Lzh Mi Bu Vb Pc 30Eating Food Prepared on a Nun’s Instruction

The Paripācita Sutta — Food Prepared on a Bhikkhunī’s Instruction

Background

The Paripācita Sutta lies in the Pātimokkha, the basic code of discipline in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the Pācittiya section for bhikkhunīs. This section regulates actions that, if violated by female monastics, must be confessed and repented of (pācittiya, an offence requiring confession).

The background giving rise to this rule comes from practical situations in the community of monks and nuns during the Buddha’s lifetime. The community of bhikkhunīs needed specific regulations to maintain discipline and avoid actions that could weaken the confidence of Buddhist laypeople or cause trouble in the monastery. The rule concerning food prepared on the instruction of a bhikkhunī is one of the rules related to moral purity within the monastic group.

Main Content

The Paripācita Sutta (Paripācita, “fully prepared”) states that a bhikkhunī should not eat food specially prepared according to the instruction of another bhikkhunī if that food was not prepared for the whole community. Specifically, this concerns the possibility that female monastics might receive special food cooked separately under the instruction of another woman, not for the purpose of the community.

This rule aims to prevent the situation in which some female monastics might be favored over others by receiving specially prepared food. It also helps avoid actions that could be misunderstood as personal preference or that create unfairness in the monastic community. In addition, the rule is intended to keep female monastics from falling into dependence on special care from other members, which could weaken self-reliance and equality within the Sangha of monks and nuns.

Violation of this rule is considered pācittiya, a lighter offence than the especially grave offences, but one that still requires confession and repentance before the monastic community.