Lzh Dg Bi Vb Pc 112Giving Food

– DHARMAGUPTAKA VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA

RULE 112

A. ORIGIN STORY

At one time, the Blessed One was dwelling in the garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, in the Jeta Grove, in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time, Upananda the Śākyan had two novices, one named Ñi and one named Mật. One had abandoned the path, and the other, wearing the kaṣāya robe, had joined a congregation of non-Buddhists. The group of six bhikkhunīs brought food to laypersons and to those who had joined the non-Buddhists.

The bhikkhunīs heard of this; among them were those of few desires and contentment, who practiced the ascetic disciplines, delighted in training in the precepts, and knew shame and remorse. They reproached the group of six bhikkhunīs: "Why do you bring food to laypersons who have joined the non-Buddhists?"

The bhikkhunīs reported this to the bhikkhus. The bhikkhus reported it to the Blessed One. The Blessed One, on account of this matter, assembled the Saṅgha of bhikkhus and reproached the group of six bhikkhunīs:

"What you have done is wrong, unbecoming, not in accord with the deportment of monastics, not in accord with the Dharma of śramaṇas, not in accord with pure conduct, not in accord with appropriate behavior — it is something that should not be done. Why did you bring food to laypersons who have joined the non-Buddhists?"

Having reproached them with countless means, the Buddha said to the bhikkhus:

"These bhikkhunīs are a field in which many defiled seeds are planted; they are the first to transgress this precept. From this day forward, I shall establish the precept for bhikkhunīs, comprising ten phrases of meaning, up to and including the phrase on the long abiding of the true Dharma."

The precept should be stated thus:

Whatever bhikkhunī gives food — edible food — to a layperson or to one who has joined the non-Buddhists, it is a pācittiya.

The Blessed One having thus established the precept for bhikkhunīs, certain bhikkhunīs, having doubts, did not dare to place the food on the ground to give it, nor did they dare to instruct others to give it. The Buddha instructed:

"It is permitted to instruct another person to give it, or to place it on the ground to give it."

From this day forward, the precept should be stated thus:

Whatever bhikkhunī with her own hand gives food to a layperson or to one who has joined the non-Buddhists to eat, it is a pācittiya.

B. ANALYSIS OF THE PRECEPT

Bhikkhunī: as explained above.

Layperson: one who has not gone forth.

Non-Buddhist: one who has gone forth outside the Dharma of the Buddha.

Edible food: as explained previously.

Whatever bhikkhunī herself brings food and gives it to a layperson or to one who has joined the non-Buddhists — if the one giving gives it and the other receives it — it is a pācittiya for the giver; if the other does not receive it, it is a duṣkṛta.

If one has the intention to give but does not give, or has promised to give and then repents and does not give — all such cases are duṣkṛta.

For a bhikkhu, it is a duṣkṛta. For a śikṣamāṇā, a śrāmaṇera, or a śrāmaṇerī, it is a duṣkṛta. These are called transgressions.

Non-transgression: if one places the food on the ground and gives it, or instructs another person to give it; or if one gives it to one's parents; or gives it to workers building a stupa; or if it is seized by force — none of these constitute a transgression.

Those who do not transgress: one who transgresses for the first time before the precept has been established; one who is mentally deranged; one whose mind is disturbed; one who is afflicted with pain and oppressed by suffering.

Vietnamese translation: Bhikkhu Thích Đỗng Minh and Thích Đức Thắng. DHARMAGUPTAKA VINAYA, PART ONE

Chinese translation: Tripiṭaka masters Buddhayaśas and Zhu Fonian.

Revised and annotated by: Bhikkhu Thích Nguyên Chứng

(Chinese translation, fascicles 1–21; Vietnamese translation, volumes 1–2)

Buddhist Studies Editorial Board, 2002