Lzh Mu Bi Pm Pc 62Drinking Alcohol
Pāli / Sanskrit:Surāpāna
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Discourse on Drinking Alcohol (Surāpāna)
Background
The Surāpāna discourse is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, within the body of regulations for the Buddha’s disciples. The Vinaya Piṭaka is the detailed teaching on ethical action, focused on maintaining discipline in the Sangha. This discourse was taught when the Buddha saw that some bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, or laypeople in the community of faith were drinking alcohol, which ran contrary to the spirit of pure practice.
In Theravāda Buddhism, drinking intoxicants is regarded as a violation of basic discipline. This is not because alcohol is inherently evil, but because it causes loss of mindfulness (sati), defiles the mind, and leads to other unwholesome actions. The Buddha clearly understood that loss of mindfulness is the root of all misfortune.
Main Content
According to the Vinaya tradition, the rule on drinking alcohol (Surāpāna Veramaṇī) is set forth as part of the basic Five Precepts (Pañcasīla) for lay Buddhists, and as part of the stricter discipline for bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs. Specifically, the drinking of any intoxicating beverage, whether wine, beer, or anything that causes loss of mindfulness, is prohibited.
The reason the Buddha established this rule is very logical: alcohol weakens wisdom (paññā) and mindfulness (sati), two essential factors in the practice of the Buddha-Dharma. When the mind is defiled by intoxicants, a monastic cannot maintain right mindfulness (sammā-sati) or right concentration (sammā-samādhi). Moreover, alcohol often leads to unwholesome actions such as lying, killing, stealing, or sexual misconduct.
In the Vinaya Piṭaka, if a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī drinks alcohol or a similar substance, this is considered one of the serious violations, which may lead to penalties from light to heavy depending on degree and circumstance. For laypeople, drinking alcohol is considered a violation of the precepts, breaking one of the five basic precepts they have vowed to uphold.
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