When the Buddha, at Jetavana, laid down the rule that monks should eat one meal a day and that in the morning, Bhaddáli protested and refused to keep this rule because he said that, in so eating, he would be a prey to scruples and misgivings. For three months he avoided the Buddha, until, just before the Buddha was starting on a journey, Bhaddáli, acting on the advice of his fellow monks, confessed his fault to the Buddha and begged for forgiveness (M.i.437ff). The Buddha praised this action and preached to him the Bhaddáli Sutta (q.v.).
It is said (MA.ii.648) that, in a previous birth, Bhaddáli had been a crow, therefore in this life he was always hungry and was known among his fellows as the Great Eater (Maháchátaka).
Thirty kappas ago he met Sumedha Buddha in the forest, wrapt in meditation, and, having tidied the place where the Buddha was sitting, he erected over him a pavilion. Ap.ii.365f.