Lzh Mi Bi Vb Sk 69Stuffing Cheeks
Pāli / Sanskrit:Avagaṇḍakāraka
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EXPLANATION OF THE AVAGAṆḌAKĀRAKA SUTRA
(Sutra on Stuffing the Cheeks)
Background
The Avagaṇḍakāraka sutra is one of the detailed disciplinary regulations in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravada tradition. It is recorded in the Suttavibhaṅga, the Detailed Explanation, where actions constituting Pācittiya offenses that bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs need to observe are preserved.
The background for the arising of this sutra comes from a specific event in the early Sangha community. When the Buddha was still living, certain bhikkhus or attendants acted in ways not in keeping with the attitude of practice. "Stuffing the cheeks" (avagaṇḍakāraka), that is, intentionally filling the mouth with food while eating, was regarded as a careless and disrespectful action that caused the loss of the dignity of a practitioner. This not only lessened self-control in eating, but also reflected a state of greed (lobha) and lack of wakefulness (appamāda).
The Buddha therefore set forth this rule in order to maintain discipline and educate his disciples in the ascetic virtue of contentment, joy in just enough food and clothing, without excess.
Main Content
According to the regulation in Avagaṇḍakāraka, when a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī intentionally stuffs the cheeks with food while eating rice or supplementary foods (bhojana, khajjanīya-bhojana), this is a pācittiya offense. This conduct is prohibited for the following reasons:
First, it shows a lack of self-control and mental discipline (mindfulness). The practitioner is encouraged to eat mindfully (sati), clearly knowing the amount of food appropriate for the body, not in order to satisfy craving for food.
Second, the action of stuffing the cheeks causes the loss of the dignity of one who has gone forth (samaṇa-lakhaṇa). When going for alms (piṇḍapāta) or eating together with laypeople, eating greedily and stuffing the mouth creates an unwholesome impression and diminishes the dignity of a monastic.
Third, it is an expression of greed (lobha), one of the three basic unwholesome poisons (akusala) in Buddhism.
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