San Mu Bu Pm GBM 3 Pd 3Receiving Food From Designated Families
Pāli / Sanskrit:Tatiyapāṭidesanīya
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Explanation of the Tatiyapāṭidesanīya Discourse
On Receiving Food from Designated Families
Background
Tatiyapāṭidesanīya is one of the three Pāṭidesanīya, the three injunctions of confession, found in the third section, Pācittiya, of the Vinaya Piṭaka of the traditional Theravāda Buddhist tradition. This discourse is recorded in the Suttavibhaṅga, the section giving detailed explanation of the rules for monks and nuns.
The content of the discourse concerns regulations on how monks and nuns receive food from particular families in the community. This is not a severe rule, such as a pārājika or saṅghādisesa, but an injunction (pāṭidesanīya), a lighter category that nevertheless requires acknowledgement and disclosure of the fault if violated.
The historical background of this discourse comes from practical situations in the life of practice and the arising need for management. When monks and nuns received food from particular families, conflicts or favoritism could arise that were not in keeping with the spirit of practice. Therefore, the Buddha established guidelines to maintain fairness and transparency and to avoid misunderstandings among the faithful community.
Main Content
Tatiyapāṭidesanīya stipulates that when a nun receives food from a certain family regularly or with special favor, she must disclose (paṭideseti) this before the Sangha of monks and nuns. The purpose is to avoid all suspicion or disorder within the Sangha, as well as to make such relationships public.
The text of the discourse does not set out every situation in excessive detail, but the general principle is this: if a nun is regularly supported by a family or is specially chosen to be provided with food, these things need to be known by the whole Sangha. This ensures that there is no privacy or obscurity that could offend the spirit of practice or create division in the Sangha.
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