Bi Pc 122122. Eating ungiven food

Pātimokkha 122 Commentary (Dantapona)

Background

This rule belongs to the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha within the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition. The Pātimokkha is the foundational code of rules applying to bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs, recited fortnightly by monastic communities during the Uposatha ceremony. Rule 122 belongs to the category of Pācittiya—offenses requiring confession and acknowledgment.

The historical context of this rule originates from the time when the Blessed One was still living, when the bhikkhunīs did not yet have a clear understanding of the boundary between offered food and unoffered food. Offered food is food that has been explicitly presented to the practitioner by a donor; unoffered food, by contrast, is food that the donor has not intended to offer, or simply food that has been left behind without anyone declaring ownership over it.

Main Content

The rule set forth in this text is clear: a bhikkhunī who eats food or drinks water that has not been given to her by anyone commits an offense requiring confession. The transgressive act is regarded as a Pācittiya—an offense that must be confessed before another bhikkhunī or a bhikkhu within the community, according to the specific regulations.

The rationale underlying this rule lies in the purpose of the spiritual training of monastics. In the Theravāda tradition, the eating and drinking of bhikkhunīs is not for the sake of gratifying the sense of taste, but only to maintain bodily health so that the practice may continue. When one consumes food that has not been given, it is an act of self-seeking, not in accordance with the Dhamma—it foregoes the preceding act of generosity on the part of another, thereby concealing the character of dependence upon the compassion and support of the world.

The Pāli term "Dantapona" may be understood within its own specific context, but in the context of this rule it clearly refers to the act of eating or drinking what has not been properly permitted or offered.