"Take care that we not have to suffer it being said of us 'At that meditation center, they don't care about the Vinaya'. On the patipatti side (practical Dhamma meditation, as opposed to the monks primarily concerned with pariyatti, theoretical scholarship), we need to take care not to have faults regarding Vinaya observance. In accepting meal donations, the table must weight only as much as an average person can lift. If it weighs more than that, the offering is not consummated, it is invalid. Some yogis who are careful around the Vinaya rules notice things such as the food offering. If they see people who accept food in such a way that the offering is not consummated, they will remind them. We on the patipatti side must take care so that we bear up under the watchful eyes of the Vinaya."

I heard Sayadaw say that once back at the Mahasi Sâsana Yeiktha. When you accept meal offerings, things that will the table heavier than an average person can lift have to be taken off the table. Only after accepting them separately should they be put on top of the table. At the Shwe Taung Gon Sâsana Yeiktha, when the monks accept meal donations, they have to be especially mindful. No matter where he goes, Sayadaw doesn't cut any slack as far as the Vinaya is concerned. Abroad, he is this same way. No matter how other people in this country accept meal offerings, he says to just do it according to the Vinaya. If it's too heavy to lift, he'll have you accept it one dish at a time. If people who don't understand that hear, "Please offer it one dish at a time," they are apt to say "It's okay. It's okay. It's not heavy," and strain to lift it up. After you explain it so they understand, they do it they way you ask.

At the Shwe Taung Gon Sâsana Yeiktha, only after all the tables for the monks have been offered may the brass gong be rung. The gong may not be rung before dawn. That's because Sayadaw is worried that if the gong were rung before dawn, despite the fact that we don't eat until after, the neighbors who heard it might get the wrong impression and think that at this center they eat before dawn. If the gong is rung in an incorrect manner, Sayadaw asks, "Who is ringing the bell?" and has somebody who knows how to ring it. When the gong is rung, it must be struck so that the mallet hits the middle of the knob. The sound should not be too loud, nor too soft. It must be rung so its rings distinctly yet smoothly. The sound should be pleasant on the ears," he says.

The junior monks take responsibility for various necessities  such as making sure that when the monks and male yogis eat they line up evenly and that their robes or clothes are neat. The nuns and female yogis have to line up before coming in, too. The female yogis come in more slowly than the monks and men. It's probably because the Kyauktan Sayadaw gives them instructions to note closely. The Shwe Taung Gone Sâsana Yeiktha Sayadaw sometimes arrives after the monks and nuns, men and women have entered the dining hall, and sometimes after they've started eating. Sometimes he arrives before any of them and does walking meditation in front of the dining hall. I have heard Sayadaw say something when their sandals are not taken off and arranged neatly. I know that he's said things during the rainy season when people put the umbrel

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