Lzh Dg Bi Pm Pc 27Visiting Families Before a Meal
Pāli / Sanskrit:Cāritta
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Teaching on the Cāritta Sutra: The Practice of Almsround Conduct
Background
The Cāritta Sutra belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, the section of rules governing the daily life of bhikkhus. Cāritta in Pāli means “conduct” or “course of behavior,” referring to proper rules in the activities of going about, eating, and communicating for those who have gone forth.
The foundation of this sutra comes from occasions when the Buddha instructed his disciples in proper conduct, in order to preserve mindfulness and respect in daily activities. Especially when bhikkhus went on almsround from house to house, this was a time when carelessness or negligence could easily arise. Therefore, the Buddha established specific rules so that bhikkhus could cultivate pure conduct when relating to worldly households.
Main Content
The Cāritta Sutra prescribes that bhikkhus should maintain dignified bearing when going to family homes before a meal. According to the Pāli Canon tradition, proper conduct (cāritta) includes points to be observed: walking without haste, not making noise, not looking shamelessly, not entering the private areas of householders without being invited, and wearing the renunciant robe in a worthy manner.
Almsround is not simply the act of begging for food to survive the day. It is a time for training in the restraint of the indriyas, the sense faculties, avoiding actions or words that could trouble or discomfort those who provide food. If the householder has not yet invited the bhikkhu to eat, the bhikkhu should wait appropriately and must not intrude into private space or act discourteously.
The sutra emphasizes that a bhikkhu must have the spirit of “non-dependence” (anissita), meaning not creating dependency or causing inconvenience to families. Calmness, respect, and goodwill are basic qualities in this conduct. The final purpose is not to indulge the body, but to maintain the mind in a state of purity, undistracted by unwholesome thoughts.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.