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## Chapter 246, Dasha Shruta Skandha Sutra, Seventh Dasha
It is stated that a monk who has received the image (pratima) should take only one datti of water per month. However, a monk from an unknown lineage should take only a small amount. Just as beggars collect a little grain at a time, so should he collect a little from each house. In this way, the monk should sustain himself through material possessions (abhigraha) and then through the field (kshetra). When a monk goes to receive alms, if both feet of the householder are inside the doorway, he should not take alms. Even if both feet are outside, it is not appropriate to take alms. However, if one foot is inside the doorway and the other outside, he can accept alms. If alms are not available in this way, he should not take them.
Similarly, while sustaining himself through material possessions (abhigraha), he should also sustain himself through time (kala). This will be discussed in detail in the next sutra. The implication is that a monk who has received the image (pratima) should strictly follow the rules.
A monk who sustains himself through material possessions (abhigraha) should go for alms when many people, animals, birds, ascetics (nirgrantha, Shakyas, tapas, gairika, jivaka, the five types of ascetics), Brahmins, guests, poor people (daridri), beggars (vanipka), etc., have already gone for alms. In this way, the negative karma of their obstruction is delayed. He should go to the same house where only one person's food is prepared. However, he should not accept alms from a house where food is prepared for two, three, four, five, or more people. Similarly, he should not accept food prepared for a pregnant woman, nor should he take food from the hands of a pregnant woman. This is because movement can cause pain to the unborn child. It is worth considering that if a Jina-kalpi monk knows through his quick wisdom that a particular woman is pregnant, he should not accept alms from her hands from that moment onwards. However, a sthavira-kalpi monk can accept alms from her before the eighth month of pregnancy. However, he should stop accepting alms from her when the eighth month begins. This rule is only established for the sake of following the principle of non-violence (ahimsa). It is proven that one should not accept alms from the hands of a pregnant woman. If a woman with a child offers alms after keeping the child separate, he should not accept them either. This is because the child may suffer from being separated from its mother.