in accordance with recognized community regulations, that constitutes an offense. This prohibition is not directed at whether the food is good or bad, but at the intention to accumulate, privatize, or act outside the legal framework of the Sangha.
Food (bhojana) in this context includes all nourishing items that a practitioner needs to maintain health. Sharing food is regarded as an act of compassion (dāna), but it must observe principles so that it does not become a cause of habitual greed or discrimination.
Practical Meaning
The rule teaches that purity does not lie in the food itself, but in the consciousness of the one who eats. A monastic practicing the teaching of the Buddha must always maintain heedfulness (appamāda) in every action, even in ordinary matters such as eating and drinking.
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