Lzh Dg Bu Vb Pc 34Accepting Two or Three Bowls Full

– FOUR-PART VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA

34. ACCEPTING MORE THAN THREE BOWLS FULL

A. ORIGIN OF THE RULE

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling in the Anāthapiṇḍika Garden, Jeta's Grove, in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time, there was a woman named Jānanā, who had formerly lived in a great village and had since married a man from the country of Ujjenī. After a few months she became pregnant and returned to stay at her parents' home. At that time, some bhikkhus came to that house for alms; she personally offered food and fruit to the bhikkhus.

Some time later, her husband sent a messenger to summon her back. She said to the messenger:

"Please wait here a moment! Let me prepare food and drink in full and arrange my clothing, and then I will go with you."

At that moment, some bhikkhus came to that house for alms. The woman saw them and, taking all the food and drink she had just prepared, offered it entirely to the bhikkhus, saying:

"Venerable Ones, please accept this food."

At that time, the bhikkhus accepted all the food, leaving nothing behind. Afterward, she had to prepare and arrange everything again before departing.

Before she could return to her husband's home, he had already taken another wife and sent a messenger to tell her: "I have now taken another wife; whether you return or not is up to you."

Jānanā's father, upon hearing this, went to the monastery. The bhikkhus, seeing him, said:

"Jānanā, your daughter, has firm faith and delights in giving."

The father said:

"As the Venerable Ones say, my daughter indeed has firm faith. But it is precisely for this reason that today she has encountered what no woman would rejoice in."

The bhikkhus asked:

"What has she encountered?"

Jānanā's father said:

"Her husband has already taken another wife."

At that time, outside the gates of the city of Vārāṇasī, many caravans of merchants were spending the night along with their wagons. On that day, a bhikkhu went for alms, and at the proper time, having robed and taken his bowl, entered the encampment of these merchants to beg for alms.

The bhikkhu proceeded in order, and came to stand silently before a merchant of deep faith. The merchant, seeing this, asked:

"Why do you stand here?"

The bhikkhu replied:

"I am begging for alms."

The merchant then said:

"Please hand me your bowl."

The bhikkhu gave him the bowl. The merchant placed fine food into it, filling the bowl completely. The bhikkhu took the food and left the encampment. Not far away, another bhikkhu also going for alms wished to enter the encampment and asked the bhikkhu who had just received food:

"Is it possible to receive alms there?"

The reply was:

"It is possible."

He asked further:

"From whom did you receive?"

The reply was:

"From that merchant over there."

Thereupon, the bhikkhu going for alms went and stood silently before that merchant. The merchant asked:

"Why do you stand here?"

The bhikkhu replied:

"I am begging for alms."

The merchant said:

"Please hand me your bowl."

The bhikkhu gave him the bowl. The merchant placed fine food into it, filling the bowl completely, and handed it back to the bhikkhu. The bhikkhu received the food and had just left the encampment. Not far from the encampment, he met yet another bhikkhu who also wished to enter the encampment for alms, and asked:

"Is it possible to receive alms there?"

The reply was:

"It is possible."

He asked further:

"From whom did you receive?"

The reply was:

"From that merchant over there."

The bhikkhus going for alms thus informed one another in this way, and as a result exhausted all of the merchant's provisions for the journey.

At that time, the merchant had to enter the city of Vārāṇasī to procure new provisions. Meanwhile, his companions had already departed. The merchant had to travel afterward and could not catch up with them; along the road he was robbed by bandits.

The bhikkhus heard of this, and among them those of few desires, who were content, who practiced the austere practices, who delighted in the training rules, and who knew shame and remorse, reproached the bhikkhus thus: "How could the bhikkhus consume all the food that the woman was bringing to her husband's home, and the merchant's provisions for the journey?"

The bhikkhus went to where the Blessed One was, bowed at his feet, sat to one side, and reported this matter in full to the Blessed One. The Blessed One thereupon used this matter to convene the assembly of bhikkhus, and rebuked those bhikkhus:

"What you have done is wrong, not in accord with proper conduct, not in accord with the Dharma of a śramaṇa, not in accord with pure practice, not in accord with proper behavior — you have done what should not be done. How could the bhikkhus consume all the food that the woman was bringing to her husband's home and the merchant's provisions for the journey?"

The Blessed One rebuked those bhikkhus with countless skillful means, and then said to the bhikkhus:

"These foolish men — this is a place where many seeds of the tainted are sown; they are the first to commit this offense. From now on, I shall lay down the precept for the bhikkhus, comprising ten principles of meaning, up to the sentence: that the True Dharma may long endure."

To set forth the precept, it should be stated as follows:

Whatever bhikkhu, having gone to a lay household and been invited to receive food such as cakes or dried provisions, if he wishes, should accept two or three bowlfuls; having accepted two or three bowlfuls, upon returning to the monastery he should distribute them for other bhikkhus to eat; if he accepts more than two or three bowlfuls and upon returning to the monastery does not distribute them for other bhikkhus to eat — pācittiya.

Thus the Blessed One laid down the precept for the bhikkhus. At that time, some sick bhikkhus, fearing to transgress, did not dare accept food beyond the set amount, and went to report this to the Buddha. The Buddha instructed:

"From now on, sick bhikkhus are permitted to accept food beyond the set amount."

From now on, the precept should be stated as follows:

Whatever bhikkhu, having gone to a lay household and been invited to receive food such as cakes or dried provisions, if he wishes, should accept two or three bowlfuls; having accepted two or three bowlfuls, upon returning to the monastery he should distribute them for other bhikkhus to eat; if a bhikkhu who is not sick accepts more than two or three bowlfuls and upon returning to the monastery does not distribute them for other bhikkhus to eat — pācittiya.

B. ANALYSIS OF THE PRECEPT

Bhikkhu: as explained above.

Lay household: a household with both men and women.

Sick: unable to be satisfied by eating a single meal.

If a bhikkhu goes to a lay household and is invited to receive food such as cakes or dried provisions, he should ask the householder: "Is this food that a woman is bringing to her husband's home, or is it a merchant's provisions for the journey?" If they say it is food that a woman is bringing to her husband's home or a merchant's provisions for the journey, he should eat there and then depart. Returning to the monastery, he should inform the other bhikkhus: "At such-and-such a household there is food belonging to a woman going to her husband's home, or a merchant's travel provisions. If you wish to eat, go there and eat, then leave. If you wish to bring food back, take two or three bowlfuls. As for me, I am not bringing any food back at present."

If one wishes to bring back one bowlful, upon returning to the monastery one must share it with the other bhikkhus to eat together. One should say to other bhikkhus: "At such-and-such a household there is food belonging to a woman going to her husband's home, or a merchant's travel provisions. If anyone wishes to go there, eat there. If you wish to bring food back, bring two bowlfuls. As for me, I have brought back one bowlful."

If one brings back two bowlfuls to the monastery, one must share them with the other bhikkhus to eat together. Then one should say to other bhikkhus: "At such-and-such a household there is food belonging to a woman going to her husband's home, or a merchant's travel provisions. If anyone wishes to go there, eat there. If you wish to bring food back, bring one bowlful. As for me, I have brought back two bowlfuls."

If one brings back three bowlfuls in full and shares them with other bhikkhus, one should say to other bhikkhus: "At such-and-such a household there is food belonging to a woman going to her husband's home, or a merchant's travel provisions. If anyone wishes to go there, eat there. If you wish to bring food back, be careful not to bring any back, for I have already brought back three full bowlfuls."

If a bhikkhu who is not sick accepts more than two or three bowlfuls from that household and brings them back, he commits a pācittiya upon passing out the door. With one foot inside the door and one foot outside, or with the intention to leave while still standing, all of these constitute a dukkaṭa. If he brings the food back to the monastery and, without sharing it with other bhikkhus, eats it alone, he commits a dukkaṭa. If he does not inform the other bhikkhus, he commits a dukkaṭa.

A bhikkhunī: pācittiya. A śikṣamāṇā, a śrāmaṇera, a śrāmaṇerī: dukkaṭa. These are called offenses.

No offense: accepting two or three bowls; accepting more on account of illness; having asked in order to ascertain whether the food is that of a woman being brought to her husband's home, or provisions for a merchant traveling on the road; carrying it back within the monastery to be shared among other bhikkhus; informing the other bhikkhus of the matter and the location in this way. Or if they themselves bring it to the monastery, one is permitted to accept it. Or if they bring it to a bhikkhunī's convent and one accepts it there, there is no offense.

Those who do not commit an offense: one who commits it for the first time before the rule has been established; one who is insane, mentally deranged, or in extreme pain and distress.

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

Chinese translation: Tripiṭaka Buddhayaśas and Zhu Fonian.

Revision and annotation: Bhikkhu Thích Nguyên Chứng

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

Buddhist Publishing Committee, 2002