Lzh Mg Bu Vb Pc 36Eating at the Wrong Time

– MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA RULES

– EXPLAINING THE SIXTH SECTION OF THE 92 SINGLE EXPIATION RULES.

36. RULE: EATING AT THE WRONG TIME.

When the Buddha was residing in the city of Śrāvastī, as explained in detail above. At that time the Buddha said to the monks: "The Tathāgata eats but one meal each day, and thereby the body is light and at ease, and one lives in comfort and happiness. You too should eat but one meal each day.

For eating one meal each day makes the body light and at ease, and one lives in comfort and happiness." At that moment the Venerable Bhadāli addressed the Buddha: "Blessed One, I am unable to sustain myself on one meal a day. Why is that? Because it is only when I eat both in the morning and in the evening that I feel well." The Buddha then said to Bhadāli: "If you cannot eat one meal a day, then in the early morning take two bowls into the village on alms round, and use one bowl for the morning meal and one bowl for the midday meal.

That would be eating two meals." The Blessed One instructed him a second time and a third time in this manner, yet Bhadāli persisted in saying that he could not manage it. At that time all the other disciples complied with the Blessed One's teaching, with the sole exception of Bhadāli. Because of this he felt deep shame, and for three full months he did not come before the Buddha, as is explained in detail in the Bhadāli Sutta.

Furthermore, when the Buddha was residing in the city of Śrāvastī, the monks went out on alms round at the wrong time and were reproached by the people: "Why do the śramaṇas, sons of the Śākyas, go begging at the wrong time? They have entirely abandoned the conduct of the path. What kind of path is this?" The monks, upon hearing this, brought the matter before the Blessed One. The Buddha then said to the monks: "You have gone forth from the household life, yet you go on alms round at the wrong time; it is right that the people reproach you. From now on, I do not permit going on alms round at the wrong time." This matter also resembles what is explained in detail in the Udāyin Sutta.

Furthermore, when the Buddha was residing in the city of Śrāvastī, as explained in detail above. At that time there were monks who ate in the early evening, and the people reproached them: "Why do the śramaṇas, sons of the Śākyas, eat in the evening? We who are lay people do not eat in the evening. These people have destroyed the proper conduct of śramaṇas. What kind of path behaves in this manner!"

The monks, upon hearing this, brought the matter before the Blessed One. The Buddha then said to the monks: "You eat at night, and that is why the people reproach you. From now on, I permit eating before midday—that is, before the hour of noon—and one must mark the shadow of the sun to determine the proper time."

Furthermore, when the Buddha was residing in the city of Śrāvastī, as explained in detail above. At that time, monks who had gone on alms round in the village before the meal hour went again, after the meal hour, to places where people gathered for recreation, such as parks and lakes, to beg further, and so the people reproached one another, saying: "Look there, that śramaṇa, son of the Śākyas, who just now begged at my home has now followed me here to the lake to beg again! Truly this corrupts the proper conduct of religious life. What kind of path is this?"

The monks, upon hearing this, brought the matter before the Blessed One. The Buddha thereupon ordered that monk to be summoned. When he arrived, the Buddha asked him about the matter:

—Is this truly what happened?

—It is indeed so, Blessed One.

—Then what did you intend with your alms round in the morning?

—To eat at the proper mealtime.

—Then why did you beg again after the meal?

—To set aside food for the following morning.

—Why do you store food to eat later?

From now on, I do not permit eating at the wrong time, nor do I permit storing food to eat later.

Furthermore, when the Buddha was residing in the city of Rājagṛha, as explained in detail above. At that time, the Venerable Bhadāli, filled with shame, would go into the village on alms round as though entering into battle. He carried two bowls to beg, using one for that day and setting the other aside for the following day. At that time, some monks who were about to go into the village on alms round called out to Bhadāli:

—Elder, let us go into the village on alms round together.

—You go ahead. I will not go again.

—The Elder has gained great benefit—eating only one meal yet being at ease for two days.

—It is not that I eat only one meal and am at ease for two days; rather, because going into the village feels to me like entering into battle, I carry two bowls to beg for two days' food at once.

The monks, upon hearing this, brought the matter before the Blessed One. The Buddha thereupon ordered Bhadāli to be summoned. When he arrived, the Buddha asked:

—Is this truly what happened?

—It is so, Blessed One.

—Though you wish to reduce your trouble in this way, it is not permissible.

From now on, I do not permit you to eat at the wrong time, nor do I permit you to store food to eat later; as is explained in detail in the Bhadāli Sutta.

Furthermore, when the Buddha was residing in the city of Śrāvastī, as explained in detail above. At that time, Aniruddha was drying spoiled and decomposed rice on a square black stone at Ṛṣipatana hill. The Buddha, using his supranormal power, went to that hill. Though he knew the matter, he nonetheless asked Aniruddha:

—What are you doing there?

—Blessed One, there are faithful and joyful śrāvaka disciples who tomorrow wish to take refuge in me; therefore I cannot go into the village on alms round, and so I intend to dry this leftover cold rice to eat.

—Though you wish to reduce your trouble, from now on I do not permit you to eat at the wrong time or to store food to eat later.

Thereupon the Buddha, using his supranormal power, returned to the city of Śrāvastī, caused a signal to be conveyed to all the monks residing in Śrāvastī to assemble together, and for the sake of ten benefits proclaimed the precept for the monks, so that even those who had already heard it should hear it again:

If a monk eats at the wrong time, he commits a Pācittiya offense. If a monk eats food that has been kept past the proper mealtime, he commits a Pācittiya offense.

Explanation

Monk: as explained above.

Wrong time: if the time has passed beyond the prescribed limit—even by the duration of a single blink of the eye, or by the length of a blade of grass or a leaf—that is called the wrong time.

Eating: if one eats unhusked rice, polished rice, fish, meat, or various other things, one commits a Pācittiya offense.

Pācittiya: as explained above.

Kept past the proper mealtime: that is, past the duration of one tudu.

Tudu: Twenty moments of thought (nimittakṣaṇa) make one blink of the eye. Twenty blinks of the eye make one snap of the fingers. Twenty snaps of the fingers make one lā-tượng (?). Twenty lā-tượng make one tudu. On the longest day there are eighteen tudu. On the shortest night there are twelve tudu. On the longest night there are eighteen tudu. On the shortest day there are twelve tudu.

Food: There are five kinds of staple food and five kinds of non-staple food. If any one of these is kept past the proper time and then eaten, one commits a Pācittiya offense.

(In addition, there are the following cases:) Timely receiving, untimely receiving, deliberate receiving, unintentional receiving, receiving a little, receiving much, receiving quickly, receiving gradually, receiving of snow and ice.

Timely receiving: If one receives food at the proper time and eats it at the proper time, there is no offense. If one allows the time to pass by so much as a single blink of the eye, or by the length of a blade of grass or a leaf, and then eats, one commits one Pācittiya offense. If one allows more than one tudu to pass and then eats, one commits two Pācittiya offenses: one offense for eating at the wrong time and one offense for eating food kept past the proper time.

Untimely receiving: If one receives food at the wrong time and then eats it at the wrong time, one commits one Pācittiya offense. If one allows more than one tudu to pass and then eats, one commits two Pācittiya offenses: one offense for eating at the wrong time and one offense for eating food kept past the proper time.

The cases of deliberate receiving, unintentional receiving, receiving a little, receiving much, receiving quickly, and receiving gradually also have distinctions of this kind.

Receiving of snow and ice: If a monk wishes to eat snow, he should receive it from a pure attendant (kalpikāra). If there is no pure attendant, he should wash his hands clean and then take it himself to eat. The case of ice is the same. This is called receiving of snow and ice.

When a monk rises early in the morning, he should wash his hands thoroughly. He should not wash in a careless and rough manner; rather, he should first wash the five fingertips, and should not wash from the armpit but only from the wrist forward, washing cleanly and without roughness. Washing should not be done in a manner that twists and wrings so as to cause bleeding (?).

One should use a large stone, blades of grass, or ash to wash the hands clean, and then pat them so as to make a sound (?). After washing the hands clean, if one then rubs and squeezes the two hands together, this is considered unclean, and one should wash again. If, after washing the bowl and while the hands are still wet, one smooths or strokes them, this is also considered unclean, and one should wait until they are dry.

Before a meal, a monk should keep his hands in a state of cleanliness. If one scratches one's head, or handles trousers, leather shoes, a vessel of milk, oil, or a leather bag, one must wash the hands again as before. If one handles the saṃghāṭī robe or the uttarāsaṅga robe, one must rinse the hands with water again.

When a bhikkhu wishes to go on alms round, he should wash his hands clean and then put on the robe used for entering the village. After putting on the robe, he should wash his hands again and then take up the bowl before entering the village. If it is cold winter weather and he places the bowl in a bag and then sets out toward the boundary of the village, or toward a pond, or toward a flowing stream, he should wash his hands clean there.

If there is no water, he should enter the village and go to the dwelling of a bhikkhu to ask for water to wash his hands. If there is none there either, he should go to the residence of the bhikkhunīs to ask for water. If there is none there either, he should go to the home of a faithful upāsaka and ask for clean water.

If there is none there either, he should open the bag, take out the bowl, hold it by a single spot, and proceed on alms round. When he has received food, he should leave the village and go to the side of a lake or a flowing stream, set the bowl down on clean grass, and then wash his hands clean. He should next wash clean a flat stone or some leaves.

After washing, he should remove and discard the portion of rice that his fingers have touched, then pour the rice out onto the flat stone or onto the leaves. When pouring the rice out, he must not pour it onto the very spot that was held by unclean hands. When he has finished pouring, he must wash the bowl clean, then pour the rice back into the bowl and eat.

When he has finished eating, if there is rice left over, he should pour it in one spot on the flat stone and then depart. The following day, the bhikkhu again enters the village on alms round; if he receives nothing at all, he must leave the village with an empty bowl, and if by chance he returns by the old path and sees that the leftover rice poured on the stone the day before is still there, he should, if a净人 (jìng rén, a pure attendant) is present, instruct that person to take it and bring it for him to eat.

If there is no pure attendant and the spot of rice has been eaten by crows, he should scrape away the portion the crows have eaten and then eat the remainder himself. If a pure attendant uses unclean hands to hold noodles or rice when offering them to the Sangha, this is considered unclean for the senior elder, but is considered clean for the others. If a pure attendant pours clean noodles on top of unclean noodles, one may scoop from the upper portion to eat.

But if unclean noodles are poured on top of clean noodles, then all of it becomes unclean. If clean noodles are poured into an unclean bowl, one may scoop from the center to eat. If the contents are stirred together, then all of it becomes unclean.

When a bhikkhu is eating noodles, if he wipes his mouth with his hand, this is considered unclean and he must wash his hands again. If he rubs both hands together, this is also considered unclean and he must wash his hands again.

If a bhikkhu is ill and requires rice porridge, he should ask a pure attendant to prepare it. If there is no pure attendant at the forest dwelling (araññaka), he may wash his hands clean so that no dirt adheres to them, then ladle water into the pot and kindle a fire to bring the water to a boil, then inform the pure attendant so that the attendant may add the rice. Once the attendant has added the rice, the bhikkhu must not tend the fire any further but must instruct the pure attendant to tend the fire until it comes to a boil.

If the pure attendant departs, the bhikkhu may tend the fire until the porridge is cooked, and then ladle it out for the sick person. If a bhikkhu has taken an emetic or purgative medicine and the physician says that he must be given thin rice gruel or else he will die, what should be done? In such a case, one should take rice, wash it clean, cook it thoroughly until it becomes liquid, pour it into a bowl, and give it to the sick bhikkhu.

If the sick person cannot tolerate this, one should take a handful of whole, unbroken grains of rice, wash them seven times until clean, then place them in a bag, tie off the end, and at the same time wash the pot clean and put it on to cook. The tips of the rice grains must not be broken; if they are broken, it must not be given to the sick bhikkhu. If in a remote place a pure attendant falls ill, one should have another pure attendant prepare porridge for them.

If in such a case there is no pure attendant but lawfully obtained grain is available, the bhikkhu may personally hull and cook the porridge himself and give it to the pure attendant to consume. If the pure attendant does not finish the porridge, the bhikkhu may not consume it, nor may he give it to other bhikkhus. Therefore it is said as above.

Vietnamese translation: Thích Phước Sơn. MAHĀSAṄGHIKA VINAYA

Chinese translation: THE TRIPIṬAKA MASTER BUDDHABHADRA OF INDIA

TOGETHER WITH THE ŚRAMAṆA FAXIAN, TRANSLATED DURING THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY

Doctrinal verification: Thích Đỗng Minh