Lzh Mi Bu Pm Pc 33Eating at a Public Guest-house
Pāli / Sanskrit:Āvasathapiṇḍa
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Āvasathapiṇḍa Sutta — Eating at a Public Guest-House
Background
This sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda tradition of the Buddha Dharma, specifically the Pātimokkha, the basic code for bhikkhus. It is not a Dharma discourse on lofty truths, but a disciplinary rule related to the daily life of the monastic community. The sutta makes clear what should be avoided when bhikkhus go to a public guest-house (āvasatha, a place for receiving travelers and pilgrims).
In ancient Indian society, such guest-houses were public places where merchants, travelers, and various people gathered. To maintain the purity, discipline, and ethics of the Sangha, the Buddha established specific admonitions for bhikkhus to observe in these situations. This sutta reflects the practical concern of early Buddhism: not only focusing on meditation and wisdom, but also practicing discipline in every action and word.
Main Content
The Āvasathapiṇḍa Sutta states a fixed rule in the Pātimokkha: bhikkhus should not eat a meal (piṇḍa) at public guest-houses. This is established as a Pācittiya, an offense requiring repentance, one of the lighter classes of rules in the Pātimokkha.
What is the basic reason behind this rule? When bhikkhus eat at public guest-houses, this may lead to improper forms of conduct. Specifically, it may create opportunities for inappropriate contact with laypeople, conversations unrelated to the Dharma, or situations that are difficult to control. In addition, eating at such public places may cause misunderstanding about the purpose of the bhikkhu: is he practicing alms round (piṇḍapāta) in purity, or merely enjoying eating in comfortable places?
🌏 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.