Xct Mu Bi Pm Pd 9Asking for Meat
Pāli / Sanskrit:Maṁsaviññāpana
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The Sutta on Asking for Meat (Maṁsaviññāpana)
Background
The Sutta on Asking for Meat belongs to the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically to the Pāṭimokkha, the code of virtuous discipline for the Theravāda Buddhist Sangha. This text records an occasion when the Buddha and his disciples faced a practical question about eating meat in the course of study and propagation of the Dharma.
The passage arises from a concrete circumstance: monastics needed to be provided with food while practicing the noble path. Therefore, the Buddha taught pure principles concerning the eating of meat, in order to balance the nutritional needs of the body with the compassionate nature of Buddhism. This is a typical example of the Buddha’s wisdom in instructing the Sangha, not imposing rigid rules but instead relying on clear ethical principles.
Main Content
The Sutta on Asking for Meat clearly states the rule concerning the acceptance of meat within the monastic discipline. According to the Pāṭimokkha, a monk may not request meat from the community in his own words. This means that a monk may not actively say, “I need meat,” or suggest that others should bring meat to him.
However, if someone voluntarily brings meat as an offering, and the monk knows with certainty that the animal was not killed for the purpose of providing it to him, known as the threefold purity, tisandhisthāna, then the monk may accept and eat it. These three conditions are: the monastic has not heard that the animal was killed for the purpose of providing it to him, there is no suspicion of this, and no one has clearly said that the animal was killed for this purpose.
This principle reflects the profound wisdom of the Buddha’s teaching. Instead of an absolute prohibition, the Buddha established an ethical framework: what matters is intention and cause and effect. If a monk is not the one who caused the animal’s death and did not take part in that process, then eating meat does not violate the rule of non-killing.
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