SuttaCentral
“Then I sometimes instructed two bhikkhus while the other three went for alms, and the six of us lived on what those three bhikkhus brought back from their almsround. Sometimes I instructed three bhikkhus while the other two went for alms, and the six of us lived on what those two bhikkhus brought back from their almsround.”
If you ever wondered why the bowl is large.
(Laughing out loud)
This is not just the stuff of legend. It happens to this day in places where monks depend on piṇdapāta. In fact, I myself have brought food for other monks in my bowl, back when I was in robes.
When empty, the bowl also acts as a bag to carry around the few possessions of a monastic.
The standard Thai steel bowl comes in various sizes, and I wouldn’t recommend anything smaller than the 8-inch variant.
I been in Thailand Bowl Village. Never experienced using a bowl yet in this life. Where I went the laypersons use plastic containers.