San Lo Bi Vb Ss 11Receiving Food With Lust
Pāli / Sanskrit:Avassutā avassutassa
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Sutta on Receiving Food With Lust
Background
The sutta Avassutā avassutassa (Receiving Food With Lust) is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, specifically in the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga, the explanation of the discipline for nuns. This sutta arose from a specific incident in the community of monks and nuns under the Buddha, when nuns violated the practice concerning how to receive food in the daily meal.
In the Theravāda tradition, the Vinaya Piṭaka is not only a collection of rigid rules, but also profound lessons in mindfulness, self-restraint, and respect for the spirit of practice. Disciplinary texts are often established to address specific situations, thereby teaching the principle of managing mind and action. This sutta concerns the issue of lust or craving (lobha) when receiving food, a subtle matter related to whether one uses daily living conditions for practice or for indulgence.
Main Content
The title avassutā avassutassa may be understood as “the careless receiving food from the careless.” The core of this sutta concerns the mental attitude (cetasika) when receiving food. Specifically, it sets forth the case of nuns receiving food not for the sake of maintaining health for practice, but under the influence of attachment (ālaya), the wish to be served, or the desire for attention.
The Vinaya Piṭaka clearly distinguishes between receiving food with right contemplation (sammā-sammasana) and receiving it with a mind of craving. In the first case, a nun accepts the food offered by the donor calmly, regarding it only as a means to maintain health in order to continue studying and practicing the Dharma. In the second case, she accepts it with the desire for sensory satisfaction or for honor.
The sutta also notes that donors too must have a proper mental attitude when providing food. If a donor offers food with a mind of lust or with the purpose of accumulating merit without true understanding, that too is considered “careless” (avassuta).
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