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SN 3.13PTS (1st ed) SN 1.811 min read

A Bucketful of Rice

Doṇapākasutta

In what is probably the world’s first weight loss diet, when Pasenadi shows up overweight and out of breath, the Buddha advises him to cut down his eating. He gives a verse to one of the king’s attendants, and asks him to recite it whenever the king is eating.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 3.13Linked Discourses 3.13
  • 0.22. Dutiyavagga2. Childless

0.3DoṇapākasuttaA Bucketful of Rice

1.1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.1

1.2Tena kho pana samayena rājā pasenadi kosalo doṇapākakuraṁ bhuñjati.Now at that time King Pasenadi of Kosala used to eat boiled rice by the bucketful.21.3Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo bhuttāvī mahassāsī yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi.Then after eating King Pasenadi of Kosala went up to the Buddha, huffing and puffing. He bowed and sat down to one side.

2.1Atha kho bhagavā rājānaṁ pasenadiṁ kosalaṁ bhuttāviṁ mahassāsiṁ viditvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:Then, knowing that King Pasenadi was huffing and puffing after eating, on that occasion the Buddha spoke this verse:

3.1“Manujassa sadā satīmato,“When a man is always mindful,3.2Mattaṁ jānato laddhabhojane;knowing moderation in eating,3.3Tanukassa bhavanti vedanā,his discomfort fades,33.4Saṇikaṁ jīrati āyupālayan”ti.and he ages slowly, taking care of his life.”

4.1Tena kho pana samayena sudassano māṇavo rañño pasenadissa kosalassa piṭṭhito ṭhito hoti.Now at that time the student Sudassana was standing behind the king.44.2Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo sudassanaṁ māṇavaṁ āmantesi:Then King Pasenadi addressed him,4.3“ehi tvaṁ, tāta sudassana, bhagavato santike imaṁ gāthaṁ pariyāpuṇitvā mama bhattābhihāre bhattābhihāre bhāsa.“Please, dear Sudassana, memorize this verse in the Buddha’s presence and recite it to me whenever I am served a meal.54.4Ahañca te devasikaṁ kahāpaṇasataṁ kahāpaṇasataṁ niccaṁ bhikkhaṁ pavattayissāmī”ti.I’ll set up a regular daily allowance of a hundred dollars for you.”6

4.5“Evaṁ, devā”ti kho sudassano māṇavo rañño pasenadissa kosalassa paṭissutvā bhagavato santike imaṁ gāthaṁ pariyāpuṇitvā rañño pasenadissa kosalassa bhattābhihāre sudaṁ bhāsati:“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied Sudassana. He memorized that verse in the Buddha’s presence, and then whenever the king was served a meal he would repeat it:

5.1“Manujassa sadā satīmato,“When a man is always mindful,5.2Mattaṁ jānato laddhabhojane;knowing moderation in eating,5.3Tanukassa bhavanti vedanā,his discomfort fades,5.4Saṇikaṁ jīrati āyupālayan”ti.and he ages slowly, taking care of his life.”

6.1Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo anupubbena nāḷikodanaparamatāya saṇṭhāsi.Then the king gradually got used to having at most a cup of rice.76.2Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo aparena samayena susallikhitagatto pāṇinā gattāni anumajjanto tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ udānaṁ udānesi:After some time King Pasenadi’s body slimmed right down. Stroking his limbs with his hands, at that time he expressed this heartfelt sentiment:8

6.3“ubhayena vata maṁ so bhagavā atthena anukampi—“In both ways the Buddha has sympathy for me:6.4diṭṭhadhammikena ceva atthena samparāyikena cā”ti.in the good of this life and the good of lives to come.”

Translator’s notes

  1. This Sutta presents what is probably the world’s first weight loss diet.

    ↩ sn3.13:1.1

  2. A doṇa (“bucketful”) was a wooden trough to receive the filtered Soma (Rig Veda 4.32.17). In the Arthaśāstra it measures feed for horses (2.30.12) and elephants (2.15.50). One doṇa was the monthly allotment of grain for a servant (Manu 7.126). Olivelle estimates it at 5 liters or 9.6 kg (King, Governance, and Law, appendix 2, pg. 458).

    The use of present tense (bhuñjati) here indicates that it is an ongoing situation, not just a single large meal (compare the aorist in the previous Sutta).

    ↩ sn3.13:1.2

  3. For vedanā as “discomfort”, compare the stock reflection on eating (SN 35.120:4.3).

    ↩ sn3.13:3.3

  4. This Vedic student attending the king is otherwise unknown.

    ↩ sn3.13:4.1

  5. This passages well illustrates the meaning of pariyāpuṇāti as “memorize”.

    ↩ sn3.13:4.3

  6. Niccabhikkhā at Ja 398:4.1 refers to the daily offering of food to a yakkha. Here and at MN 94:33.1 it refers to money.

    ↩ sn3.13:4.4

  7. Nālikā was a cup made from a hollow bamboo. It was a modest meal for a king (SN 22.96:4.10, DN 17:2.15.10), sufficient for a medium-sized mendicant’s bowl (Bi NP 1:2.1.10). It does not appear in this sense in the Arthaśāstra, but the Indian Epigraphical Glossary says it is one-sixteenth of a doṇa and equivalent to a prastha. Olivelle estimates the prastha at around 600 g, which is indeed one sixteenth of a doṇa. Bear in mind that rice constituted the bulk of the meal, and for monastics, it would often have been the only meal of the day.

    ↩ sn3.13:6.1

  8. Interesting use of sallikhati = sallekha (“cut down” = “slimmed”), related to the idea of “effacing” writing as the stone wears away. For the Jains, sallekhanā was the practice of refusing all food at the end of life (Tattvārthasūtra 7.22; compare the Buddhist practice at MN 8:4.3).

    ↩ sn3.13:6.2