Lzh Dg Bu Pm Pc 39Eating Unoffered Food
Pāli / Sanskrit:Dantapona
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AN EXPLANATION OF THE DANTAPONA SUTTA
On Eating Food That Has Not Been Offered
Background
The Dantapona Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Early Buddhadharma tradition, especially the Pātimokkha Saṃvara section, the rules of restraint. The Vinaya was composed on the basis of the training rules issued by the Buddha for the Sangha. This discourse is directly related to the daily conduct of monastics, especially the matter of eating and the way food is accepted.
The background for the arising of this discourse records that in the early period of the Sangha, there were monks who ate foods not offered by the people, or ate foods they had obtained for themselves without following the principle of almsround (piṇḍapāta). This caused many disputes and affected the purity of conduct. Therefore, the Buddha established a clear rule to protect the purity of the Sangha and maintain the ethics of trainees.
Main Content
Dantapona (danta = eating, pona = not permitted) states that monks and nuns are not permitted to eat foods that have not been offered by anyone. This means that if food has not been presented by a male or female lay devotee as an offering, the monastic should not eat that food.
This rule applies not only to food but also includes other kinds of objects. The rule was established to ensure that monastics maintain proper dependence on the worldly community, thereby preserving the connection between the Sangha and those who study the Buddhadharma. In addition, it prevents acts of greed or improper self-sufficiency that could diminish the training in mindfulness and renunciation.
When a monastic violates this rule, that is, eats food not offered without an urgent reason, she must incur a Pācittiya, a minor offense requiring repentance.
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