Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Pd 8Asking for Dried Meat

EXPLANATION OF THE SUTRA “ASKING FOR DRIED MEAT”

From the Traditional Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka

Background

The sutra “Asking for Dried Meat” appears in the Vinaya Piṭaka, in the internal regulations for bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs. This collection records specific situations in the life of the early Sangha community during the Buddha’s time, when issues concerning food and eating were raised so that rules might be established.

The Vinaya Piṭaka is not a collection of dry prohibitions, but a legal system imbued with the ideal of awakening and compassion. Each rule (sikkhāpada) has a specific story that led to its arising, an event or action by a certain bhikkhu who violated a standard, after which the Buddha and senior bhikkhus established a rule to correct the community.

This sutra concerns nutrition in the monastery. Vegetables, meat, and food substances were regarded as necessary factors for maintaining health, allowing bhikkhus to continue practicing the Dharma. However, the manner of asking for and using food also reflects ethics in action: one should not ask beyond what is fitting out of greed, and one should not trouble outsiders.

Main Content

In this sutra, a bhikkhu actively goes to a layperson’s house to ask for dried meat or asks that person to buy it especially for him. This act is regarded as improper for the discipline of one who is a bhikkhu. The reasons for its impropriety are as follows:

First, a bhikkhu should live a life of few desires (appicchā), with little greed and contentment. Actively asking for specific foods such as dried meat shows the pursuit of greedy craving, which is not in accord with the spirit of practice.

Second, a bhikkhu follows a principle of equality in food: we eat whatever food is provided in the alms bowl and should not choose or make special requests.