Just as a bee takes the nectar
(Dhp 49)
and moves on, doing no damage
to the flower’s beauty and fragrance;
That’s how a sage should walk in the village.
Morning Alms Round
At 6:30am, in the soft light of early morning, the monks of Pothgulgala Aranya go for pindapata—alms round—gathering food for our one meal of the day.
We leave the monastery together, in single file, walking barefoot in order of seniority, with our bowls hanging from our shoulders. There are several pindapata routes in the vicinity of Pothgulgala Aranya, so one-by-one we peel off and disappear down side roads to the villages of Devalagama, Wallagama and Alugolla.
A Daily Necessity
We go for alms in all weather—including pouring rain—going up and down hills, past the local shrine, walking between rice paddies and through the small villages that wind around the low hills. The scenery is green and lush, with forests of teak, mahogany, rubber and of course, king coconut palms which stand tall, stretching high into the sky.
We stop at houses along the way where the villagers are waiting patiently with big smiles. Other donors meet us along the way, jumping off their motorbike, or getting out of their three-wheeler. Sometimes children even stop their bus to alight and offer food into our bowls. It’s wonderful to be in a Buddhist country where such things are done and are considered normal!
We return to the monastery with packages of food wrapped in banana leaves or old newspapers. Some days we receive more food than others, but whatever food there is, it is always enough. Our bellies and our hearts are filled with kindness.
Mutual Care & Support
Bhikkhus and bhikkhunis are not allowed to cook food for themselves and cannot store food, either. Thats why we go for almsround. This means that every day we are entirely reliant on the generosity of kind people to eat. This is part of the relationship between sangha and lay people established by the Buddha. The lay people generate merit by providing material support to help the Sangha practice and the Sangha help the community with teaching Dhamma and meditation.
It takes a community to feed a monk. Our meal is ‘crowd-sourced’, with many people offering whatever they have available and anything they wish to give. Some people might offer rice, some give curries or soup, others provide fruits or sweets. Put it all together and it makes a substantial meal to keep us practising the Dhamma for another day. Then we share what we learn with our community.
Like a Bee Gathering Nectar
The Buddha encouraged us to be like bees gathering nectar, not being greedy or demanding. Instead we should take only a little from each person and no more than we need.
It’s beautiful to be able to undertake this ancient practice. I often marvel at how, in this ever-changing world, we still maintain this link to the past. The sight of monks and nuns going for morning alms is something that has been present in Buddhism for thousands of years. The deep connection between sangha and the lay community is just as old.
The Buddha called pindapata Right Livelihood for monastics. It’s our job to be seen and to receive generosity. I’ve been so fortunate to have this practice for the last five or so years, even in Australia. It’s not as common in Sri Lanka as it is in south east Asian countries, such as Thailand, but to be able to go for pindapata anywhere is a real blessing. Pindapata shows the faith of the lay people is strong because they are willing to support the Sangha. The monastics demonstrate their humbleness and contentedness, relying entirely upon whatever is freely offered.
Connected by Kindness
It’s an incredible privilege as a monk to experience the special relationship that the Sangha has with the supporters who keep us fed every day. It’s a beautiful, undemanding relationship; we don’t chat or linger, we don’t teach Dhamma or discuss problems on alms round .Yet there is a very deep connection, especially with the regular donors, seeing each other every day develops a sort of fondness; like we are on the same team. I’m always filled with happiness seeing such kind people everyday and when I’ve asked people why they offer alms, they often respond by saying it makes them happy, too.
Receiving such kindness and generosity is a profoundly beautiful thing for me as a monk. At times, thinking about the kindness I have received, I get quite overwhelmed and tears of gratitude pour out of me. The generosity of strangers is something I will never take for granted and something I will never forget.
To be able to practise pindapata is not a result of the recipient’s good kamma alone. Rather, to me, it is more about the good qualities of the donors who understand that goodness and joy that comes from doing meritorious deeds. Then there is the sincerity of monks and nuns from the distant and recent past, who practised well and went for alms round out of compassion for future generations of Sangha. Thanks to both the kind lay people and good Sangha of previous generations, we are able to continue this tradition and we always have enough to eat every day.
Benefits of Giving
In the Bojhana Sutta (AN 5.37), the Buddha says that when people offer food, they give the recipient much more than physical nourishment. The gift of food gives long life, beauty, happiness, strength, and eloquence.
The nature of kamma is such that when someone engages in meritorious activities like giving, they also receive a share of the result of these actions.
So, a person who gives food provides long life and receives that benefit themself. The same with beauty, happiness, strength and eloquence. These results will be experienced in this life and in future lives, either as a human or as a divine being, as generosity is often associated with rebirth in the heavenly realms.
Anumodana
Anumodana means rejoicing along with others’ generosity. When people are kind and generous, we rejoice in their goodness because they are doing meritorious deeds that benefit both others as well as themselves.
In some Buddhist traditions you might see the monks on alms round recite a few lines of anumodana verses drawn from suttas. Monks in the forest tradition don’t generally do this on alms round but we might quietly say something like, “Sukhi hotu”, which means, “May you be happy”.
In some ways, these few words could be considered like an abbreviated version of an anumodana and carry a deeper meaning than might immediately be apparent.
In other settings, when we recite the anumodana, one of my favourite verses is from Bojhana Sutta. The sutta ends with the lines below that summarise the teaching in verse. I include them here thinking of all the wonderfully kind and generous people who have supported me on alms round whilst in residence at Pothgulgala Aranya.
A wise one is a giver of life, strength,
Bojhana Sutta (AN 5.37)
beauty, and eloquence.
An intelligent giver of happiness
gains happiness in return.
Giving life, strength, beauty,
happiness, and eloquence,
they have long-life and status
wherever they’re reborn.
Rejoicing in Merit
A big sadhu anumodana to the community of Pothgulgala Aranya, who’s faith and kindness kept me healthy and well throughout the Vassa.
A special mention of Sumith, who took many of the pindapata photos included here.
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