Xct Mu Bi Sk 66Licking the Bowl
Pāli / Sanskrit:Pattanillehaka
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Explanation of the Pattanillehaka Discourse (Licking the Bowl)
Context
The Pattanillehaka discourse belongs to the Vinaya Pitaka of the Pāli Canon and is found among the regulations on communal life in the Buddhist Sangha. In the time of Śākyamuni Buddha, monastics lived by practicing and studying the Dhamma together and by following rules of conduct laid down by the Buddha. This discourse reflects practical issues in the daily life of monastics, especially concerning humility and moderation in eating.
Pattanillehaka may be rendered as “licking the bowl” (patta = bowl for eating rice; nillehaka = the act of licking). Although the title appears simple, this discourse contains deep teachings on guarding the faculties (indriya samvara) and mindfulness (sati) in the most ordinary activities of monastics.
Main Content
According to the Vinaya tradition, this discourse concerns the attitude of monastics in eating. Specifically, the act of licking the bowl after a meal may not arise from hunger or greed alone, but from other motives as well. Theravāda Buddhism emphasizes that eating is for maintaining health in order to practice, not for seeking flavor or satisfying craving (taṇhā).
When a monastic licks the bowl, even only the remaining traces of food, this action may reflect a mind attached to taste, material things, or one not yet awakened to the temporary and impermanent (anicca) nature of food. The Buddha taught his disciples to recognize that the bowl of rice and the food are only means to sustain life for the practice of the true Dharma, not objects of attachment.
The Vinaya Pitaka does not directly prohibit this action, but encourages monastics to examine their motive. This is a typical example of subtle instruction (anusāsana), refined guidance on conduct intended to nourish awareness and moderation.
Practical Meaning
The Pattanillehaka discourse teaches us that practice is not found only in meditation postures or chanting scriptures, but is also present in every detail of daily life.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.