How should Buddhists eat and sleep?

Knowing that diet is like good medicine, you can enjoy it without greed.

Not for arrogance and health, but for survival.

As an ordinary person, of course, three meals a day are indispensable, but we should realize that diet, like a good medicine for treating diseases, should be just right. According to the actual situation, it should not be too much or too little, otherwise it will outweigh the benefits. When we eat, we should know the amount of food we eat and do it regularly and quantitatively. Eat too much, the body is heavy, and it is easy to get sleepy and can't sleep; Eating too little will make you haggard and weak, and you have no strength to practice. You must eat in moderation.

When some lay people eat in restaurants, they keep eating and eating for fear of waste, and their stomachs will explode. The journey back is very painful. Although not wasting is a virtue, it is not good to eat too much, and it is still harmful to the body. In the past, some old practitioners lived regularly for several years. I remember there was an old Lama in my temple. He gets up in the morning, sleeps at night and eats the same amount during the day. At that time, he didn't have a watch, but he guessed when to cook tea and drink several bowls of tea, which was very accurate. It's never a mess In fact, this habit is very good for health and practice.

In the process of eating, we should get rid of greed and anger. Some people are so happy when they see something delicious that they gobble it up. If the food is too salty and spicy, you won't be able to swallow a bite, and you will hate the food and the people who cook it. However, some people who cook seem to do whatever they want. Today, they put a lot of salt, tomorrow, they don't put it at all. I don't know if it was intentional. Cooking people should also abide by some rules, otherwise, people who eat can't be greedy and angry. If you do anything casually, others will be angry. Just kidding!

Then, the purpose of eating is not to stay young forever, just like people's diet now, all kinds of advertisements are played very hard to make their skin good and figure good and make others greedy; It's not to keep fit with food. When defending the enemy from archery, he has infinite strength and good health. It's normal for us to eat to maintain our color, but it's unreasonable to be greedy and angry.

A few years ago, in a restaurant somewhere in Shaanxi, 12 people had a meal and spent 366,000 yuan to get lucky. Most of these guests are wealthy businessmen in Hong Kong. The reason why they spent so much money on the banquet was to congratulate them on their successful cooperation. There is also a famous TV host who spent 200,000 RMB to celebrate his birthday. Last year, a big Japanese star went to Shanghai and ate about 1.2 million for the first meal ... They ate to celebrate, be vain or greedy, and these goals were incorrect. "Zabao Jing" says: "It is like a car, and it has no choice but to like and hate. Sesame oil stinks, which is equivalent to smoothing. " We should regard our bodies as cars and food as oil. Cars only need oil to make them slippery, so we don't have to choose fragrance and smell. Similarly, as long as our diet can maintain our physical strength and do things, we should not distinguish between likes and dislikes.

I once saw "five views before meals [1]" in Chinese recitation, and one of them was: "The good medicine for business is to cure physical dryness. A yogi should treat hunger and thirst as a disease, food as a good medicine, keep healthy and eat. There is another cloud: "In order to become a Taoist profession, you should eat this kind of food. In order to become a Taoist, we only enjoy this kind of food, not to attract others for youth and beauty, nor to destroy the enemy for physical strength. Our bodies are only temporarily borrowed flesh and blood, so there is no need to be particularly greedy. When eating, you should think about hard-won food, make three treasures after eating, and do meaningful things for all beings. Nowadays, many people take eating for granted and don't think about its origin at all, which is unreasonable. "The Book of the Mother of Pini" says: "If you don't meditate, recite scriptures or engage in Buddhist activities, you will be believed in giving, and you will fall for giving. 」

As a monk, you should recite the Sambo Sutra before eating, or return it to the donor after eating. There are also some classics that there are many similar traditions and practices, which are aimed at getting rid of all bad karma when eating the first bite, increasing all good karma when eating the second bite, and returning the good roots to all beings when eating the third bite. Originally, according to the theory of "giving up everything", eating, walking and sleeping are all without reciting methods and merits. However, some practitioners can change their ways, and eating a meal can also increase good roots. For example, at the beginning of eating, according to tantric practice, the body is regarded as the support of the altar city; Or in guru yoga, it is said to support the three Buddhas who are basically masters; I still feel sorry for those foodborne farmers who regard the body as a false combination of five elements, nourish it and use it to practice Buddhism.

I am afraid that many people don't understand these tricks. Some people have it, but they can't stick to it for a long time. After this lesson today, when you eat, you may think, "Don't eat too much, don't eat too little, and eat away from greed and anger." But in two or three days, those who don't know mindfulness will forget it, but those who firmly know mindfulness will never forget it. Everyone's good roots and blessings are really different. Although some people haven't listened to Buddhism for a long time, only two or three years or five or six years, they keep it in mind after listening, and the influence of Buddhism on them will not change from generation to generation. I hope everyone can try their best to do the same, otherwise, I will remind you every day that he will feel bored and upset in the end.

In short, in the process of practicing Buddhism, what is your view on diet? What's your attitude and behavior when eating? With what amount to maintain the body? We must understand these points.

Third, break the snooze:

Ming Jun thrives on time, and goes out at night.

Sleep is not fruitless, sleep with mindfulness at midnight.

The author said to King Le Xing: A wise monarch, you should arrange your time reasonably and always spend it on practicing Buddhism. Nowadays, many people lead irregular lives. They eat whenever they want and sleep whenever they want, which is really no different from animals. Although some people believe in Buddhism, there is no Buddhism in their daily life. Of course, practitioners on the mountain can still become attached to Buddhism every day under the influence of the environment, but if there is no good environment, individual Taoist friends may watch TV, eat and drink every day, and besides, they will not have the slightest idea of chanting Buddhism, participating in meditation and practicing good dharma.

Nowadays, many people have extremely bad opinions, such as greed, anger and Jaken, while Buddhism is extremely weak in such aspects as selflessness, emptiness, great compassion, alienation and bodhicitta. In fact, even if you are a monk, wearing a Kesaya does not mean Buddhism. Buddhism does not lie in the external image, but in whether you have Buddhist ideas in your heart. The temple is resplendent and magnificent, and there are several monks. It is not necessarily the prosperity of Buddhism. Perhaps these monks have no compassion, bodhicitta and practice. Including some laymen, are busy with fame and fortune all day. Although they have conversion certificates and have received three conversions and five precepts, they observe their daily life from morning till night: they get up like yaks coming out of the pen in the morning and fall down at night to sleep like old pigs. Apart from eating and drinking, they never recite incantations or participate in meditation or practice. What they said has nothing to do with Buddhism. The world is full of nonsense. This kind of life is really meaningless.

Therefore, the Dragon King Bodhisattva put forward some requirements for the king's life: you should be refreshed during the day, and it is best not to sleep. The evening should also be divided into three hours, and the last night should be spent with good methods; Can sleep in the middle of the night; Get up early to practice tomorrow night. Don't sleep soundly all the time while you are asleep. Although it is difficult to enter a bright dream without a profound realm, generally speaking, when you want to sleep, you should lie down like a lion, watch Sakyamuni Buddha or Amitabha Buddha shine in yourself, or remember to lie your head in the arms of the guru according to the practice of tantric yoga: "Guru, please bless me, I am sleeping!" Hey, the guru never sleeps, but you sleep soundly. It's good to be bigger like this. Sleeping is a method without reciting, and there is no merit of good roots. However, if you do this before going to bed, and you want to have a good dream, get up early tomorrow morning and recite some spells and prayers before going to bed, you can turn a sleep that doesn't need to be recited into a good method.

Many people eat meat and drink freely when doing bad things, but they are afraid when doing good things-"Can you say a spell in the morning?" Can I recite the Buddha's name in the afternoon? There are many unnecessary worries, all caused by ignorance of Buddhism. In fact, it is no problem to repair Buddhism. As long as you can form a good relationship with Buddha and Bodhisattva, there is no problem with any behavior. If you follow the above steps and want to get up early and go to bed at dawn, good roots will increase day and night, and sleeping will not waste time.

Many Buddhists don't understand this but don't do it. I once made everyone kowtow three times before going to bed. Many people can do it in two or three months, but it is extremely rare to persist until now. Sometimes when I see some people in the late French era, I am really tired of leaving. I can't nag you every day. Even if I tell my primary school students about their dignity once or twice, they will always remember those who obey. In the past, when I talked about the theory of entering the profession, I always tried my best to say: I hope you can read Chinese characters 2 1 times when you get up in the morning, and don't forget to knock your head three times when you sleep at night. But how many people have not been broken now? In fact, it takes a short time to knock three heads, but some people's practices are too poor and embarrassing! Of course, people in the city have a lot of trivial matters. It is also a blessing to be angry with this and that all day, not to be in a state of hate when sleeping, and not to dare to ask them for anything. But the yogi who lives in the mountains can't even knock three times a day, but he is still ambitious and wants to be born. How is that possible? Some people are not ashamed, and their tone is particularly loud, but their behavior is really boring, and they can't even do the simplest requirements, and their expectations for themselves are particularly high. This is totally unrealistic!

Anyway, in the process of practicing good dharma, we should not indulge in sleep, which is a big obstacle to practice. Nowadays, people all over the world put special emphasis on taking a nap. Many schools in Korea make children have to sleep at noon, so they are used to it. When they grow up, they have to sleep at noon every day, otherwise their afternoon work will be in a daze and have no spirit. They think that taking a nap is good for health, can relieve fatigue and stress, and also have the strength to stay up all night and go to the ballroom. But for practitioners, it is best not to sleep during the day. Mai Peng Rinpoche and related classics all say that sleeping during the day is harmful to your health and will make your memory decline. Besides not sleeping during the day, I have to get up early in the morning, because the efficiency of doing things in the morning is very, very high.

The biggest obstacle for many practitioners is that sleep is difficult to change. In the Great Treasure Sutra, the Buddha talked about 20 kinds of problems of wanting to sleep [3], such as laziness: I like to sleep, I can't do anything to listen and think, I want to sleep every morning, I want to sleep at noon, not to mention at night; Heavy body: people who like to sleep are heavy, and people who don't like to sleep are light; Pale face: Many people think that sleeping can beautify themselves and make them more and more beautiful, but this is not the case. Sleeping too much will get uglier and uglier; Increase disease; Indigestible food; Body ulcers and blisters; The stupidity of growing up; Poor wisdom; Inhumane disrespect; Dark skin: Many people say that sleep is the root cause of beauty, and all beauty comes from sleep. If sleeping makes people like this, the old pig must be the most beautiful and beautiful in the world, because his daily job is to sleep and nothing else; Hate diligence; Worried ... said a lot of mistakes. If we look closely, we can see that all beings in the world of desire have a lot of trouble in grasping sleep. There is another cloud in the Buddhist scriptures: "Therefore, the wise are always diligent and keep bodhi species. Smart people should always strive for perfection and try to stay away from sleep. Although he can't stay fully awake like Jin Ewa, he also wants to protect the seeds of Bodhi-after all, the seeds of Bodhi can't blossom and bear fruit from sleep.

I often think that it is impossible for ordinary people not to sleep, but I used to be very diligent when I was young, and three hours' sleep every day was enough. But now I'm a little overwhelmed. Many doctors have advised me that sleeping is good for my health and not sleeping is bad, but even if I sleep more, I can't sleep for more than six hours, otherwise I feel terrible. If you really can't do it, you can sleep for eight hours and don't sleep any more, otherwise it will definitely hinder your practice.

We should follow the example of wise men and see how diligent they are in the morning and at night. Although we slept for a while in the middle of the night, we won't live a meaningless life, and we will always adhere to correct knowledge and mindfulness. But how do we do it ourselves? Sometimes I think I'm okay. I have learned a little about sleeping since I was a child, but sometimes I am particularly ashamed. I feel that people who don't have bodhicitta are not as good as others. If I sleep every day, how can I benefit all beings! How to practice Buddhism! So I hope that after listening to this law, you don't know enough in words, and you must persist in your behavior for a long time.

[1] There are five ways to think before eating: 1) Calculate the workload and measure where it comes from; 2) I feel my virtue, completely lacking in confession; 3) prevent the heart from leaving, and greed is like this; 4) commercial medicine, cure withered; 5) In order to become a Taoist, you should eat this kind of food.

[2] The Doctrine of the Mean says: "If you have food, you should say it word by word. For the first time, you will meditate on' willing to break all evils', for the second time, you will meditate on' willing to cultivate all goodness', and for the third time, you will meditate on' willing to cultivate good roots, return to all beings, and become a Buddha. 」

[3] The Great Treasure Sutra says: "Maitreya Buddha, does the cloud mean twenty kinds of pleasure? One is lazy and the other is lazy. Both are heavy. The three colors are haggard. Four diseases. Five fire circles are weak. Six can't digest it. Seven of them have ulcers and blisters. Eight people don't practice hard. Nine increases stupidity. Ten are wise and bad. 1 1 case of dark and turbid skin. Twelve is inhuman and disrespectful. Thirteen silly. Fourteen troubles are bound. Fifteen people sleep with their hearts. 16 people are dissatisfied with the law. 17. white legal obstacles. Eighteen people do bad things. Nineteen people hate diligence. Twenty people are contemptuous. 」

Once, Mr. Xia Mianzun, a famous educator, visited Master Hongyi. At lunch, he saw him eating pickles. Mr. Xia couldn't bear to say, "Don't you think this pickle is too salty? Master Hongyi replied: "The salty taste is very salty!" After a while, Master Hongyi finished eating with a cup of boiled water in his hand. Xia Feng frowned and said, "No tea? How to drink this boiled water every day? Master Hongyi smiled again and said, "Although the boiled water is very weak, it also has a faint taste. 」

This is a simple conversation, but Gu Dade's simple demeanor can be seen. Unlike some people now, who concentrate on eating, drinking and having fun, it is difficult to produce merit in succession. Ancient sages lived a light life and refused luxury, also to protect their Taoism. As we all know, there are 3,000 sons of Confucius, and Yan Hui is the one that Confucius admires most. As the old saying goes, "It's good to be back! Eating and drinking, living alone in a humble alley, people can't bear their worries, but go back to enjoy themselves. Of all the younger brothers of Confucius, Yan Hui lived a very poor life. He only eats a bucket of rice and drinks a ladle of water every day, and he enjoys living in a humble house. So you can think of it this way: it is difficult to completely satisfy your extravagant hopes with material things. There are endless materials outside, and it is unrealistic to want to achieve all the goals and take everything for yourself. We should use the wisdom of Buddhism and the spirit of the ancients to improve ourselves. On the one hand, we will gradually increase the mind of Taoism, on the other hand, our greed will gradually decrease.

In the past, Dade was not too persistent about his body, and he didn't consider food and clothing at all, only regarded it as a tool for practice. Master Hongyi said in his speech that Master Yin Guang paid the most attention to cherishing the good fortune in his life, and his food, clothing, housing, transportation and so on were extremely simple and simple, and his criticism was delicate. Drink only a big bowl of porridge every morning and don't eat anything. After each meal, lick the bowl with your tongue until it is very clean. Then pour boiling water into the bowl, rinse the juice for gargling and swallow it slowly to avoid the remaining rice grains being discarded gently. There is only a bowl of rice and a bowl of popular food for lunch. After eating, lick the bowl and rinse your mouth as in the morning. It has been like this for more than thirty years. It can be seen that a person's achievements are not necessarily related to a better life. Sometimes the simpler life, the higher achievement, and eating and dressing well every day, but the practice cannot be increased. In the past, Hua Zhi Rinpoche traveled around Tibet to practice and lived like a beggar. He is usually a vegetarian and has only one leg. He never takes a waiter, rides a horse or yaks and other livestock. His behavior seems extremely ordinary, but his achievements and wishes are well known.