Xct Mu Bi Pc 179Disposing Feces on Plants
Pāli / Sanskrit:Harituccārachaḍḍana
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Discourse on Disposing of Feces on Green Plants (Harituccārachaḍḍana)
Background
This discourse is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the early Buddhist tradition, in the section of rules for Buddhist trainees. Its context concerns matters of daily life in monasteries during the Buddha’s lifetime. At that time, the Buddha and his disciples lived in forests, gardens, and shared dwellings for monastics. Hygiene and the disposal of waste were practical matters that needed regulation in order to maintain cleanliness, health, and respect for the shared environment.
This discourse reflects a practical aspect of monastic discipline: regulations concerning everyday actions that are not permitted (pācittiya), that is, ethically improper actions for which a bhikkhu must confess if he commits them. Such rules are not only hygienic in nature, but also express the spirit of respecting the lives of other beings and protecting nature.
Main Content
According to the monastic practice recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, disposing of feces or bodily waste on green plants (harituc, that is, living grasses and plants) is regarded as conduct unworthy of a monastic. This rule is related to the principle of not harming living beings (ahiṃsā), one of the most fundamental principles of Buddhism.
Green plants are regarded as living things with life, or at least as living formations capable of growth. Although early Buddhism does not hold that plants possess consciousness in the same way animals do, their existence still deserves respect. Disposing of feces on green plants harms their growth and creates an unclean environment.
This rule also reflects the principle of living in harmony with the community of practice. If everyone were to dispose of waste on green plants, the area of practice would become filthy and unfit for mental cultivation (bhāvanā) and the maintenance of discipline. Therefore, monastics are taught to dispose of feces in suitable places, such as designated grounds or areas set apart for that purpose, in order to protect grasses and plants and preserve common cleanliness.
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