四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 2.229

2.229

非時食戒三十七。《智論》問曰：若法無時，云何聽時食，遮非時食為戒？答曰：我已說世界名字，法有非實，汝不應難。亦是毘尼中結戒法，是世界中實有，為眾人訶責故。亦欲護佛法使久存，定佛弟子禮法故。佛世尊結諸戒，不應求有何名字相應不相應等。若爾，云何但說假名時？答：實時毘尼不說。以白衣外道不得聞，聞生邪見故；說假名時，以通多分故。今有妄學大乘者，多貪著非時食故，具引誡之。經中說云：早起諸天食，日中三世諸佛食，日西畜生食，日暮鬼神食。佛制斷六趣因，令同三世佛故。《多論》四解：一從旦至中，其明轉盛，名之為時；中後明沒，名為非時。二從旦至中，作食時節，乞不生惱；中後已去，反上可知。三中前俗人事務，淫惱未發；中後閑預，入村乞食，多被譏謗。四中前乞食濟身；過中靜緣修道，非是乞時，名為非時。又云：晝夜各分九時，事同須臾；日下近地，熱漸寒甚，夜則長也。《阿含》中，《時非時經》具明二十四半月之相，準俗二十四氣量之。《僧祇》令知時節，若作脚影，事同上經；若作刻漏（《四分》亦爾），日極長，晝則十八須臾，夜十二也；長夜反之。四緣：一是非時，二非時想，三時食，四咽咽墮。律云：時者，明相出乃至日中；案此時為法，四天下亦爾。非時者，從日中乃至明相未出。《僧祇》：日正中時，名時非時，若食得吉；時過如一瞬一髮，食得提。律云：若比丘非時受食，食咽咽墮。非時漿明相出，七日藥過七日，亦墮。盡形壽藥無因緣服，吉羅（以曾加口法，無病不許服。犯有輕重，並謂加口法者；若不加法，非時中服，四藥並墮，故《戒本》唯除水、楊枝也）。《五分》：得甞食，但不得咽。《十誦》：教人非時食、殺生草木、空地然火、手取金銀、掘地、啖殘宿食，為己不為己，作者，皆二俱犯墮。《五百問》云：中後，一切有形之物，不得入口中。食已，用楊枝若灰漱口，不者墮。律不犯者：若作黑右蜜，和米作，法爾故。有病者服吐下藥；日時欲過，煮麥令皮不破，漉汁飲。若喉中哯出，還咽不犯。《善見》，出喉還咽犯墮。

Precept 37: Eating at improper times. The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa asks: 'If phenomena are without inherent time, why is eating at the proper time permitted, and why is prohibiting eating at improper times made into a precept?' It answers: 'I have already explained that names in the world exist conventionally and phenomena are not ultimately real; you should not raise this objection. Furthermore, the precepts established in the Vinaya genuinely exist within the conventional world to prevent censure from the multitude, as well as to protect the Buddha-Dharma so that it lasts long, and to determine the etiquette and norms for the Buddha's disciples. When the Buddha, the Bhagavat, established the precepts, one should not investigate whether there are corresponding or non-corresponding names and so forth.' If so, why speak only of conventional time? The answer: 'The Vinaya does not speak of ultimate time because laypersons and tīrthikas must not hear of it, for hearing it would give rise to wrong views; conventional time is spoken of because it applies to the majority.'
Today there are those falsely studying the Great Vehicle who, out of excessive greed and craving for food at improper times, are cited these admonitions in full. A sūtra states: 'Early morning is when the gods eat; midday is when the Buddhas of the three times eat; the afternoon is when animals eat; dusk is when ghosts and spirits eat.' The Buddha instituted this to sever the causes of the six destinies and make disciples equal to the Buddhas of the three times.
The Sarvāstivāda-vinaya-vibhāṣā gives four explanations: First, from dawn to midday, the light progressively brightens, which is called the proper time; after midday the light fades, which is called the improper time. Second, from dawn to midday is the season for preparing food, so begging causes no annoyance; from midday onward, the reverse is true, as is known. Third, before midday laypeople are occupied with affairs, and lustful afflictions have not yet arisen; after midday they are at leisure, and entering villages to beg for food will mostly invite mockery and slander. Fourth, before midday begging for food supports the body; past midday one settles external conditions to cultivate the Path, which is not the time for begging and is therefore called improper time.
It also states: Day and night are each divided into nine units of time, functioning like a muhūrta; as the sun descends closer to the earth, heat diminishes and cold intensifies, and the nights lengthen. In the Āgama, the Sūtra on Proper and Improper Times fully clarifies the signs of the twenty-four half-months, corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms of secular reckoning.
The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya requires knowing the seasonal periods: if by measuring the shadow of the feet, it functions identically to the above sūtra; if by water clock (the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya is also like this), when the days are longest, daytime is eighteen muhūrtas and night is twelve; when nights are long, it is the reverse.
Four conditions: first, it is an improper time; second, the perception that it is an improper time; third, it is timely food; fourth, each swallow incurs a pāyattika.
The Vinaya states: 'The proper time is from the appearance of dawn until midday; taking this time as the norm, it is also like this across the four continents. The improper time is from midday until dawn has not yet appeared.' The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya states: 'When the sun is precisely at midday, it is termed the border of the proper and improper times; eating then incurs a duṣkṛta. Once the time has passed by even an instant or a hair's breadth, eating incurs a pāyattika.'
The Vinaya states: If a bhikṣu receives food at an improper time, each swallow incurs a pāyattika. If improper-time juice is kept until dawn appears, or if seven-day medicine exceeds seven days, it also incurs a pāyattika. If lifetime medicine is taken without cause, it incurs a duṣkṛta (because a verbal rite was performed, it is not permitted to take it without illness. The offense has lighter and heavier degrees, both referring to medicines that underwent the verbal rite; if no rite was performed, taking them during the improper time incurs a pāyattika for all four medicines; hence the Prātimokṣa Sūtra excludes only water and tooth-sticks). The Pañcavargika-vinaya states: One may taste food, but must not swallow it. The Daśādhyāya-vinaya states: Teaching someone to eat at improper times, to kill living plants, to light a fire on open ground, to handle gold and silver with hands, to dig the earth, or to eat leftover overnight food—whether for oneself or not, if done, both parties incur a pāyattika. The Five Hundred Questions states: 'Past midday, no material object possessing form may enter the mouth. Having eaten, one must rinse the mouth with a tooth-stick or ash; if not, it incurs a pāyattika.'
Under the Vinaya, there is no transgression if: one makes black honey mixed with rice, because such is the rule. A sick person may take emetic or purgative medicines; if the proper time is about to pass, one may boil barley so that its husk does not break, strain the juice, and drink it. If something is retched up into the throat and swallowed back down, there is no transgression. The Samantapāsādikā states that if it comes out of the throat and is swallowed back down, it incurs a pāyattika.