San Mg Bu Pm Pc 76Drinking Alcohol
Pāli / Sanskrit:Surāpāna
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The Sutta on Drinking Alcohol (Surāpāna)
Background
The Surāpāna Sutta (Drinking Alcohol) is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, specifically in the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha, the comprehensive code for nuns. This sutta was recorded in the context of the Buddha establishing rules of discipline to protect the Sangha and the community of nuns from actions harmful to spiritual practice.
According to the Theravāda tradition, these legal provisions are not arbitrary prohibitions, but ethical guidelines arising from specific events in which the Buddha’s disciples unintentionally caused negative effects for the monastic community. The issuing of each rule has a practical cause, reflecting the Buddha’s wisdom in maintaining the purity of the fourfold assembly: bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās.
The Surāpāna Sutta specifically addresses the issue of drinking intoxicants, liquor, beer, and alcoholic beverages, in order to protect clarity of mind in the course of practice.
Main Content
In the Vinaya Piṭaka, drinking alcohol (Surāpāna) is listed as a Pācittiya offense, or according to some interpretations a Pātidesanīya or Pācittiya offense. This means that a nun or monastic who drinks any liquid containing alcohol, whether undiluted or diluted, must confess this fault before the Sangha or the community of nuns.
The basic reason behind this rule is that alcohol destroys clarity of mind (citta-samādhi). When the mind is clouded by intoxicants, a practitioner cannot contemplate clearly, cannot maintain mindfulness (sati), and therefore loses the capacity to cultivate right concentration (samādhi). Moreover, when the mind is affected by alcohol, a practitioner is more likely to violate other precepts, lying, causing harm, or falling into sensual desire, actions that would otherwise be avoided if the mind were clear.
The sutta also emphasizes that drinking alcohol does not affect only the individual monastic, but also diminishes Buddhists’ trust in the Sangha and the community of nuns.
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