Nuns’ Expiation (Pācittiya) 54 (PLI-TV-BI-VB-PC54)

… at Sāvatthī in the Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time a certain brahmin, having invited nuns, offered them food …” …

“Whatever nun, being invited or being satisfied, should eat or partake of solid food or soft food, there is an offence of expiation.”

Whatever means: … nun is to be understood in this case.

Being invited means: being invited to any one meal of the five (kinds of) meals.

Being satisfied means: eating is to be seen, a meal is to be seen, standing within a reach of the hand, she asks (her), a refusal is to be seen.

Solid food means: setting aside the five (kinds of) meals, conjey, food (that may be eaten) during a watch of the night, during seven days, during life, the rest means solid food.

Soft food means: the five (kinds of) meals: … meat.

If she accepts, thinking: “I will eat, I will partake of,” there is an offence of wrong-doing. For every mouthful, there is an offence of expiation. If she accepts for the sake of nutriment (food to be eaten) during a watch of the night, during seven days, during life, there is an offence of wrong-doing. For every mouthful, there is an offence of wrong-doing.

There is no offence if, being invited (but) not being satisfied, she drinks conjey; if she eats having asked the owner (for permission); if when there is a reason she makes use of (food to be eaten) during a watch of the night, during seven days, during life; if she is mad, if she is the first wrong-doer.

The Book of the Discipline was translated by I.B. Horner.

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Published in 2014 by SuttaCentral.

Originally published by the Pali Text Society in the following years:

Vol. 1: 1938

Vol. 2: 1940

Vol. 3: 1942

Vol. 4: 1951

Vol. 5: 1950

Vol. 6: 1966

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