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Fruit juices

The above sections have dealt with food (yaavakaalika) but as has been already mentioned fruit juices are considered under a different category. (See above, The Four Sorts of Edibles.) Although bhikkhus should not eat fruit — which is food — after midday, they can drink the 'fruit juice' any time throughout the day. However, they cannot store fruit juice beyond that single day. This is called yaamakaalika and is a juice-drink made from crushed fruit, which is then carefully strained of any pulp or particles. (The Vinayamukha (EV) Commentary suggests that it could not be stored beyond the next dawn because sugar mixed in with the fruit juice might lead to slight fermentation.)

When offering fruit juice it is important that it is well strained so that no pulp or fruit particles remain, for the fruit itself counts as food and so cannot be consumed in the afternoon. Some places in Thailand will strain the juice in a cloth filter seven times to make sure, but the main point is that the filter is fine enough.

"Juice drinks include the freshly squeezed juice of sugar cane, lotus root, all fruits except grain, all leaves except cooked vegetables, and all flowers except the [bassia latifolia] (Mahaavagga.VI.35.6). According to the Commentary, the juice must be strained, and may be warmed by sunlight but not heated over a fire."(BMC p.339)

Some communities will not accept fruit juice made from 'large fruits':

"In discussing the Great Standards, the Commentary says that grain is a "great fruit," and thus the juice of any one of nine large fruits — palmyra fruit, coconut, jack fruit, breadfruit, bottle gourd, white gourd, musk melon, water melon, and squash — would fall under the same class as the juice of grain... From this judgment, many Communities [in Thailand] infer that the juice of any large fruit, such as pineapple or grapefruit, would also be classed as a non-staple food [and therefore could not be consumed in the afternoon.]" (BMC p.339)

Medicines or Tonics

We have dealt above with food and fruit juice. There is now the category of 'tonic-medicines' (sattaahakaalika). These can be consumed at any time but cannot be stored longer than seven days (after they are offered).

These tonic-medicines were originally regulated when Venerable Pilindavaccha's great feats of psychic power made him so famous that he received many offerings of the five 'tonics.' Even though he distributed these among other monks there was so much that the excess had to be stored away and their dwellings were overrun by rats. Visiting lay people criticized the monks for "storing up goods in abundance like a king." The Buddha therefore set down this rule:

"Keeping any of the five tonics — ghee, fresh butter, oil, honey, or sugar/molasses — for more than seven days is [an offence of Confession with Forfeiture.] (Summarized Nis. Paac. 23; BMC p.242)

º There are various translations and interpretations about these 'tonic- medicines' — according to different Communities and different countries. Some places consider only liquids allowable while a few communities will drink only plain water in the afternoon. Some communities will not accept re-offered tonic-medicines (after the seven days period is over), some will under certain circumstances. Therefore lay devotees need to enquire about the practice of their local Community and follow that way. Some contemporary observations:

"The five medicines — ghee, navaniita.m, oil, honey, and suga — were allowed by the Buddha to be consumed by 'sick' monks at any time of the day or night. According to the Mahaavagga, these five were 'agreed upon as medicines and, although they served as nutriment for people, were not considered as substantial food.' The degree of infirmity required before a monk is allowed to consume these [tonic-]medicines is a controversial point... It seems that feeling rundown or feeling tired after physical exertion would be sufficient cause to be able to make use of the Five Medicines."(AB)

"The main effectiveness of these medicines seems to be in their nutritional value. They do not have medicinal value as commonly understood today, for example, relieving pain or as an antiseptic. However, as nutriment they would help to maintain bodily strength and assist in recuperation while, since they are so rich, would not be a substitute for normal food." (HS ch.10)

Also, if the tonic-medicine is mixed with a tiny amount of food then it would be acceptable according to this allowance:

"...if sugar has a little flour mixed with it simply to make it firmer — as sometimes happens in sugar cubes and blocks of palm sugar — it is still classed as a tonic as it is still regarded simply as 'sugar.'" (BMC p.238-9)

If the flour is for more food-like reasons then it would be counted as food. See also Mixing Edibles above.

Lifetime Medicines

The fourth category of edibles (see The Four Sorts of Edibles) is that of Lifetime Medicines (yaavajiivika). which includes what we generally think of as medicines.

The basic principle set down by the Buddha about all medicines is in this reflection:

"Properly considering medicinal requisites for curing the sick, I use them: simply to ward off any pains of illness that have arisen, and for the maximum freedom from disease." [OP p. 47; (Paali: M. I, 10; A. III, 387)]

In the beginning, the basic (herbal) medicines allowed by the Buddha were those pickled in urine. Later, nearly all other types came to be considered allowable. (See the separate allowance above for 'tonic-medicines.')

Medicines that may be consumed without time limitation are called yaavajiivika. The Texts mention different sorts of herbal medicines such as: plant roots, e.g., ginger, turmeric, sweet flag, etc.; decoctions, such as of the neem or nux-vomica; tree-leaves, such as neem-leaves, tulsi or holy basil; fruits, such as long peppers, myrobalan, wormwood; resins, such as asafoetida; salts, such as sea-salt, rock salt, etc. Any other medicine or herbs similar to these that is not reckoned to be food is included under this 'lifetime' category. º Modern western medicines are usually included — using the Great Standards — under this category and therefore can be taken at any time of the day and kept as long as necessary.

Drugs and Alcohol

Finally, we turn to those 'substances of abuse' that are entirely prohibited. The fifth of the Five Precepts [see End Note 4] for all Buddhists is restraint from drinking alcohol and similar substances that destroy mindfulness, and are thereby a frequent cause of unskillful actions and speech. The equivalent rule for bhikkhus is the fifty-first Confession Rule:

"The drinking of alcohol or fermented liquors is [an offence of Confession.]" (Paac. 51; BMC p.402)

The origin-story concerns Ven. Saagata who conquered a fierce naaga — a type of serpent with magical powers — by his meditation-developed psychic powers. The townspeople heard about this feat and wanted to make some sort of offering to him, upon which the 'group-of-six' bhikkhus impudently suggested that they all should give him alcohol. When he arrived on his almsround every household offered alcohol and he finally collapsed, drunk, at the town gate and had to be carried back to the monastery. He was laid down in a stupor with his head towards the Buddha but in his drunkenness he turned around so that his feet pointed at the Buddha. The Buddha called attention to his changed behavior, remarking that he certainly could not oppose "even a salamander" in such a state.

The Buddha also said:

"Bhikkhus,... there are these four stains because of which samanas and brahmans glow not, shine not, blaze not. What are these four? Drinking alcoholic beverages... indulging in sexual intercourse... accepting gold and money... obtaining requisites through a wrong mode of livelihood." (A.II,53) (AB)

º The Four Great Standards may be further used to argue that using narcotics — which also destroy mindfulness and lead to heedlessness — would also be an offence of Confession. Then there is the general principle of respecting the 'law of the land' (when it accords with Dhamma) so such illegal drugs would be disallowed anyway.

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Редакция перевода от 25.08.2014 15:18