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Bi Pc 543 min read

54. Eating more after refusing an offer

Pavārita

A nun who eats after finishing her meal must confess the offense.

Translated by Bhikkhu Brahmali · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Theravāda VinayaTheravāda Collection on Monastic Law
  • 0.2BhikkhunivibhaṅgaThe Nuns’ Analysis
  • 0.3PācittiyakaṇḍaThe chapter on offenses entailing confession
  • 0.4ĀrāmavaggaThe subchapter on monasteries

0.554. PavāritasikkhāpadaEating more after refusing an offer

1.0Origin story

1.1Tena samayena buddho bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery,1.2Tena kho pana samayena aññataro brāhmaṇo bhikkhuniyo nimantetvā bhojesi.a certain brahmin had invited the nuns for a meal.1.3PTS 4.311Bhikkhuniyo bhuttāvī pavāritā ñātikulāni gantvā ekaccā bhuñjiṁsu ekaccā piṇḍapātaṁ ādāya agamaṁsu.When the nuns had finished and refused an offer to eat more, they went to their respective families, where some ate and others got almsfood and left.

1.4Atha kho so brāhmaṇo paṭivissake etadavoca—Soon afterwards that brahmin said this to his neighbors,1.5“bhikkhuniyo mayā, ayyā, santappitā, etha tumhepi santappessāmī”ti.“I have satisfied the nuns. Come, and I’ll satisfy you, too.”

1.6Te evamāhaṁsu—1.7“kiṁ tvaṁ, ayyo, amhe santappessasi.“How could you satisfy us?1.8Yāpi tayā nimantitā tāpi amhākaṁ gharāni āgantvā ekaccā bhuñjiṁsu ekaccā piṇḍapātaṁ ādāya agamaṁsū”ti.Those nuns who were invited by you came to our houses, where some ate and others got almsfood and left.”

1.9Atha kho so brāhmaṇo ujjhāyati khiyyati vipāceti—That brahmin complained and criticized those nuns,1.10“kathañhi nāma bhikkhuniyo amhākaṁ ghare bhuñjitvā aññatra bhuñjissanti, na cāhaṁ paṭibalo yāvadatthaṁ dātun”ti.“How could they eat in our house and afterwards eat elsewhere? Am I not able to give them as much as they want?”

1.11Assosuṁ kho bhikkhuniyo tassa brāhmaṇassa ujjhāyantassa khiyyantassa vipācentassa.The nuns heard the complaints of that brahmin,1.12Yā tā bhikkhuniyo appicchā …pe… tā ujjhāyanti khiyyanti vipācenti—and the nuns of few desires complained and criticized them,1.13“kathañhi nāma bhikkhuniyo bhuttāvī pavāritā aññatra bhuñjissantī”ti …pe…“How could nuns finish their meal, refuse an offer to eat more, and then eat elsewhere?” …1.14“saccaṁ kira, bhikkhave, bhikkhuniyo bhuttāvī pavāritā aññatra bhuñjantī”ti?“Is it true, monks, that nuns did this?”

1.15“Saccaṁ, bhagavā”ti.“It’s true, sir.”

1.16Vigarahi buddho bhagavā …pe…The Buddha rebuked them …1.17kathañhi nāma, bhikkhave, bhikkhuniyo bhuttāvī pavāritā aññatra bhuñjissanti.“How could nuns act in this way?1.18Netaṁ, bhikkhave, appasannānaṁ vā pasādāya …pe…This will affect people’s confidence …” …1.19evañca pana, bhikkhave, bhikkhuniyo imaṁ sikkhāpadaṁ uddisantu—“And, monks, the nuns should recite this training rule like this:

1.20.0Final ruling

1.20.1“Yā pana bhikkhunī nimantitā vā pavāritā vā khādanīyaṁ vā bhojanīyaṁ vā khādeyya vā bhuñjeyya vā, pācittiyan”ti.‘If a nun, who has been invited to a meal, refuses an offer to eat more, and then eats fresh or cooked food, she commits an offense entailing confession.’”1

2.1.0Definitions

2.1.1Yā panātiA:
2.1.2yā yādisā …pe…whoever …
2.1.3bhikkhunītiNun:
2.1.4…pe… ayaṁ imasmiṁ atthe adhippetā bhikkhunīti.… The nun who has been given the full ordination in unanimity by both Sanghas through a legal procedure consisting of one motion and three announcements that is irreversible and fit to stand—this sort of nun is meant in this case.
2.1.5Nimantitā nāmaWho has been invited:
2.1.6pañcannaṁ bhojanānaṁ aññatarena bhojanena nimantitā.who has been invited to eat any of the five cooked foods.
2.1.7Pavāritā nāmaRefuses an offer to eat more:
2.1.8asanaṁ paññāyati, bhojanaṁ paññāyati, hatthapāse ṭhitā abhiharati, paṭikkhepo paññāyati.there is eating; there is cooked food; they stand within arm’s reach; there is an offering; there is a refusal.2
2.1.9Khādanīyaṁ nāmaFresh food:
2.1.10pañca bhojanāni yāguṁ yāmakālikaṁ sattāhakālikaṁ yāvajīvikaṁ ṭhapetvāapart from the five cooked foods, congee, the post-midday tonics, the seven-day tonics, and the lifetime tonics,2.1.11avasesaṁ khādanīyaṁ nāma.the rest is called “fresh food”.
2.1.12Bhojanīyaṁ nāmaCooked food:
2.1.13pañca bhojanāni—odano, kummāso, sattu, maccho, maṁsaṁ.there are five kinds of cooked food: cooked grain, porridge, flour products, fish, and meat.32.1.14“Khādissāmi bhuñjissāmī”ti paṭiggaṇhāti, āpatti dukkaṭassa.If she receives it with the intention of eating it, she commits an offense of wrong conduct.2.1.15Ajjhohāre ajjhohāre āpatti pācittiyassa.For every mouthful swallowed, she commits an offense entailing confession.

2.2.0Permutations

2.2.1Nimantite nimantitasaññā khādanīyaṁ vā bhojanīyaṁ vā khādati vā bhuñjati vā, āpatti pācittiyassa.If she has been invited, and she perceives that she has, and she eats fresh or cooked food, she commits an offense entailing confession.42.2.2Nimantite vematikā khādanīyaṁ vā bhojanīyaṁ vā khādati vā bhuñjati vā, āpatti pācittiyassa.If she has been invited, but she is unsure of it, and she eats fresh or cooked food, she commits an offense entailing confession.2.2.3Nimantite animantitasaññā khādanīyaṁ vā bhojanīyaṁ vā khādati vā bhuñjati vā, āpatti pācittiyassa.If she has has been invited, but she does not perceive that she has, and she eats fresh or cooked food, she commits an offense entailing confession.

2.2.4Yāmakālikaṁ sattāhakālikaṁ yāvajīvikaṁ āhāratthāya paṭiggaṇhāti, āpatti dukkaṭassa.If she receives post-midday tonics, seven-day tonics, or lifetime tonics for the purpose of food, she commits an offense of wrong conduct.2.2.5Ajjhohāre ajjhohāre āpatti dukkaṭassa …pe….For every mouthful swallowed, she commits an offense of wrong conduct.5

2.2.6.0Non-offenses

2.2.6.1Anāpatti—There is no offense:2.2.7nimantitā appavāritā,if she has been invited, but has not refused an offer to eat more; 2.2.8yāguṁ pivati,if she drinks congee; 2.2.9sāmike apaloketvā bhuñjati,if she eats more after getting permission from the person who invited her; 2.2.10yāmakālikaṁ sattāhakālikaṁ yāvajīvikaṁ sati paccaye paribhuñjati,if, when there is a reason, she uses post-midday tonics, seven-day tonics, or lifetime tonics; 2.2.11ummattikāya,if she is insane; 2.2.12ādikammikāyāti.if she is the first offender.

2.2.13Catutthasikkhāpadaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ.The fourth training rule is finished.

Translator’s notes

  1. “Refuses an offer to eat more” renders pavārita. I normally translate both nimantita and pavārita as “invited”. Yet this becomes awkward on the rare occasions, such as here, when the two words occur together, and so in this instance I instead use the verb “offer” for pavārita. Moreover, in the present case, the contextual meaning of pavārita is that the nun has expressed her satisfaction after being invited to take more, thus my rendering. See the discussion of this rule in Appendix on Individual Bhikkhunī Rules. For further discussion of pavārita/pavāraṇā, see Appendix of Technical Terms.

    ↩ pli-tv-bi-vb-pc54:1.20.1

  2. As with Bu Pc 35:3.1.8 and Bu Pc 36:2.1.10, the punctuation of the Pali is wrong. An additional comma is required between ṭhito and abhiharati. “They” refers to the donor, whether male or female.

    ↩ pli-tv-bi-vb-pc54:2.1.8

  3. “Cooked food” renders bhojanīya. See discussion of this word in Appendix of Technical Terms.

    ↩ pli-tv-bi-vb-pc54:2.1.13

  4. The non-offense clause below states that there is no offense if one has been invited but has not refused an offer to eat more. In other words, there is only an offense if both of these factors are fulfilled. I therefore take invited here to be a shorthand for invited plus refused an offer to eat more.

    ↩ pli-tv-bi-vb-pc54:2.2.1

  5. The Pali has ellipses points, which seems to be a mistake.

    ↩ pli-tv-bi-vb-pc54:2.2.5