San Bu Pm Qizil Pc 37Eating at the Wrong Time
Pāli / Sanskrit:Vikālabhojana
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Vikālabhojana Sutta: Eating at the Wrong Time
Background
The Vikālabhojana Sutta is part of the Vinaya Pitaka of early Buddhism, especially in the area of regulations concerning the daily life of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. The Vinaya Pitaka does not consist of profound doctrinal teachings, but of practical rules of conduct intended to protect the integrity of the Sangha and promote practice.
The rule against eating at the wrong time arose from occasions when the Buddha and the Sangha encountered practical problems. When bhikkhus violated rules concerning food, this affected mental concentration, digestive functioning, and above all the principle of restraining desires. From this, the Buddha established disciplinary rules to help practitioners maintain concentration and mindfulness.
Main Content
According to the Vinaya Pitaka, bhikkhus are permitted to eat from early morning until midday. The time after midday until the following dawn is called the "wrong time" (vikala), when eating is not permitted. Acts of eating outside the permitted time, especially eating substantial nourishment, not light drinks such as water, are regarded as a Pacittiya offense, a type of offense requiring confession.
The Vikālabhojana Sutta explains the reason for and the form of this offense. When a bhikkhu eats nourishing food outside the permitted time, he not only violates the discipline but also harms his own practice. This is because eating at the wrong time disturbs the mind, gives rise to thoughts about pleasant flavors, and prevents the spirit from being peaceful.
Exceptions are also clearly recorded: water, milk, honey, oil, and other liquids are considered acceptable outside the main eating time. However, any solid food or highly nourishing food, such as rice, bread, or meat, is prohibited.
Practical Meaning
The rule against eating at the wrong time is not an unreasonable restriction, but a profound means of practice.
🌏 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.