Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Ss 5Encouraging Receiving Food From One With Lust
Pāli / Sanskrit:Kiṁ te avassuto vā anavassuto vā
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Sutra on Receiving Rice from One with Craving
Background
This sutra belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, where the rules and guidelines for the lives of bhikṣus (monks) and bhikṣuṇīs (nuns) are recorded. The Vinaya Piṭaka is not merely a dry set of prohibitions, but teachings of profound ethical meaning, reflecting the Buddha's understanding of human psychology and the conditions necessary for successful practice.
The question "Kiṁ te avassuto vā anavassuto vā" — "Is that person bound by craving or not?" — arises from practical situations in the early life of the Sangha. Monks often encountered difficulties connected with receiving rice from people whose motives were mixed. The issue was not rice or no rice, but the purity of mind with which the act was performed.
Main Content
This sutra teaches that when a person wishes to offer rice to a monk, one need not distinguish whether that person is bound by craving (avassuto) or free from craving (anavassuto). This means that the monk should receive the mind of the donor equally, without judging or bargaining.
The deeper principle here is impartial compassion (samaditthi). A practicing monk should not divide donors into different categories, thereby giving rise to greed, hatred, or delusion. Whether that person offers rice with the wish to quickly accumulate merit, or simply wishes to help, or even has impure intentions hidden behind the act, the monk should still accept the rice with purity.
This does not mean that the monk is passive or weak. On the contrary, it is a sign of inner strength. Not reacting to the mixed attitudes or motives of others is itself the pure practice of sīla and the non-seeking renunciation (nekkhamma) of a true renunciant.
Practical Meaning
The meaning of this sutra goes beyond the matter of receiving rice. It teaches us how to conduct ourselves amid the mixture of the world without being defiled by it.
🌏 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.