Lzh Sarv Bi Vb Sk 83Washing Water With Rice
Pāli / Sanskrit:Sasitthaka
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
The Sutta on Washing Water with Rice
Background
Sasitthaka, washing water with rice, is a disciplinary regulation recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, especially in the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga, the analysis of the discipline for bhikkhunīs, or nuns. The appearance of this rule reflects the context of the communal life of monks and nuns in the Buddha’s time at Sāvatthī, when practical matters of daily life required the Buddha to give specific instructions to maintain a pure way of living in the monastic community.
The Vinaya Pitaka is not only a body of prohibitive laws, but also contains subtle instructions on deportment, hygiene, and a way of life appropriate to the virtue of one who practices the path. Regulations concerning everyday implements, including washing water, reflect the Buddha-Dharma’s attention to details that may seem small but are in fact connected with intention, carefulness, and respect for shared objects.
Main Content
The Sasitthaka rule concerns the handling of water used for washing hands, bowls, utensils, or other objects when grains of rice remain in it. According to the Vinaya Pitaka, washing water containing grains of rice (sasi, rice or cooked rice) is regarded as having a special character and must be handled appropriately. This rule is not based on modern hygienic reasoning, but on three deeper principles: first, respect for food, which represents the labor of farmers; second, avoiding waste in the monastic life; and third, maintaining purity of intention (cittasantuṭṭhi) by not being heedless toward objects.
A bhikkhunī or bhikkhu should not carelessly pour washing water containing rice onto the ground, but should pour it in suitable places or handle it according to proper standards. This act seems small, but it reflects an attitude of “carefulness” (khematānukūla) and “contentment” (santuṭṭhita), two essential qualities in the Buddha-Dharma.
Practical Meaning
In present-day practice, the Sasitthaka rule is not only an instruction on handling objects, but also a lesson in mindfulness (sati) in daily activities.
🌏 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.