Lzh Dg Bu Vb Pc 41Giving Food to Ascetics

– DHARMAGUPTAKA VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA

41. GIVING FOOD TO NON-BUDDHISTS

A. ORIGIN STORY

At one time, the Buddha was leading one thousand two hundred and fifty disciples on a journey from the country of Kosala to the country of Śrāvastī. At that time, various donors offered the Buddha and the Saṅgha a great quantity of cakes. The Blessed One then said to the Venerable Ānanda:

"Take these cakes and distribute them to the Saṅgha."

The Venerable Ānanda obeyed the Buddha's instruction and distributed them. When the distribution was finished, some remained. The Buddha instructed the Venerable to give the remainder to those who had come to beg. Ānanda obeyed the Buddha's instruction and gave one cake to each person. Among those beggars there was a naked female non-Buddhist wanderer, beautiful in appearance. When the Venerable Ānanda was distributing the cakes, two cakes had stuck together and he mistook them for one, so he gave them to her. She asked the woman standing nearby:

"How many did you receive?"

The other replied:

"I received one."

After answering, that woman asked her:

"How many did you receive?"

She said:

"I received two."

The other woman then said to her:

"That monk is intimate with you, that is why you received two."

At that time, the Venerable Ānanda heard these words and was filled with grief. The monks who heard likewise were displeased.

Among those who had gathered there, there was a brahmin wanderer who, having received this food, was on his way back to Kosala. On the road he encountered a devout brahmin who was a physiognomist, who asked:

"Where have you come from?"

The brahmin wanderer replied:

"I have come from Śrāvastī."

The brahmin asked:

"Well then, is it easy to beg for food in Śrāvastī? Were you even able to bring some back with you?"

The brahmin wanderer said:

"It is indeed easy to obtain food there."

The brahmin asked:

"From whom is it so easy to obtain?"

The brahmin wanderer replied:

"From the shaven-headed householder."

The brahmin asked again:

"Who is this shaven-headed householder?"

The brahmin wanderer said:

"None other than the ascetic Gautama."

The brahmin, displeased, said:

"What sort of person are you, eating from someone and then speaking such evil words about them?"

That brahmin went to the monastery and related to the monks what he had heard.

The monks brought this matter and reported it fully to the Blessed One.

The Blessed One, on account of this matter, convened the assembly of the Saṅgha of monks and said:

"From now on, I shall establish a precept for the monks, comprising ten principles of meaning, up to the principle of the true Dharma enduring long."

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

Whatever monk gives food with his own hand to a male or female naked non-Buddhist wanderer, there is a pācittiya offence.

The Blessed One having thus established the precept for the monks, all the non-Buddhist wanderers voiced their resentment:

"One or two non-Buddhists may have been at fault, but what wrong have we done that food is not given to us?"

The monks reported this to the Buddha. The Buddha instructed:

"From now on, if any monk wishes to give food, he should place it on the ground and give it thus, or he should have another person give it."

From now on the precept should be stated as follows:

Whatever monk gives food with his own hand to a male or female naked non-Buddhist wanderer, there is a pācittiya offence.

B. ANALYSIS OF THE PRECEPT

Monk: as explained above.

Non-Buddhist: refers to those who go naked and hold heterodox views.

Pāsupārajā: one who has gone forth in the community of those non-Buddhists.

Khādanīya food: food consisting of roots and tubers, up to food consisting of fruits, food consisting of oils, and food that has been ground.

Bhojanīya food: cooked rice, flour cakes, dried rice, fish, and meat.

If a monk gives food with his own hand to a male or female naked non-Buddhist wanderer, there is a pācittiya offence. If he gives it and they receive it, there is a pācittiya offence; if they do not receive it, there is a duṣkṛta offence. If he makes an effort intending to give but does not give, or if he regrets doing so, in all such cases there is a duṣkṛta offence.

For a bhikkhunī, a duṣkṛta offence. For a śikṣamāṇā, a śrāmaṇera, or a śrāmaṇerikā, a duṣkṛta offence. These are called offences.

Non-offences: If he places it on the ground and gives it thus; or if he has another person give it; or if he presents it to his parents; or if it is given to builders of a stūpa or builders of a room as payment reckoned according to the value of the work; or if he is compelled by force — in all such cases there is no offence.

Those who do not commit an offence: one who offends for the first time before the precept has been established; one who is insane; one whose mind is disturbed; one who is afflicted with pain and is under duress.

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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 and 2)

Buddhist Studies Editorial Board, 2002.