Xct Mu Bi Pm Pd 1Asking for Milk
Pāli / Sanskrit:Khīraviññāpana
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Khīraviññāpana Sutta — Asking for Milk
Background
The Sutta on Asking for Milk is found in the Vinaya Pitaka, in the Pātimokkha section, the basic way of life of the Sangha. This is a disciplinary text of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, recording rules concerning the daily life of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis.
The background for the appearance of this sutta concerns regulations on requesting, receiving, and using food in the Sangha community. While the Buddha was still alive, the Sangha community followed strict disciplinary principles in order to preserve the spirit of practice and avoid actions that might cause misunderstanding in the world. Whether bhikkhus might ask for or receive foods such as milk, butter, and animal fat was a matter the Buddha considered carefully, because these things are directly connected with morality (sīla) and self-restraint (indriya-samvara).
Main Content
The Sutta on Asking for Milk records a regulation of the Buddha concerning whether bhikkhus are permitted to ask for milk, and under what conditions. Milk here is understood as animal milk — cow's milk, goat's milk, or other kinds of milk.
In the spirit of the Vinaya Pitaka, the Buddha did not permit bhikkhus to ask on their own initiative for ordinary milk without a proper reason. This arises from the principle of "freedom from greed" (appicchatā) — knowing how to live with enough, without craving things beyond what is necessary. However, if a bhikkhu is weak or ill and needs milk as a medicine for treatment or restoration of health, then asking for milk is permitted. This proper reason is to maintain health in service of practice.
This sutta also records that if milk is obtained, the bhikkhu must receive it with wise attention (yoniso manasikāra) and use it properly, without waste. Asking for and receiving milk must not come from greed but from a lawful medical need; this reflects the difference between permitted and impermissible actions in the life of practice.
Practical Meaning
The Sutta on Asking for Milk teaches us about the balance between ascetic practice and care for the body.
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