Lzh Sarv Bu Vb Sk 74Licking the Hands
Pāli / Sanskrit:Hatthanillehaka
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The Hand-Licking Sutta (Hatthanillehaka)
Background
The Hand-Licking Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Pāli Canon, reflecting the disciplinary rules of the early Buddhist Sangha. In the Theravāda tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka is not only a collection of prohibitions, but also a historical document recording concrete situations in the lives of bhikkhus that the Buddha directly addressed. Each rule of discipline (Vinaya) was established with an initiating occasion (nidāna), showing why the Buddha Dharma needed standards to maintain the ethics and stability of the Sangha.
This sutta is recorded in the context of educating monastics in discipline, guiding them away from behavior that ought to be avoided in communal life. Through concrete stories, students of the Buddha Dharma come to understand clearly the deeper reason behind each rule.
Main Content
The Hatthanillehaka Sutta (Hand-Licking) records an event connected with the improper behavior of bhikkhus. Specifically, it speaks of bhikkhus who behaved in a manner unsuitable to the ethics of those who have gone forth: licking one another's hands or licking other parts of the body under the pretext of practicality or jest. This conduct was regarded as indulgence in sensory pleasure, contrary to austerity (tapa) and the restraint of the senses that a monastic must cultivate.
When these bhikkhus were discovered, the Buddha examined the matter and clearly prescribed that such conduct was not permitted. The Buddha did not merely prohibit it, but also explained the principle: such actions reflect sensual desire (kāma-taṇhā) and lack of self-restraint (indriya-saṃvara). They are not suitable to the pure life of one who has left the household to pursue awakening.
This rule, whether a Pātimokkha rule or related to doctrinal classification, was established so that monastics might preserve a pure mind and focus on the practice of concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (paññā). It also protects the honor of the Sangha in the eyes of laypeople, who revere bhikkhus as those who have gone forth.
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