San Lo Bu Pm Sk 28Stuffing Cheeks

Source Status

This entry currently has only descriptive information and a truncated ending of the Vietnamese text. The data records the number “San Lo Bu Pm Sk 28,” the Vietnamese title “Nhồi Đầy Má,” the English title “Stuffing Cheeks,” the Pali title “Avagaṇḍakāraka,” belonging to the Sectarian Canon · Comparative group and the Comparative Vinaya — Sanskrit collection. The complete source text, circumstances of formulation, original wording, and comparative version have not been provided. Therefore, the section below is a controlled AI interpretation based on the descriptive information, not a translation of the original Vinaya text.

Context

The title “Stuffing Cheeks” shows that this entry is related to eating, or at least to an oral deportment while taking food. The truncated ending speaks at length about mindful eating, not treating food as mere pleasure, and training the mind through small actions. These ideas accord with the general spirit of the Vinaya, but they do not allow details of the rule beyond the title to be affirmed.

In monastic life, eating is not an entirely private activity. A practitioner often eats in relation to donors, the community, and the ideal of celibate discipline. Therefore, the ways of receiving, using, chewing, and expressing the bodily form all have educational meaning. If one eats hastily, greedily, or with coarse bodily expression, the practitioner not only agitates his own mind, but may also diminish the faith of those who observe.

Content That Can Be Determined from the Descriptive Information

From the Vietnamese and English titles, the most certain content is that this training rule concerns the action of “stuffing the cheeks,” or eating in a way that makes the cheeks bulge. The Pali title “Avagaṇḍakāraka” is recorded in the descriptive information, but the data does not explain the term. There is no data regarding the exact sentence, level of regulation, subject of application, or exceptions.

A cautious interpretation may say that this entry points toward restraint in eating. When too much food is placed in the mouth at once, the bodily appearance becomes undignified, breathing and chewing lose balance, and the mind easily inclines toward craving for flavor or haste. The training rule is not necessarily aimed only at external etiquette; it also reminds the practitioner to recognize the mind at a very intimate moment: the moment of contact with taste, smell, the feeling of fullness or hunger, and the habit of wanting more.

Meaning for Practice

Eating and drinking are places where craving easily appears, but also places where mindfulness can easily be trained. A mouthful of food may pass by in unawareness, or it may become an opportunity to observe body and mind. When one knows that one is chewing, swallowing, wanting to eat quickly, liking this taste, or being displeased with that taste, the practitioner sees clearly the arising and passing of mind in daily life.

For a monastic, eating moderately is also a way to honor offerings. Food comes from the labor of others; to use food with a distracted mind is to fail the faith of donors. For laypeople, this training rule still has practical value. In a society overflowing with stimulation, eating is often pulled along by screens, conversations, hurry, or emotion. The spirit of this entry invites us back to sufficiency: eating to nourish the body, sustain health, and keep the mind clear for wholesome action.

Comparative Note

The complete source text is not yet available to determine how the original rule speaks about the action of “stuffing the cheeks.” Connections with the Noble Eightfold Path, contemplation, or mental training in the ending should be understood as interpretive practice, not citation. When the full source is available, the term “Avagaṇḍakāraka,” the position of the entry “Sk 28,” and any comparative versions should be checked. Before comparison, this section should not be used to conclude Vinaya details beyond the title provided.