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The Śramani: The Worker
if her hands, the serving-spoon or the dish are dirty or contaminated by any substance which is raw, living and thus not classified as pure food, it must be refused;108
if the food contains particles of flowers, seeds, plants, it is to be refused; nor are vegetables such as onion or edible tubers such as potatoes to be accepted. Sugar-cane, cereals, raw vegetables and certain fresh fruits and fruit-juices must be refused; 109
if one discovers that the food in question has been prepared for beggars or the poor, one must decline it, as one would be taking a portion that belongs to them;110
503
in the same way, if the food has been prepared or specially purchased for those who are coming in quest of it, it must be categorically refused;111
during vihāras one must on no account accept food in the house of the host who is providing hospitality nor eat from his dishes;1
112
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if the mistress of the house is busy putting wood on the fire, or if the food she offers is in a pan on the fire, it must be refused.113
108 Ibid., 33-35.
109 Ibid., 1, 70; 2, 18-24; AS II, 1, 8, 1.
110 Cf, DS V, 1, 51-52.
111 Ibid., 1, 53-55; VI, 48-49.
112 Cf. AS II, 2, 3, 4; DS VI, 50-52.
113 Cf. DS V, 1, 63-64; fire being both itself a living substance and also destructive of beings, it is to be avoided.
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