BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

Buddhist Monastic Code 1that day, is allowable through the watches of the night and not allowable when thewatches of the night have past. Medicine-mixed-with-juice, when received that day,is allowable through the watches of the night and not allowable when the watchesof the night have past. Medicine-mixed-with-a-tonic, when received, is allowablefor seven days and not allowable when seven days have past."Translated in this way, the passage covers foods that are already mixed whenpresented to a bhikkhu. One of the general issues that led to the convening of theSecond Council, however, concerned how to treat cases where foods receivedseparately are then mixed by a bhikkhu. The specific issue presented to the Councilwas that of bhikkhus who kept a horn filled with salt so that they could add salt tobland foods. The Council's verdict was that in doing so, the bhikkhus incurred apācittiya under Pc 38. The Vibhaṅga to that rule, however, gives a dukkaṭa for using,as food, life-long medicine that has been stored overnight, and salt is a life-longmedicine. Thus the elders at the Council seem to have reasoned that if the salt hasbeen mixed in with food, the mixture as a whole counts as food accepted when thefirst ingredient (the salt) was accepted: thus the pācittiya, rather than the dukkaṭa,under Pc 38. This principle is nowhere expressly stated in the texts, but is in someplaces taught as an oral tradition.The Commentary, in treating the issue of foods mixed by a bhikkhu, translatesMv.VI.40.3 as follows:"Juice received that day, when mixed with food, is allowable during the right timeand not allowable at the wrong time. A tonic received that day, when mixed withfood, is allowable during the right time and not allowable at the wrong time.Medicine received that day, when mixed with food, is allowable during the right timeand not allowable at the wrong time. A tonic received that day, when mixed withjuice, is allowable through the watches of the night and not allowable when thewatches of the night have past. Medicine received that day, when mixed with juice,is allowable through the watches of the night and not allowable when the watchesof the night have past. Medicine received, when mixed with a tonic, is allowable forseven days and not allowable when seven days have past."The question the Commentary then raises is, "Why is the word 'that day' (tadahu)omitted from the last case?" Its answer is that there is no limit on when themedicine has to be received for it to be properly mixed with a tonic received today.In other words, it could have been received any number of days before the tonicwas received. If it is mixed with the tonic on the first day of the tonic's life span, themixture as a whole has a seven-day life span. If mixed with the tonic on the secondday of the tonic's life, the mixture has a six-day life span, and so forth. TheCommentary's translation of this passage may strain standard Pali syntax, but it isgrammatically correct and is the only way of deriving from Mv.VI.40.3 a generalprinciple to cover the issue of foods received separately that are then mixed by abhikkhu. Thus the principle has been generally accepted that tonics and medicines,such as sugar and salt, received today may be eaten mixed with food or juice drinksreceived today, but not with food or juice drinks received on a later day. Medicine,such as salt, tea, or cocoa, received at any time may be eaten mixed with any ofthe five tonics on any day of the tonic's life span.306