Thank you as always for your feedback and encouragement!
With regards to Sekhiyas 29 and 34 about receiving / eating rice and (bean) curries in the right proportion, I respectfully disagree with Ajahn Thanissaro’s interpretation.
There is nothing in the rule or the vibhaṅga that suggests that monastics serve themselves from a serving dish. On the contrary, the rule explicitely states that the monastics “receive” the food, in parallel to the other rules in this group of sekhiyas.
I believe it is not true that it was the custom in the Buddha’s time that monastics served themselves when invited to lay houses. The suttas constantly mention that laypeople served monastics “with their own hands”, and also other pātimokkha rules point to that, for example bhikkhu pāṭidesanīya 2: "When monks eat at invitations to families, if a nun is there giving directions, saying, ‘Give bean curry here; give rice here,’"…
And it certainly is not the custom now in Sri Lanka. Laypeople will always serve monastics themselves; there is (almost?) never a buffet-style arrangement.
I believe that the confusion arose in contexts, such as Thailand or Western countries, where people use cutlery and don’t eat with their hands. (In Sri Lanka, most people still eat with their hands.) If you eat with your hands, you have to have a certain curry-to-rice ratio to be able to eat comfortably. If you have too much curry, which is usually more liquid, you may end up dripping all over your arms and clothes, and you cannot form a “sticky” ball of food.
Anyway, I am open to other opinions, but for the time being I don’t follow Ajahn Thanissaro here. Unless someone comes up with a good argument to convince me
Leaving the mouth open when there is no food to be put in yet
Putting (all) the fingers into the mouth
Speaking with the mouth full of food
Biting small pieces off of a ball of food*
Breaking small pieces off of a ball of food
Stuffing the cheeks
Shaking the hands
Scattering rice
*There is an alternative translation for this rule: “Tossing up a ball of food”. I prefer the translation given above, (which happens to also be Ajahn Brahmali’s version), but for those monastics who want to go with the second interpretation, I have made a bonus doodle which will be posted with the last batch of Sekhiya rules.
About No. 35 Eating from a heap:
I recall hearing from somewhere that it originated from bhikkhus shaping their rice into another religion’s stupas or monuments, then eating them to mock & imply power over them. (Kinda like “crushing their heads,” I suppose.)
Anyone heard of this? I couldn’t have made it up, I’m not that creative.
I wonder if you could add a series of houses close together to show more clearly that this is an inhabited area. As they are it could just be a kuti. Putting several close together would imply something other than a monastery, perhaps.
I was thinking of the definition of “village” in bhikkhu pārājika 2, where it says that even one hut is a village.
So I believe that the sekhiya also applies there, if the hut is a layperson’s home.
That’s true. I just don’t think that a single hut (that could just as easily be a kuti) conveys the concept of inhabited area. The minimum definition of inhabited may not be the clearest way to show the concept. Perhaps if there were lay people working outside the hut?
Any way, Aunumodana for your work. They are really great.
This year’s rains retreat is over… Wish all monastics a happy pavarana day!
The Adhikarana Samathas
These are not rules as such, but instructions on how to settle accusations and conflicts in the sangha. There are seven adhikarana samathas.
The first one applies to all accusations and conflicts:
1. To settle matters “in the presence”. (The accused person / the people involved in the conflict must be present when their case is discussed. Also, Dhamma-Vinaya must “be present”. Nothing can be done behind people’s backs or against dhamma principles.)
The second, third, fourth, and sixth apply when a monastic accuses another of having committed an offense.
2. To settle matters by mindfulness (The accused person clearly remembers that they are innocent.)
3. To settle matters by past insanity (The accused person admits the offense, but was insane at that time.)
4. To settle matters according to acknowledgement (The accused person admits the offense and takes steps to clear it.)
6. To act on the accused’s further misconduct (The accused person does not cooperate with the sangha and things can’t be cleared up. The sangha then imposes a penalty on that person.)
The fifth and seventh apply to conflicts between groups of monastics.
5. Majority decision. (If two groups disagree on Dhamma-Vinaya, they should go to monasteries with larger sanghas in residence to get their opinions on the matter. If things still can’t be resolved after asking a few larger monastic groups, the conflict should be resolved by a majority vote.)
7. Covering with grass. (If during a conflict, all sides commit so many offenses that they can’t be dealt with anymore individually, this procedure should be carried out. It clears all offenses, except for parajikas, sanghadisesas, and offenses that involve laypeople.)
The Realized One laid down training rules for his disciples and recited the pātimokkha … for the wellbeing of the sangha and for the comfort of the sangha. (AN 10.31)
By the way, I’m preparing a bhikkhu & bhikkhuni patimokkha book with the doodles, the Pali text of the rules, Ajahn Brahmali’s translation, and a short explanation of each rule. It’s being translated into Sinhala at the moment. So far, it’s only a PDF, but maybe some funds will appear some day to make an actual printed version.
I’ll share it here when it’s finished.
This is the end of the vinaya doodles for now…
Maybe one day, there will be more doodles from the Chinese vinayas.