For
a monastic (a monk or a nun) food is to be regarded as medicine
and not as a pleasure. In the spirit of the Middle Way it
should be taken in just sufficient quantity to keep the body
healthy. In the KITAGIRI SUTTA of the MAJJHIMA NIKAYA is found
the following passage:
"Once
when the Buddha was touring in the region of Kasi together
with a large Sangha of monks he addressed them saying: 'I,
monks, do not eat a meal in the evening. Not eating a meal
in the evening I, monks, am aware of good health and of
being without illness and of buoyancy and strength and living
in comfort. Come, do you too, monks, not eat a meal in the
evening. Not eating a meal in the evening you too, monks,
will be aware of good health and..... and living in comfort.'
"
Consequently,
eating only in the period from dawn until noon became the
tradition for Buddhist monastics, but not without some resistance
at first. In the LATUKIKOPAMA SUTTA, also of the MAJJHIMA
NIKAYA, Venerable Udayin spoke thus to the Buddha:
"We,
revered sir, used to eat in the evening and in the morning
and in the afternoon. Revered sir, the Lord at that time
addressed the monks saying: 'Please do you, monks, give
up eating at this wrong time during the afternoon'. I was
depressed because of this, revered sir, I was sorry and
thought 'The Lord speaks of our giving up that sumptuous
food which faithful laypeople give us in the afternoon and
of our rejecting it'. "
Then
we used to eat (just) in the morning and in the evening.
It was at this time that the Lord addressed the monks saying:
'Please do you, monks, give up eating in the evening'. I
was depressed because of this, revered sir, I was sorry
and thought 'The Lord speaks of our giving up that which
is reckoned as the more sumptuous of these two meals and
of our rejecting it'."
But
Venerable Udayin, who, by the way, was known for being fat,
soon got over his disappointment and realized the benefits
of restraint in eating. Moreover, he appreciated that as monks
obtain their food mainly on almsround, going out for almsfood
in the evening had certain disadvantages. The same sutta continues:
"Once,
revered sir, when monks were walking for almsfood in the
dense darkness o the night, they would walk into a pond
at the village entrance, or they would stumble into the
village cesspool, or they would blunder into a thorny hedge
or stumble into a sleeping cow, and they would meet young
men up to no good and wanton women. Once, revered sir, I
walked for almsfood in the dense darkness of the night and
a certain woman saw me during a lightening flash as she
was washing a bowl and, terrified at seeing me she uttered
a scream of horror: 'How terriblefor me, indeed there is
a demon after me'. This said, I, revered sir, said to this
women: 'Sister, I am no demon, I am a monk standing for
almsfood'. She said 'The monks father must be dead, the
monks mother must be dead! It were better for you, monk,
to have your stomach cut out with a sharp butchers knife
than to walk for almsfood for the sake of your belly in
the dense darkness of the night'."'
A
monk or nun who eats food outside of the proper time, from
dawn until noon, commits an offence called PACITTIYA. To free
themselves of the offence they have to approach a fellow monk
or nun and tell them of their misdeed. This simple acknowledgement
is all that is required for it serves to heighten one's sense
of duty, and of responsibility, and so it is a strong incentive
to be more punctilious in the future. Thus these rules of
Vinaya do not rely on punishment but rather urging greater
mindfulness and restraint so that the same mistake will not
be repeated.
Though
solid foods are disallowed outside of the morning period,
other substances were allowed in the afternoon or evening,
especially where there is a need such as sickness. Strained
fruit and vegetable juices are allowable in the afternoon,
especially for thirsty monks and nuns. Then the five traditional
Indian 'medicines' of ghee, oil, butter/cheese, honey and
sugar were allowed in the afternoon as a 'tonic', to be used
for such reasons as when a monk or nun had been working hard,
when it was very cold, or when they had received insufficient
almsfood that morning. Clear meat or bean broths are allowed
in the afternoon for very sick monks or nuns. Drinks like
tea, herbal infusions, ginger, cocoa and coffee are also allowable
in the afternoon as much as a monk or nun requires. Milk,
however, is the subject of some controversy. Some monks say
it is allowable in the afternoon, some say it isn't and our
tradition says it 'aint.
Whatever
is allowable and what is not and when, a good monk or nun
always remembers the WHY of eating. The following verses of
the Buddha are to be reflected upon whenever taking nourishment
and they are heard recited at Bodhinyana before every meal
by one of the monks:
"Wisely
reflecting we use this almsfood, not for fun, not for pleasure,
not for fattening and not for beautification. But only for
the maintenance and nourishment of this body, for keeping
it healthy, for helping with the holy life, thinking thus:
I will allay hunger without overeating, so that I may continue
to live blamelessly and at ease."
Ajahn
Brahmavamso
(Newsletter, July-September 1990, Buddhist Society of Western
Australia.)
