Reading guide
A recognizable precept, reframed as rarity
This project's own reading: “vikālabhojana” (“eating at the wrong time,” conventionally meaning after midday) names a training rule this project recognizes elsewhere as one of the standard eight precepts — here, as throughout this vagga, recast not as an instruction but as an observation about how rarely it is actually kept.
Key terms
appakā te sattā ye vikālabhojanā paṭiviratā — “the sentient beings who refrain from food at the wrong time are few” — the rare category, matching the tiny pinch of dirt
vikālabhojana — “eating at the wrong time” — conventionally, eating after midday, one of the eight precepts observed on uposatha days
appaṭiviratā — “those who don't refrain” — the vast majority category, matching the whole earth
… — the elision marking, standing in for the fingernail demonstration already given in full at SN 56.61-62
navamaṁ — “the ninth” — this discourse's own root text confirming its own position directly, read rather than assumed
The text
Every genuinely translated fragment given in the consulted English source, which itself preserves the elision back to SN 56.61's own full statement. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“… the sentient beings who refrain from food at the wrong time are few, while those who don’t refrain are many. …”
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Self-check quiz
3 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 3
What does this discourse claim about those who refrain from eating at the wrong time?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — matching this vagga's own recurring formula.
Question 2 of 3
What does this project's own reading identify "vikālabhojana" as?
Correct: A. This project's own cross-reference to a recognizable precept item.
Question 3 of 3
What position does this discourse occupy in this vagga's own ten-discourse sequence?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading of the root text's own closing marker "Navamaṁ" ("ninth").