Lzh Sarv Bu Vb Sk 75Licking the Bowl
Pāli / Sanskrit:Pattanillehaka
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The Bowl-Licking Sutta (Pattanillehaka)
Background
The Bowl-Licking Sutta belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka in the Pāli Canon of the Theravāda tradition and is one of the detailed disciplinary rules guiding Buddhist monastics in a pure way of life. The background of this sutta records that the Buddha taught his disciples how to treat the alms bowl, the daily implement of a monastic, in relation to licking or scraping the bowl so as not to waste food.
In the Theravāda tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka is not merely a code of penalties, but a complete body of guidance for nourishing spiritual purity. Each disciplinary sutta has a specific teaching context, usually beginning when the Buddha witnessed an event or heard of one from disciples and then gave instruction to correct it or guide the proper path of practice.
Main Content
The Bowl-Licking Sutta (Pattanillehaka) deals with the symbolic issue of how to treat the implements of practice. Specifically, it teaches that a monastic should not lick the bowl or eating utensils in order to seek rice or food still left behind, nor should one gather fragments of food by scraping or beating the bowl. Such conduct is considered undignified and not in keeping with the appearance of a pure monastic.
This rule reflects a basic principle in Theravāda Buddhism: property, food, and permitted requisites are used to nourish the body in service of practicing the true Dharma, not for greed or for seeking material gain. Licking the bowl is regarded as an action reflecting craving, or at least a lack of discipline in one's attitude toward daily implements. According to the spirit of the Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka, carefulness and dignity in each tiny action are the foundation for building stable virtue.
Practical Meaning
The Bowl-Licking Sutta teaches us that purity is not only in the mind, but must also be expressed in action, speech, and outward attitude.
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