Lzh Mi Bi Vb Pc 138Disposing Feces on Plants

Sutra on Dropping Feces on Green Plants

Harituccārachaḍḍana - A Rule for Monks and Nuns

Background

This sutra appears in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, specifically in the Pācittiya section, offenses requiring confession before a preceptor. These are detailed rules concerning physical actions that affect the monastic community and the shared environment.

The historical background of this rule concerns communal practice life in vihāras, or monasteries. Monks and nuns lived communally, sharing living spaces, gardens, ponds, and common facilities. When monks or nuns behaved improperly toward green plants, plants with nutritional or sacred value, by depositing feces on them, this became a problem of hygiene, respect, and management of common property.

The Buddha established this rule to maintain purity, harmony, and responsibility in the community of practice. It reflects his wisdom in governing the small details of life, because precisely those small details form the foundation of a worthy and upright community.

Main Content

This rule states that a monk, nun, or bhikkhu should not deposit feces, or other impurities, on green plants (haritalata), especially plants that provide value to the community, such as fruit trees, medicinal plants, or plants carefully cultivated in a shared garden.

This act is regarded as Pācittiya, an improper act requiring confession before the Sangha and an attempt to remedy it. The basis of this rule is not that plants have a mind that is harmed, but that the act violates three deep values: first, respect for common property; second, carefulness and cleanliness in daily life; and third, awareness that small worldly actions can pollute the environment of fellow practitioners.

This rule also reflects the Buddhist principle of non-harming (ahiṃsā) and wise management of resources.