BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

Buddhist Monastic Code 1Thus in cases where the bhikkhu is not giving away the food and has notabandoned interest in it — and the unordained person is not stealing it — there isno reason to hold that "given" food becomes "ungiven" simply when an unordainedperson touches or moves it. This is another area, though, where differentCommunities hold different views, and where the wise policy is to conform to theobservances of the Community in which one is living.These points from the Commentary's treatise may seem like a lot of hair-splitting,but remember that the gift of food ranks with sexual temptation as one of the largestissues in a bhikkhu's — or anyone's — life. If questions of this sort hadn't arisen inpractice, no one would have bothered to compile the treatise in the first place.Given the cursory manner in which the Vibhaṅga treats this rule, and given the largegray areas surrounding the act of giving — modern anthropology started with thissubject and will probably never finish with it — it's good to have those areas spelledout in detail so as to minimize any disharmony that might arise in a Communitywhen its members find themselves in gray situations.Still, as we have noted several times, the guidelines in the Commentary's treatiseare not binding, and the wise policy is to follow the standards of the Community inwhich one is living, as long as they fall within the framework of the Canon.Summary: Eating food that has not been formally given is a pācittiya offense.338