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Q: What does a fast day "look" like, e.g. are some foods
permitted but not others? Some drinks but not others? Or
is it a complete abstinence from all food and all drink?
A: Laity who receive and observe the vows known as the Lay
Bodhisattva Precepts stop eating at noon on six days of each
month. The purpose of their limiting food intake is manifold: out of
compassion for those suffering from starvation, they "give by
reducing their share." Further, they respect the Buddha's practice
of moderation and eat less on those days. The fasting observance
is related to several liturgical practices observed on the six fasting
days: they recite their precept codes, recite scriptures and
increase their hours of meditation on those days.
A: Some Buddhist laity feel that eating low on the food chain
creates merit; eating less luxurious food creates an opportunity to
serve the planet and all living beings. In this way the dining table
becomes a place of practice.
The Buddha's own experience showed him that fasting per se did
not extinguish desire, it only subdued it. As soon as he resumed
eating, his desire returned as well. It took concentration and
insight to extinguish desire. The Buddha discovered that desire is
rooted in the mind and can be transformed in the mind. Fasting
can help that process of transforming desire to wisdom by
subduing the body's coarse desires. Fasting is an aid to the Way,
a supplementary practice that can lead to increased mental
awareness of the connection between desire and human
existence.
The letters of Heng Sure and Heng Ch'au... Three steps and a bow.
That's how they walked it. Two monks on a pilgrimage of peace
that took them through a series of wide-ranging encounters and
extraordinary experiences -- within and without. These letters and
photos are a record of their amazing journey.