Lzh Mu Bu Vb Sk 48Overlarge Mouthful

The Nātimahanta Sutta — An Overlarge Mouth

Background

The Nātimahanta sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Theravāda Buddha-Dharma tradition, recorded in order to govern discipline in the community of the Sangha. This is one of the rules (sutta) that helps protect the ethics and order of practice of those gone forth, especially bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs.

The background for the arising of this sutta lies in daily events within the Sangha. The Buddha, with secret luminous wisdom, observed unsuitable conduct among members of the Sangha and issued corresponding rules. This sutta concerns a specific action that the Buddha considered unsuitable for those following the Buddha’s path: a way of eating or conduct related to an “overlarge mouth,” which may be understood as eating too much, eating without moderation, or, in other words, lacking restraint of the senses.

Main Content

The Vinaya Piṭaka records that the disciplinary rules issued by the Buddha were not established out of anger, but out of compassion. The Nātimahanta sutta, according to the general principle of the Vinaya, concerns a specific behavior that the Buddha wished to regulate. The word “nātimahanta” (too large, excessive) indicates that there is a disproportionate degree in the conduct of a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī.

In the context of the Vinaya Piṭaka, suttas of this kind are often related to rules on eating and drinking, how to eat rice, or actions connected with greed in the senses. These matters are directly related to the five basic precepts (pañcasīla) and the thirty-seven factors of awakening (bodhipakkhiyā dhammā). Specifically, this rule helps bhikkhus practice moderation (khanti) and restraint of the senses (indriya-saṁvara).

The Buddha taught that those who have gone forth need to guard the mind, guard the senses, and live a simple life free from greed. The rule “Nātimahanta” is a concrete expression of that general principle, reminding the disciples to be attentive to even the smallest action.