Summary
s.1While the Buddha is staying at the Bamboo Grove with a diverse retinue, the monk Maudgalyāyana asks him about some unusual beings he saw during an alms round. The Buddha informs Maudgalyāyana that these beings are starving spirits. The Buddha gives a discourse explaining how these starving spirits were once humans yet committed misdeeds related to food that led them to their current dismal state. The misdeeds connected with food described by the Buddha present a picture of food-related prohibitions for the monastic saṅgha, such as failing to eat only a single meal a day, improperly partaking of meals, carrying away leftovers, and other forms of abusing food offerings. Food-related ethics are also given for lay people, mainly concerning how to prepare food for the saṅgha in a hygienic manner.
s.1佛陀住在竹林，身邊聚集著眾多弟子。比丘目犍連在托缽乞食時看到了一些奇異的眾生，他便向佛陀請教。佛陀告訴目犍連，這些眾生就是餓鬼。佛陀開示說，這些餓鬼曾經是人類，卻因為做了與飲食相關的惡業，才墮落到現在這樣悲慘的境地。佛陀所說的與飲食相關的惡業，展現了對僧伽的飲食禁戒，包括不守持每天只吃一餐的規則、不當進食、帶走剩飯剩菜，以及其他濫用供養食物的行為。佛陀也為在家人講述了與飲食相關的倫理規範，主要涉及如何以衛生的方式為僧伽準備飲食。