Essay name: Ahara as depicted in the Pancanikaya
Author:
Le Chanh
Affiliation: Savitribai Phule Pune University / Department of Sanskrit and Prakrit Languages
This critical study of Ahara (鈥渇ood鈥�) explores its significance in Buddhism, encompassing both physical and mental nourishment. The Panca Nikaya, part of the Sutta Pitaka, highlights how all human problems, including suffering and happiness, are connected to Ahara. Understanding this concept is crucial for comprehending and alleviating suffering, aiming for a balanced, enlightened life.
Chapter 5 - Buddhist view on man and his Aharas
41 (of 45)
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225
keeps handing out wealth to thieves, he would be providing motivation for
others to steal. From the point at which hunger and poverty is introduced
into society, the process of social disintegration and human degradation
proceeds rapidly via a sequence of action-reaction scenarios, each one
worse than the one before.
428 The embedded story as mentioned attaches special importance to the
role, vitality and behavior of kings, leaders of countries for their people. If
a leader loves his people, takes care of them, give them wealth to live, as
he does for himself, his country will be prosperous without hunger and
poverty, war and conflict. Indeed, when a country falls into hunger and
poverty, for which the leader must be responsible. The following teaching
points out the cause of hunger and poverty owing to leader of a country
governing their people's lack of virtue:
"Thus, brethren, from goods not being bestowed on the destitute,
hunger and poverty grew great ... stealing ... violence ... murder ...
lying evil speaking
abusive and idle talk
...
...
adultery
...
...
covetousness and ill-will... false opinions ... incest, wanton greed and
perverted lust... till finally lack of filial and religious piety and lack of
regard for the head of the clan grew great. From these things growing,
the life-span of these beings and the comeliness of them wasted."429
Nowadays, hunger, poverty, stealing, and other risks are increasing
more and more, they stem from wrong search for foods, the contemporary
leaders and rich are in a divided mind as to what to prevent them. They
think that if they bestow wealth to the poor in order to reduce the poverty,
poor people will become passive and idle, not take care of their work, the
situation will cause the decline of the national budget. This worry and
query solved by the Buddha in one another sutta of the Dighanik膩ya
428 Mavis Fenn, Journal of Buddhist Ethics, vol 3, McMaster University, 1996, pp. 100-101.
429 D. III, 71-72.
