Lzh Mg Bi Pm Pc 26Eating at the Wrong Time
Pāli / Sanskrit:Vikālabhojana
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Eating at the Wrong Time (Vikālabhojana)
Vinaya Piṭaka, Rules of Training by Category — Theravāda Tradition
Background
The Vikālabhojana is a section of the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically within the rules governing the eating practices of bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs according to the Theravāda tradition. These regulations arose from the guidance of the Buddha, intended to cultivate the mind, protect health, and maintain discipline within the religious community.
In the early period of Buddhism, bhikkhus lived by going on almsround each day. The restriction on times for eating was imposed not out of scarcity, but for a fundamental reason of practice: the cultivation of heedfulness (appamāda) and the restraint of desires connected with food. This regulation is also related to the rhythm of human life — the period from sunrise to sunset is regarded as the "proper time" (kāla), while the period from evening until the following morning is the "improper time" (vikāla).
Principal Content
According to the Vinaya Piṭaka, a bhikkhu is permitted to eat within the period from dawn until the sun has fully set. After that hour, the eating of solid food is considered a transgression of the Pācittiya class — a lesser offense requiring confession and expiation. Furthermore, a bhikkhu should not eat foods regarded as "unsuitable," such as the flesh of animals slaughtered specifically to serve him, or foods liable to arouse and inflame desire.
Vikālabhojana — eating at the wrong time — is not merely a matter of legal regulation. It reflects the Buddha's profound understanding of human psychophysiology. Eating in the evening is considered difficult to restrain, prone to giving rise to laziness, loss of heedfulness, and confusion of thought. In particular, heavy food consumed in the evening obstructs meditative activity during the night.
This text also establishes the principle that the keeping of these rules is not because the Buddha wished to exercise control over his disciples, but because these rules are genuinely beneficial to the practice and to liberation.
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