37. Food Has Both Benefits and Drawbacks
By Luang Pu Thate Desaraṅsī
October 14, 1985
Food is one of the factors included in the four necessities, and it is extremely important — more so than all the other necessities. If we don't eat, if we have no food in our stomachs, we will die. No one can avoid this. Sabbe sattā āhāraṭṭhitikā — all beings subsist on food. Food is the cause and condition that enables human beings to survive and to live long lives.
However, food is also a danger for practitioners. If we eat without reflection, without proper consideration or skill, it gives rise to greed, lust, and restlessness, causing the mind to become chaotic and wander here and there. Therefore, it is said that when eating, we should be careful and restrained. This restraint is very important. Once we have trained ourselves to be careful and restrained with food, then regarding the other necessities — clothing, shelter, and medicines for various ailments — when we have become skilled at reflecting on food, those things will follow accordingly.
Food is important and we encounter it every day. Each day we eat it, we tend to become forgetful and heedless because of its tastes. The Buddha taught that we should eat just enough to sustain the body — as a medicine to maintain the physical form and keep life going, nothing more. We do not eat to become fat, plump, or handsome. We do not eat for perfect, complete health and fitness. Before taking a meal, we should reflect on it as just elements: mattakā — merely elements; nissatto nijjīvo — not a being, not a person; suñño — empty.
These things exist in that way. When we eat them, they are just pure elements. Whatever food we eat — the rice, water, and all the provisions — all are composed of the four elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. They arise, are prepared, and are combined. When we eat them, those elements combine with these elements to sustain the body. That is to say, elements nourish elements. The four elements sustain these four elements, allowing them to persist. It is like building a brick structure: we apply mortar and clay to build it up, forming a solid monument or pagoda.
In truth, these things belong to no one. Elements are not our self. They are merely elements. As the teachings say, they are not our self. They are merely elements, not living things. Nissatto nijjīvo — lifeless. Suñño — empty. To contemplate this emptiness is not easy; it is a very subtle, profound matter — to see them as elements.
If we do not contemplate in this way, we see them as having flavors and qualities, as delicious and appetizing, and then we become attached to food. Once we have eaten, we keep wanting more. Whatever food is a defilement, tasty and appealing, we become fixated on it, wishing to eat that food repeatedly. This desire accumulates in the mind. If we do not reflect, this happens, and we lack restraint and caution. There is no careful restraint regarding food; we become greedy for eating. As they say, we like it, we enjoy it. Whatever we see, we want it — wanting this, wanting that, everything. We eat and never feel full or satisfied. Today we eat, and later we still like it and want it again. We eat today, and the stomach is full, but the mind still wants more. That is the defilement. That wanting itself is what causes us to be restrained and careful going forward.
Food truly sustains life, but if we are not careful and restrained, it becomes a cause for defilements. We have ordained in the Buddha's teaching hoping to purify defilements, not to accumulate them. Defilements arise right from these things, gradually building up, accumulating more and more, without our even realizing we are accumulating them. They become our moods, our attachments. This habit of wanting to eat, wanting to consume, wanting always to eat — not seeing food as elements but as raw and fine, as special — becomes a way of accumulating defilements.
The Buddha taught eating one meal a day, eating only once. He explained the proper measure at the beginning: one part of food to three parts of rice — that is the proper balance. That is the beginning of restraint, the initial restraint. But we often eat more food than rice; sometimes we don't eat rice at all, only food. That goes beyond the Buddha's guideline, beyond bounds. If we do not restrain ourselves, if we do not consider these things, we just follow our own preferences, exceeding limits in everything. There is no proper balance, no careful restraint regarding the Buddha's teachings.
We have ordained in the Buddha's religion. We must uphold his teachings and practice accordingly. We should constantly recollect the Buddha's instructions. In everything we do, we should think of the Buddha, taking his teachings as our standard. He is the Teacher, the one who directly instructs us.
In truth, when we ordain in this religion, all the food, robes, clothing, shelter, utensils, and various medicines arise precisely from the Buddha's teachings. If we did not practice according to the Buddha's teachings, no one would make merit or give donations. It is because we follow the Buddha's teachings that people gradually gain faith and confidence and make merit and donations. But we forget ourselves. We forget and fail to recollect the Buddha's religion and his teachings, and this causes defilements to pile up even more. If we do not have faith in the Buddha, the religion will die. Then it will no longer be genuine in the Buddha's religion.
The Buddha taught his religion. If we do not take it as our foundation, do not practice it, then everything goes awry. That is why meditative practice does not progress. If we can recollect the Buddha's religion and his teachings, we must carefully restrain ourselves. When we eat, we know: "Ah, this arises from the Buddha's teaching because the Buddha taught it thus." Because of this, we practice according to the Buddha's teaching, so people have faith, confidence, and satisfaction, and they learn to adjust. Eating this much, consuming this much — is it just right? What happens if we eat too much? What happens if we eat too little? We know for ourselves. Does eating too much cause discomfort? Does eating too little cause discomfort? We learn to adjust our food to suit our own elements, to find the right balance. If eating too much makes meditation poor, and eating less makes meditation good, then we eat less.
Don't worry too much about the physical body. Take the Buddha's teachings as your standard. Intend to practice in line with the Buddha's teachings. When you see the Buddha's teachings, that itself is correct and constitutes training in the religion. Let the body simply survive. Practice firmly; don't be overly concerned with abundance. Just get through each day. That is what accords with the Buddha's teaching.