What is in a monk's bowl?

Discussion of ordination, the Vinaya and monastic life. How and where to ordain? Bhikkhuni ordination etc.
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SarathW
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What is in a monk's bowl?

Post by SarathW »

What is in a monk's bowl?

One of my friend came back from a ten day retreat.
He said that they have to serve the food without thinking what food was.
He said you serve all the food at once.
It sounded like he ate the entrée, main meal and dessert together.
He said he mixed the curry with ice cream.

Is this the general experience of a mendicant monk?
What does monk get when he get food from so many places?

Does this a common experience in retreats?
:thinking:
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
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Dhammanando
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Re: What is in a monk's bowl?

Post by Dhammanando »

SarathW wrote:Is this the general experience of a mendicant monk?
Eating all of one's food mixed together in the almsbowl is one of the Visuddhimagga's 13 dhutaṅga practices. In its inception it was a voluntary austerity practice to be undertaken by bhikkhus who were especially prone to greed or gluttony. However, in many monasteries of the Thai forest tradition it's an obligatory practice for all resident monks and in some monasteries also for the laity who go to stay there.
SarathW wrote:Does this a common experience in retreats?
It's common in the more ascetic meditation traditions, but isn't the norm in the less ascetic or in the non-ascetic ones.
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
SarathW
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Re: What is in a monk's bowl?

Post by SarathW »

Thank you Bhante.
What is the experience of a monk go for alms from house to house?
Do people put every thing in the bowl?
Does the monk have to eat all of the food?
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
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Dhammanando
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Re: What is in a monk's bowl?

Post by Dhammanando »

SarathW wrote:What is the experience of a monk go for alms from house to house?
I don't really understand what you're asking. The experience will obviously vary from one monk to another and one almsround to another.
SarathW wrote:Do people put every thing in the bowl?
Yes. Here in Thailand the rural folk will generally spoon the rice straight into the bowl while putting the curries and other foods into plastic bags or wrapping them in banana leaves before putting them in the bowl. In the cities generally everything offered is wrapped up.
SarathW wrote:Does the monk have to eat all of the food?
No. Though in some ill-informed quarters one will find that the actual Vinaya principle that a monk may eat only what has been offered to him has been transformed into the faux Vinaya principle that he must eat everything that has been offered to him (i.e. in order to please the donors). This faux principle is a major cause of obesity in the sangha. For example, one sometimes goes along to a meal invitation at someone's house where all the donor's friends and neighbours have brought along their own contribution to the meal. While you're eating some of the laypeople will sit there watching to make sure that you're partaking of their personal contribution. If their contribution should go untouched for a few minutes they'll start dropping hints to the invited monks to take some of it or even importunately badgering them to do so. This is motivated by the belief that their merit will grow according to how much of their offering the monks eat — a belief that was in fact rejected by the Theravadins at the Third Council.
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
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pilgrim
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Re: What is in a monk's bowl?

Post by pilgrim »

Can all the 13 dhutangas be traced to the Sutta or Vinaya ? It would be great if someone could give the reference. It'd be interesting to read the context in which they were practised.
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DNS
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Re: What is in a monk's bowl?

Post by DNS »

pilgrim wrote:Can all the 13 dhutangas be traced to the Sutta or Vinaya ? It would be great if someone could give the reference. It'd be interesting to read the context in which they were practised.
I believe this is one of the references:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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pilgrim
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Re: What is in a monk's bowl?

Post by pilgrim »

David N. Snyder wrote: I believe this is one of the references:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
All 13 in one place. Well done. :anjali:
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