The Bhikkhus Rules
A Guide for Laypeople
by Bhikkhu Ariyesako | 1998 | 50,970 words
The Theravadin Buddhist Monk's Rules compiled and explained by: Bhikkhu Ariyesako Discipline is for the sake of restraint, restraint for the sake of freedom from remorse, freedom from remorse for the sake of joy, joy for the sake of rapture, rapture for the sake of tranquillity, tranquillity for the sake of pleasure, pleasure for the sake of conce...
Storing Food
After formally receiving food, a bhikkhu is not allowed to store it away for another day. This is another rule that supports the mendicant ideal and the interdependence of monk and lay person, and stops the bhikkhu from becoming attached to his favorite tastes.
The case originally arose when a monk coming back from alms round would eat some food and then dry any remaining rice in the sun to store for the next days meals. In this way he did not have to go on an alms round every day. It can be summarized:
"Eating food that a bhikkhu — oneself or another — formally received on a previous day is [an offence of Confession.]"
(Paac. 38; BMC p.367)
After the daily meal — often the monks of the community will gather to share this — all that days excess food may be distributed among whoever is present so that nothing is wasted or left over.[1]
Lay people themselves are also allowed to deposit food in the properly approved storeroom so that it can be offered to the monks on another day. If the lay people store it there, the monks will not be counted as having formally received it. (So the formal act of offering also serves the purpose of determining whether food can be stored or not.)
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
The Commentary allows a lay person or novice to collect anything remaining from the bhikkhus meal and keep it in the approved storeroom. As long as the bhikkhu has completely abandoned all possession of that food, a lay person or novice may, on their own initiative, re offer it the following day and the bhikkhu may accept and eat the food. However, many Communities ignore this allowance because of concern that it will be abused so they will not receive food that has previously been offered.