I’ve been eating a plant-based diet for almost two months now, while supplementing my diet with egg whites and low-fat dairy products for protein, calcium, and B12, and I’ve lost my desire for meat in the process.
While it would be nice to lose a few pounds, I am mostly doing this for my long-term health, rather than short-term weight loss. While keto-based diets might help with short-term weight loss, they’re hazardous to long-term health.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America, which is caused by saturated fat and cholesterol, according to most experts. Prostate and colon cancer, also leading causes of death, are also linked to meat consumption.
Another reason for my vegetarianism is Buddhism. While the Buddha didn’t require vegetarianism, he nonetheless taught that it’s misconduct to kill animals for meat or to profit from the killing of animals for meat.
I am not going to judge others for making their own choices, though I do recommend people educate themselves on the suffering and disease of factory-farmed animals, and how that might affect the quality of meat:
"And how does the disciple of the noble ones know moderation in eating? There is the case where the disciple of the noble ones, considering it appropriately, takes his food not playfully, nor for intoxication, nor for putting on bulk, nor for beautification, but simply for the survival & continuance of this body, for ending its afflictions, for the support of the holy life, thinking, ‘I will destroy old feelings [of hunger] & not create new feelings [from overeating]. Thus I will maintain myself, be blameless, & live in comfort.’ This is how the disciple of the noble ones knows moderation in eating. MN53
This is probably advanced practiced - prescribed for sekha -stream entrants and higher attainers. It is part of the gradual training.
Moderation in eating
"As soon, brahman, as a monk is guarded as to the doors of the sense-organs, the Tathagata disciplines him further, saying: ‘Come you, monk, be moderate in eating; you should take food reflecting carefully, not for fun or indulgence or personal charm or beautification, but taking just enough for maintaining this body and keeping it going, for keeping it unharmed, for furthering the Brahma-faring,[4] with the thought: Thus will I crush out an old feeling, and I will not allow a new feeling to arise, and then there will be for me subsistence and blamelessness and abiding in comfort.’ MN107
I tried to find, with no luck, a place where the Buddha said if you give up the craving for food, all other cravings can be given up- suggesting at least to me that craving for food might be the hardest to give up (body sending mixed messages, proportions eaten not proportionate to weight gained, difficulty differentiating need from want, culturally sanctioned form of craving, comfort eating, etc) and the last sensual craving to go.
@Kensho, yes, just mindfulness of how these animals are treated (pigs and beef cattle being especially sentient and akin to dogs in their emotions and behaviors) makes one averse to being a part of the chain of commerce in these lovely sentient creatures. Even if one can’t be vegetarian, it does help to be mindful of the suffering of the trade in meat, and to find alternatives when possible.
If it were an advanced practice, every monastic and 8 precept yogi would already be a stream enterer right?
I consider those instructions to be for anyone who wishes to be free of suffering. I chant the pali for that every single time I eat. It’s like reinstalling the operating system on your computer infected with malware (eating for the wrong reasons) and replacing it with an operating system that takes you to nirvana.
No what I meant was removing the craving for food, vs externally imposed eating regimes- reduced food intake as a natural result of reduced craving vs ‘forced sankhara’ of ‘sticking to a diet’ or having no option in the matter (as in a retreat or monastic setting) ie there is food in front of you, but you don’t feel like eating it. It is a craving for sensual pleasure- these ones are removed only at the non-returner stage.
When physical food is comprehended, passion for the five strings of sensuality is comprehended. When passion for the five strings of sensuality is comprehended, there is no fetter bound by which a disciple of the noble ones would come back again to this world. SN12.63
Of course, if by some chance someone may have removed craving for food, but may still have craving for sex for example. They would not have removed the lower fetters (which bring them back to this world).
Chanting I think is helpful, with meaning in mind, to obfuscate the old programming and install a new programming, as you said. When dealing with any defilement it is helpful to attack it from different directions- ie sense restraint, 5 methods in the vitakkasantana sutta, read up on health benefits, think about drawbacks from the past of eating, whatever is helpful to fiddle the ignorant programming.
If you look at the gradual training such as MN107 restraint in food comes quite early. Between the Sīla (or part of) and Samadhi. Especially when we consider sila as training of mental habits rather than just virtue.
A few years ago I undertook this restraint about food without really considering it as part of my practice. I was competing in body building. Through the yearlong process I was most interested in looking at the mental states arising and how I clung to them. This includes attitudes to food. This training affected my overall level of desire immensely. It allowed me to see nice things and yet not react strongly. It left me at odds with a world that is pulled around with sense desires and was one of the things that led me to trying monastic life. As an aside, the people who compete with the goal of training their body seem to have the opposite. They become very desirous and tend binge afterwards.
For whatever its worth, I am a Physician’s Assistant (PA) and I can see no reason why the one meal a day would cause health problems (short term or long term) for the majority of people assuming a reasonable diet, although diabetics may be an exception depending on the severity of it. But with time, the one meal a day may result in some weight loss and less volatility of blood sugar which may be positive for diabetics. The human body is quite adaptable.
My own opinion is the monastic lifestyle is best suited towards the one meal a day practice. I will say for me cutting down on eating in general (I now have 2 or even kind of one meal and a snack a day kind of schedule these days) is excellent for meditation and mindfulness. I’d like to get to one meal a day if possible. I was diagnosed as diabetic 2 years ago, but managed to control it with diet. My numbers are back in normal range as of last month.
Hello Bhante! I’m glad to help if I am able. The causes of hypoglycemia are really varied and can range from being caused by medication, insufficient food, etc. The usual advice is to eat foods that are high in simple sugars and carbs. That would mean rice, bread, etc. So within the framework of the monastic life: I know honey is allowed as a medication in the afternoon and evenings for monastics and I believe this would be a simple sugar as well with fructose. If there is anything starchy that you could take that may also help regulate your blood sugar throughout the day. Usually with blood sugar that is the goal-- keeping the levels relatively stable throughout the day. Hope this helps Bhante
Many thanks, Dr. @dharmacorps , for your kind response :). I should one day make another thread and title it “thinness in the sangha!” as there are many mendicants whose health is affected by the opposite of obesity :). Hypoglycemia is a serious problem for some monks, and solutions are rather difficult. Corn is great! Staple food number one for a mendicant, much better than rice and wheat. It keeps your body going all day long. Rarely offered though! I guess because it’s much more expensive. That’s another thing a mendicant loses track of with time, how do things cost! It’s a wonderful feeling, but it could make you stupid!
- Why don’t they offer corn instead of all that rice?! - Because it’s more stupid you expensive!
Eating cholesterol doesn’t cause cholesterol. That was a mistaken assumption made in the early 90’s. Newer research is pointing at increased vitamin D as helping lower cholesterol. I’ve seen it work in my ex, who’s GP put him on high dose vit D.
I’m not saying go wild on fats, but we need some dietary fat for hormone regulation. My nutrition science friends seem to think a minimum of about (body weight in kg /4) as grams. So an 80kg person needs at least 20g of dietary fats. This is still low-fat compared to a standard modern diet. An example of 5g dietary fat is about 5 almonds or 1/4 of a haas avocado.
But where can I find avocado, I mean I’m no longer in control of what I eat right! I used to have nuts and avocado also when I was anagarika like you! And corn, Corn is the best in my case!
I’m not sure about fatty foods though! I mean we’re talking heart attack here!
But all this is good because it forces you to meditate. Metabolism rate can drop down by 60% in advanced practitioners! Hooray!
