Lzh Dg Bu Vb Sk 33Covering With Rice

– FOUR-PART VINAYA

– ŚIKṢĀKARAṆĪYA

RULE 33

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling in the Anāthapiṇḍika Park, Jeta's Grove, in the city of Śrāvastī. At that time, a householder invited the Saṅgha to receive an offering of various foods and soups the following day. That evening he prepared all manner of things, and in the morning he came to invite the monastics to come and take the meal.

When the time came, the bhikkhus put on their robes, took up their bowls, went to the householder's home, and sat down in their seats. The householder personally served rice and soup to the Saṅgha with his own hands. At that point, the householder ladled soup into the bowl of one bhikkhu among the group of six bhikkhus, and then, keeping track of the order, went to fetch more soup to serve the next.

Thereupon that bhikkhu covered the soup with rice. When the householder returned, he asked: "Where is the soup?" The bhikkhu remained silent. The householder then expressed his contempt, saying: "This Śākyan ascetic has no sense of shame.

He receives without knowing satisfaction. Outwardly he claims to know the true Dharma—yet what sort of Dharma is this? Covering the soup with rice, like someone famished and starving!"

The bhikkhus, upon hearing this, all rebuked the group of six bhikkhus: "Why did you, when taking the meal, cover the soup with rice, hoping to receive more soup?"

The bhikkhus went to the Blessed One, bowed their heads at his feet, sat to one side, and reported this matter to the Blessed One in full. The Blessed One used this occasion to convene the assembly of bhikkhus, and rebuked the group of six bhikkhus:

"What you have done is wrong; it is not proper conduct, not the practice of an ascetic, not pure conduct, not conforming behavior—you have done what should not be done. Why did you cover the soup with rice, hoping to receive more soup?"

At that time the Blessed One, having rebuked them with numerous skillful means, addressed the bhikkhus:

"These foolish men are a field that cultivates many outflows; they are the first to transgress this precept. From this day forward, I shall set forth this rule for the bhikkhus, encompassing ten points of meaning, up to and including the point of causing the true Dharma to endure for a long time."

The precept should be stated as follows:

One must not cover soup with rice—this is a śikṣākaraṇīya.

The Blessed One having thus established this rule for the bhikkhus, there was a bhikkhu who had been invited to a meal in which the soup dirtied his hands, his bowl, and his napkin. Doubts arose, and he did not dare cover the soup with rice. The Buddha instructed:

"From this day forward, when one has been invited to a meal, it is permitted; there is no offense."

The precept should be stated as follows:

One must not cover soup with rice hoping to receive more—this is a śikṣākaraṇīya.

Bhikkhu: as defined above.

A bhikkhu who intentionally covers soup with rice, hoping to receive more soup, commits a duṣkṛta requiring confession. Because it is done with intentional mind, he commits the duṣkṛta of improper conduct. If done without intention, he commits a duṣkṛta.

A bhikkhunī: duṣkṛta. A śikṣamāṇā, a śrāmaṇera, a śrāmaṇerī: duṣkṛta. This is called an offense.

Non-offense: If one suffers from such an illness, or has been invited to a meal; or when only soup is needed or only rice is needed—in all such cases there is no offense.

Those who do not offend: one who commits the first offense before the rule has been established; one who is insane; one whose mind is disturbed; one who is afflicted with pain and distress.

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

Chinese translation: Tripiṭaka Master 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 Committee, 2002