Disclaimer: This translation does not guarantee complete accuracy, please confirm with the original page text.
[324]
One should not request a bowl from a householder in a place other than their home, even if they encounter them on the road. If they are a devotee, there is a possibility of incurring the fault of importunity. If they are not a devotee, they may become angry and disrespect the monk or refuse to give the bowl even if they have one. Therefore, one should not request a bowl from anyone in a place other than their home or on the road.
It is said:
The penance for requesting a bowl from a householder, etc., while they are sitting in a council.
39. The monk who, while they are sitting in a council, takes a householder, non-householder, upasaka, or anupasaka aside and repeatedly requests a bowl from them, or approves of the one who is requesting, [incurs the penance of a short chaturmasika].
Discussion: The previous sutra states the penance for requesting a bowl from a householder in a place other than their home. This sutra states the penance for requesting a bowl from a householder who is in their own home, but is engaged in conversation with one or more people, or is sitting in a council.
Doing so would interrupt their necessary conversation, and the giver or other people may become angry. It may lead to a lack of faith in the monk or in the Dharma. The giver is busy in conversation, so they may refuse to give the bowl even if they have one. In such a situation, the monk should request the bowl with discretion. If the monk needs the bowl urgently, they should stand in solitude for a while and wait for a suitable opportunity, or request it at another time.
If the householder themselves leaves the conversation and comes to the monk upon hearing of their arrival, then there is no penance as stated in the sutra for requesting a bowl from them with discretion.
The penance for a monk residing for a bowl.
40. The monk who resides for a bowl during the fixed season [winter or summer], or approves of the one who resides, [incurs the penance of a short chaturmasika].
41. The monk who resides for a bowl during the rainy season, or approves of the one who resides, [incurs the penance of a short chaturmasika].
_ The one who serves them incurs the penance of a chaturmasika with the exclusion of the four months.