Lzh Mg Bu Pm Sk 47Washing Water With Rice
Pāli / Sanskrit:Sasitthaka
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Sutta Sasitthaka: Rice-Washing Water
Background
The Sutta Sasitthaka belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, which preserves the rules of practice and the governance of the monastic community. This text reflects the lived context of the Bhikkhus during the early period of Buddhism, when the Buddha was still present and teaching directly.
The sutta is recorded in the form of legal determinations (Vinaya) intended to resolve specific situations arising in the collective life of monastics. The underlying ideal of the Vinaya Piṭaka is not to impose rigid standards, but to guide monastics in living harmoniously, restraining the unwholesome roots (lobha, dosa, moha), and cultivating the qualities of enlightenment (sambodhanga).
Principal Contents
The Sutta Sasitthaka centers on a matter that appears trivial yet is profound: how to handle rice-washing water containing rice grains within the communal living environment of the monastic community. According to the Vinaya Piṭaka, Bhikkhus must adhere to the principle of non-harm to living beings (ahiṁsā) and the protection of small creatures. When disposing of water used to wash rice, if such water is discarded carelessly, it may harm small microorganisms or insects in the soil.
The Buddha taught specific methods for handling this situation: carefully disposing of the washing water in designated places, or separating the rice grains before discarding the water. This determination is not merely a matter of physical hygiene, but reflects clear comprehension (sampajañña) in every daily action — even the smallest acts must be performed with full awareness of their consequences.
This sutta illustrates that the Vinaya Piṭaka does not consist of arbitrary prohibitions, but rather of compassionate (karuṇā) guidelines grounded in deep understanding of cause and effect (kamma) and the interconnectedness of living beings.
Practical Significance
The Sutta Sasitthaka teaches us that the practice of the Buddha-Dhamma is not confined to meditation or theoretical overviews; it permeates every detail of daily life.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.