San Mu Bu Pm GBM 3 Sk 6Na kulmāsapiṇḍakaṁ
Pāli / Sanskrit:Na kulmāsapiṇḍakaṁ
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THE NA KULMĀSAPIṆḌAKAṀ SUTTA
Background
The Na kulmāsapiṇḍakaṁ Sutta is found in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, the legal section establishing and governing the monastic community of Early Buddhism. The title of this sutta means “not the food portion of the fifth or sixth month” (or “not the portion of food for the rainy season”). It is a detailed rule among the instructions on food, daily life, and the discipline of the monastic community.
The Vinaya Piṭaka was recorded from the instructions of Śākyamuni Buddha when monks and nuns violated ethical principles. Each time an incident occurred, the Buddha established a precept, a rule to prevent its recurrence. The Na kulmāsapiṇḍakaṁ Sutta is one such detailed regulation, related to the distribution of food, especially during the rainy season (vassā), when the community of practitioners often went out from the monastery less frequently.
Main Content
Although the detailed content of this sutta has not been fully translated from the original Pāli Canon, according to the context of the Vinaya Piṭaka, this rule is clearly related to the provision of food within the monastic community. Specifically, this sutta may refer to cases that are not regarded as “rainy-season food portions” (kulmāsa-piṇḍaka), that is, things that should not be stored or distributed as an official food portion.
In the Theravāda tradition, eating and drinking by monks and nuns is very strictly regulated. The Buddha taught that monks and nuns should eat only what has been received (pindapāta—food offered by laypeople), and only at the proper time (not after noon). Foods are also classified: what is permitted, what is prohibited, and what requires special care. This sutta perhaps aims to clarify the boundary between what may be stored for the rainy season and what may not, in order to preserve the spirit of austerity, non-accumulation, and self-mastery.
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