BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

Buddhist Monastic Code 1for some reason there is no possibility of returning the food to its original place, oneneed only return it to some other spot in the building from which it was taken andthen "receive" and eat it without committing an offense.To take food with the purpose of eating it, knowing that it has not been properlygiven, entails a dukkaṭa, as stated in the Vibhaṅga. According to the Commentary'streatise, "taking" here also includes deliberately touching the food or the vesselcontaining it with the intention of eating it. (Touching it accidentally carries nopenalty.) If a bhikkhu deliberately touches it in this way, he may not then properlyreceive it, although other bhikkhus may. Even after they have received it, the firstbhikkhu may not eat any of it.If the first bhikkhu, instead of merely touching the food or its vessel, actually movesit from its place, then neither he nor any of the other bhikkhus may receive it. Thusif a donor brings a pot of stew to the monastery, and one of the bhikkhus, curiousto see what is going to be offered that day, tilts the pot to peek inside, none of thebhikkhus may eat the food, and the donor must either give it to the novices and anyattendants at the monastery, if there are any, throw it to the dogs, or take it home.Many Communities do not accept the Commentary's opinions on this point, andwith good reason: The last-mentioned penalty — even though the offense is adukkaṭa — is stronger than that imposed by any of the nissaggiya pācittiya rules,and penalizes perfectly innocent people: the other bhikkhus and the donor of thefood as well. An alternate opinion, which many Communities follow, is that if abhikkhu takes — with the thought of eating it — food that he knows has not beenproperly offered, he may not then formally receive it from an unordained person, butother bhikkhus may. Once it has been properly received, any bhikkhu — includingthe first — may eat from it.This is an area in which none of the texts gives an authoritative answer, and a wisepolicy is to adhere to the views of the Community in which one is living, as long asthey fit into the framework provided by the Canon.5. When food becomes "ungiven." The Commentary to Pr 1, in its discussion of whatto do when a bhikkhu's sex changes spontaneously (!), lists seven instances inwhich an edible given to a bhikkhu becomes "ungiven" — i.e., no bhikkhu may pickit up and eat it until it is formally given again. The seven are —(a) The original recipient undergoes a spontaneous sex change.(b) He dies.(c) He disrobes and becomes a lay person.(d) He becomes a low person. (According to the Sub-commentary, thismeans that he commits a pārājika.)(e) He gives it to an unordained person.(f) He abandons it, having lost interest in it.(g) The item is stolen. (The Sub-commentary, in discussing this last point,refers solely to cases of out-and-out thievery, and not to the mere act oftouching or moving.)336