[480] Now at that time bhikkhus were traveling by boat together with some people. Then those bhikkhus said to those people: "Friends, bring the boat to the shore¹ for a moment; we shall walk for alms."
They said: "Venerable sirs, please eat right here."
The bhikkhus, being scrupulous, did not accept, saying: "A group meal (gaṇabhojana) has been prohibited by the Blessed One." They reported this matter to the Blessed One.
"Bhikkhus, I allow a group meal to be eaten on the occasion of boarding a boat. And thus, bhikkhus, you should recite this training rule (sikkhāpada):
"In a group meal, except on a proper occasion, there is an offense of pācittiya. Herein this is the occasion: an occasion of illness, an occasion of the giving of robes, an occasion of the making of robes, an occasion of going on a journey, an occasion of boarding a boat — this is the occasion herein."
And thus this training rule came to be laid down by the Blessed One for the bhikkhus.
¹ Siam ed. footnote: the reading "nāvaṃ" does not occur in the Burmese (M.) and European (Yu.) editions.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.