Xct Mu Bi Pm Pd 4Asking for Butter

THE SCRIPTURE ON ASKING FOR BUTTER — AN EXPOSITION ACCORDING TO ORIGINAL BUDDHIST TEACHING

Background

The Scripture on "Asking for Butter" is found within the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Pāli Canon, specifically in the Bhikkhunī Vibhaṅga. This section of the Vinaya was compiled to record the regulations for monastics promulgated by the Blessed One in order to govern the communal life of monks and nuns, and to maintain discipline and harmony within the Sangha.

In the context of Theravāda Buddhism, bhikkhunīs (female monastics) lived according to the practice of individual alms-going, receiving only food that was offered at the midday meal. The content of this scripture centers on specific situations concerning the requesting of foodstuffs or fats such as butter (naha, ghee), reflecting the actual daily life of the monastic community during the time of the Buddha in Jambudīpa. These events became the basis upon which the Buddha established the Pāṭidesanīya rules — regulations requiring the acknowledgment of faults — which are considered the least grave among the disciplinary rules for female monastics.

Main Content

The scripture records a specific situation in which certain bhikkhunīs requested butter or other fats from householders. This act, while not constituting a Pārājika offense (the most serious class of transgression), violated the principle of not requesting anything beyond what is voluntarily offered. In particular, the requesting of butter — a foodstuff that could be regarded as nourishing or even luxurious — was considered by the Buddha to be incompatible with the humble and self-reliant life of alms-going befitting a bhikkhunī.

Upon learning of this, the Blessed One instructed the bhikkhunīs that: a bhikkhunī must not request or ask for additional food, fats, or any requisite whatsoever beyond what has been voluntarily offered. Should such a thing occur, the bhikkhunī in question must perform Pāṭidesanīya — that is, she must confess her fault before the Sangha.