What kinds of fruit juices are considered appropriate for consumption by someone practicing Uposatha Sila. Please provide references to Vinaya Pitaka with your responses to enable me to read the relevant Vinaya translation.
Hi Nimal,
Since no-one else answered this, Iāll say something. The basic discussion for the monastic Vinaya is in the Bhessajja Khandhaka, here.
This allows āall kinds of fruit juicesā except juice of dhaƱƱa. This is translated as ācornā, but it includes all grains and beans. So, for example, soy milk is out, unfortunately!
However, itās important to remember that these detailed rules were only ever meant to apply to monastics. While it is common for lay people under 8 precepts to keep the rules in the same way as the monastics, this is just a custom, not Vinaya.
As far as I know, vikÄlabhojana for lay people simply means ānot eating after noonā. I would say basically any drink or non-substantial edible is allowable under the 8 precepts.
Having said which, obviously it is best to follow the practice of your community in such minor details.
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Thank you Bhante for your reply. I have heard from two different monks two different view points. One said that any fruit except nuts and milk products are allowable. And the other said that only small fruits which fit into oneās palm when clenched are allowable. He also said that nuts and milk products are not allowable. Now that I know where to look for more clarification I can be guided accordingly.
Thank you once again.
The āsmall fruitā thing is taken from the commentaries. It is followed by some communities.