Lzh Dg Bi Pm Sk 11Squatting

Ukkuṭika Sutta: On the Squatting Posture

Background

The Ukkuṭika Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically the Pātimokkha section, the basic training rules for bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs. This sutta is not a discourse by the Buddha on profound theory, but a disciplinary regulation concerning the gestures and conduct of a practitioner in daily life.

In the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka is regarded as the foundation of the Sangha community. These rules are not unreasonable impositions, but arise from practical needs: protecting the honor of the Sangha, maintaining discipline, creating favorable conditions for practice, and showing respect toward the Buddha-Dharma and the community of practice.

The Ukkuṭika Sutta specifically refers to a bodily posture, the squatting posture (ukkuṭika āsana). This posture has a role both in Buddhist practice and in maintaining standards of conduct worthy of one gone forth.

Main Content

According to the Pāli Vinaya tradition, the squatting posture is one of the recognized postures in Buddhist practice. It refers to a way of sitting in which the body is gathered within a small space, with the legs folded beneath oneself, often used for long periods during meditation or participation in community activities.

This sutta may relate to a specific disciplinary regulation: that bhikkhus should not maintain the squatting posture in certain situations, or conversely, that it is encouraged in appropriate cases. The precise understanding depends on the full context of that rule in the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga or Bhikkhu Vibhaṅga.

The specific content of this sutta has not been fully translated in popular materials, but according to the general context of the Pāli Vinaya, such rules usually aim at:

First, maintaining graceful decorum. A practitioner should not have actions or postures that undermine dignity and cause people to lose faith in the Sangha.