The Begging Bowl
The Begging bowl refers to a story shortly before Buddha reached enlightenment. Buddha met a woman named Sujata who offered him a bowl of milk rice. The Buddha, at that point of time was practicing austerity (the condition of living without things that are not necessary), and therefore ate very little. However, he realised that without food, he will not have the energy to continue on his path to enlightenment. For that reason, he took some milk rice. As soon as the Buddha attained enlightenment, he discarded the rest of the food that was left. The begging bowl; is therefore a symbol of an extremely important Buddhist principle – to find a balance between extreme austerity and complete attachment. The begging bowl also stands for the monk’s way of life, which is living off what is being given to him by the common people.