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Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 5.228

Eating Late

Ussūrabhattasutta — Dīghacārikavagga — the twenty-third chapter of the Fives

Setting
None stated; the discourse continues from AN 5.1, whose setting at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove is understood to hold
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
two paired five-item lists, drawbacks then benefits
Length
~1.5 minutes to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, genuinely household-focused

Why this discourse

Addressed to a household rather than a mendicant, this discourse names five practical costs of eating meals late in the day — social, religious, and even nutritional — treating domestic scheduling as a genuine matter of consequence, not merely a private preference.

Reading guide

Five parties affected by a late meal

Guests aren't served on time; the deities who accept spirit-offerings aren't served on time; ascetics and brahmins who eat only once a day aren't served on time; household servants and workers perform their duties neglectfully; and the meal itself, eaten at the wrong time, isn't nutritious.

Guests, deities, and religious visitors together

The first three items form a striking sequence: the same consequence — being kept waiting — falls on human guests, on deities receiving ritual offerings, and on disciplined religious visitors alike, treating all three as genuinely comparable obligations a household owes.

A concern for mendicants who eat only once a day

The third item is worth noticing specifically: ascetics and brahmins who eat only once a day, at a fixed time, are directly harmed by a household's lateness in a way someone eating flexibly wouldn't be — a practical consequence of the very discipline named at AN 5.188.

The final item, purely physical

The fifth drawback closes on something entirely different from the first four — not a social or religious failure, but a nutritional one: food eaten outside its proper time simply isn't as nourishing.

Five matching benefits

The clean mirror: guests, deities, and disciplined religious visitors all served promptly; servants performing their duties attentively; and food eaten at the proper time being genuinely nutritious.

Key terms

ussūrabhatta — “eating late in the day” — this discourse's title concept, the household failure described.
balipaṭiggāhikā devatā — “deities who accept spirit-offerings” — the second party a late household meal fails to serve on time.
ekabhattikā rattūparatā viratā vikālabhojanā — “those who eat in one part of the day, abstaining from night and wrong-time eating” — the disciplined religious visitors named, echoing AN 5.188's practice.
dāsakammakaraporisā — “bondservants, workers, and staff” — the household dependents affected by a late meal's disruption.
samayabhatta — “eating at a proper time” — the positive counterpart, this discourse's title concept in reverse.

The text

The discourse in full: five drawbacks of a household eating late, and five benefits of eating at a proper time. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

Five drawbacks of eating late

§1“Mendicants, there are these five drawbacks for a family who takes their meals late in the day. What five? When guests visit, they are not served on time. The deities who accept spirit-offerings are not served on time. Ascetics and brahmins who eat in one part of the day, abstaining from eating at night, and from food at the wrong time are not served on time. Bondservants, workers, and staff do their duties neglectfully. A meal eaten during the wrong period is not nutritious. These are the five drawbacks for a family who takes their meals late in the day.

Five benefits of eating at a proper time

§2There are these five benefits for a family who takes their meals at a proper time. What five? When guests visit, they are served on time. The deities who accept spirit-offerings are served on time. Ascetics and brahmins who eat in one part of the day, abstaining from eating at night, and from food at the wrong time are served on time. Bondservants, workers, and staff do their duties attentively. A meal eaten during the proper period is nutritious. These are the five benefits for a family who takes their meals at a proper time.”

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Self-check quiz

Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 10
Who is this discourse most directly addressed to?
Correct: A. Treating domestic meal scheduling as a genuine matter of consequence.
Question 2 of 10
What three parties does a late household meal fail to serve on time?
Correct: A. Three comparable obligations a household owes.
Question 3 of 10
What does the third item specifically concern?
Correct: A. A practical consequence of the discipline named at AN 5.188.
Question 4 of 10
What does the fifth drawback concern, distinct from the first four?
Correct: A. Closing on something entirely different from social or religious concerns.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'balipaṭiggāhikā devatā' mean?
Correct: A. The second party affected by a late household meal.
Question 6 of 10
What earlier discourse in this nipāta does the third item's practice echo?
Correct: A. The one-meal-a-day discipline, harmed by household lateness.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'dāsakammakaraporisā' mean?
Correct: A. The household dependents affected by a late meal's disruption.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'samayabhatta' mean?
Correct: A. The positive counterpart, this discourse's title concept in reverse.
Question 9 of 10
What does this discourse's structure suggest about domestic scheduling?
Correct: A. Affecting guests, deities, religious visitors, servants, and nutrition.
Question 10 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. 'Long Wandering', this session's twenty-third chapter.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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