Lzh Mg Bi Pm Sk 39Stuffing Cheeks
Pāli / Sanskrit:Avagaṇḍakāraka
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COMMENTARY ON THE AVAGAṆḌAKĀRAKA SUTTA (STUFFING THE CHEEKS)
Background
This sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically within the regulations pertaining to monastic discipline. During the time of the Buddha Gotama, the community was required to maintain purity and dignity in the actions and speech of monastics. The Vinaya Piṭaka records specific events that gave rise to rules of moral conduct, with the purpose of protecting the Holy Dhamma itself from decline.
The Avagaṇḍakāraka Sutta arose from a situation within the Sangha: a monastic or monastics had engaged in the behavior of stuffing the cheeks (avagaṇḍa) during funeral rites or communal gatherings. This action, though it may appear trivial, was regarded by the Buddha as falling short of proper standards, for it reflects a lack of mindfulness and self-restraint—qualities fundamental to one who walks the path of practice.
Main Content
This sutta records the Buddha's instruction or the Sangha's ruling concerning the stuffing of cheeks on occasions of funeral rites or assemblies. This behavior is prohibited for profound reasons: first, it displays a lack of respect toward the deceased or toward the community; second, it reveals inattentiveness and a lack of composure in bodily bearing; third, it reflects a state of mind deficient in stillness and collectedness, incompatible with the practice of equanimity.
The Buddha taught that small actions, seemingly harmless, have the capacity to erode collective discipline. Buddhist psychology regards mindfulness of every movement and every word as the very foundation of practice. Stuffing the cheeks reflects a lapse of vigilance, a heedlessness that causes monastics to act without reflection.
This regulation is set within the context of other conditions of practice, such as the manner of sitting, the manner of walking, the manner of speaking—all of which fall under the governance of samādhi (concentration) and sampajañña (clear comprehension). Refraining from stuffing the cheeks is not merely a matter of aesthetics or etiquette, but a matter of cultivating the mind.
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