Was the prohibition on eating dinner health advice?
score:4
I'm skeptical that the Buddha said skip dinner because it's good for your health
Yes if I hadn't read it I'd be skeptical too. It sounds a bit contrary to the primary/normal message: almost as if the Buddha were giving advice on how to be rich or become wealthy!
Nevertheless there are other seemingly-health-related suttas, for example Ittha Sutta,
It's not fitting for the disciple of the noble ones who desires long life to pray for it or to delight in doing so. Instead, the disciple of the noble ones who desires long life should follow the path of practice leading to long life. In so doing, he will attain long life, either human or divine.
The above (which also describes Beauty, Happiness, Status, and Rebirth in heaven as welcome, agreeable, pleasant) is addressed to a householder.
Dharmafarer's introduction to MN 70 talks about untimely eating on pages 1 and 2: it mentions "health" and also other reasons, and says that the rules (or prohibitions) were phased in gradually to let the monks adjust gradually.
Also I think it says (on pages 2 and 3) that the monks being addressed in this Sutta were monks but not very good monks: who were eventually expelled from the Sangha. Perhaps, who knows, "health" is mentioned in this sutta because it's appropriate to the audience, i.e. of several reasons (for skipping dinner) the Buddha chose one (health) which he thought had the best chance of appealing to this particular audience.
Upvote:1
I doubt the advice was for health purposes even if it may improve health. It was probably to improve self-discipline for monks and is stated as a sign of a monk's virtue:
"He eats only once a day, refraining from the evening meal and from food at the wrong time of day." (Apannaka Sutta, MN 60)
Now modern science shows that eating too much is bad probably because the body wasn't designed to be digesting food all the time. The FMD (Fast Mimicking Diet) has gained popularity as well showing great health benefits so far.
One meal a day (with calorie requirements) may or may not improve health, but will certainly improve self-discipline.
Upvote:1
My understanding is that the reason for no meal after noon was two fold. First, it was inconvenient for people to have monks come begging at that time of day, and people had leftovers in the morning from the previous day.
Second, monks who spend a lot of time meditating do not require as much food (calories) as the average person. Buddha said that we should eat according to the needs of the body. That means not only when you eat, but also what you eat. Not a problem in ancient times, but consider modern times when monks are given junk food. Many of them now have diabetes.
Upvote:4
My recollection is the rule about not eating after noon was to stop monks going on alms round at inappropriate times of the day, including at night, where they could frighten lay people. You can research the 'Vinaya' for this.
There certainly is a sutta where the Buddha states he enjoys good health by eating once a day but my recollection is that is not the rationale, which is why many monks today eat twice per day.
When these staple foods go beyond their time limit (i.e., after noon) a bhikkhu will incur an offence if he consumes them. The original story shows the complications that can arise from leaving the monastery at the wrong time:
The 'group-of-seventeen' bhikkhus — another set of frequent misdoers — went out one afternoon to enjoy themselves at a festival outside the city. When lay people saw them they gave them a meal and food to take back to the monastery. The Buddha therefore laid down this rule:
"Should any bhikkhu chew or consume staple or non- staple food at the wrong time, it is [an offence of Confession.]" (Paac. 37; BMC p.362)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/ariyesako/layguide.html#begging
More post
- 📝 Which commentary on the MMK should be studied first?
- 📝 What does it mean to 'advert' to the factors of jhana after emerging from jhana?
- 📝 Does the relinquishing of views prohibit belief in the permanence of buddha nature?
- 📝 How do handle termite/white ant
- 📝 How many citta vithis are there in Abhidhamma?
- 📝 Is it wrong-view to think there might be more than 5 aggregates?
- 📝 What Pali term most closely represents the concept of "inner conflict"?
- 📝 How is semchen (sentient being) defined?
- 📝 Does the first precept require me to check the shower for bugs and make sure to remove all of the bugs before using it?
- 📝 Understanding anatta via "there are no computer programs" analogy
- 📝 Difference between Pin (Punya) and Kusal(Kushala)?
- 📝 How can the idea of reincarnation be true if all the information of who we are is already destroyed
- 📝 Attention to itching makes me unable to focus on anything else
- 📝 Conciousness in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta
- 📝 Is my Meditation Practice Too Busy?
- 📝 Thousand fold world system
- 📝 Is there a name for being totally dependent?
- 📝 Alms and questions
- 📝 Best study tools on the net or books
- 📝 What is the minimum I need to do to advance?
- 📝 Sati-Sampajañña (Mindfulness)
- 📝 Losing in thought and autopilot kicked in
- 📝 When I empty out intentions and relax in meditation, what is this force that moves my body in complex patterns?
- 📝 I'm looking for a sutta which mentions nationalism
- 📝 Is Mara a real being or something internal, produced by our own minds?
- 📝 Chronological or other sequence for beginners
- 📝 Software programming/Art and Buddhist Practice - Pursuing creative activity
- 📝 Objectification in Buddhism
- 📝 What does buddhism say about bodybuilding (and weights training)?
- 📝 Why did Buddha need a personal physician?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Was the prohibition on eating dinner health advice?
- 📝 What was the motivation for the prohibition on eating onions and garlic?
- 📝 Was Vipassana discovered by the Buddha (Siddhartha)?
- 📝 How was the Buddha Jayanti edition of the Tripitaka derived?
- 📝 What is the purpose of not eating after noon?
- 📝 Was meditation not practiced for most of the history of Buddhism?
- 📝 Was the Buddha harsh?
- 📝 What was the historical Buddha's ethnicity?
- 📝 What was the chronology of events in the Buddha's life?
- 📝 Why do Buddhists believe that the Buddha was enlightened, despite that he claimed it himself?
- 📝 Was the doctrine of 'Anatta', accepted as doctrine by modern Buddhism, actually taught by the Buddha?
- 📝 Where did the Buddha speak of his difficulty in eating almsfood as a Bodhisatta?
- 📝 What are any and all of the exceptions to eating after noon if you've taken 8 precepts?
- 📝 Where is the story that Buddha was worried about a monk who meditated with a straight back?
- 📝 What was the 1st Buddhist Council about?
- 📝 Was Buddhism a rebellion against the Aryans?
- 📝 Does eating eggs break the precepts?
- 📝 Was the Buddha known to chant during his meditation?
- 📝 Did the Buddha have advice about dealing with social anxiety?
- 📝 When was the Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism marked as separate religions?
- 📝 Was the Buddha an arahant?
- 📝 Teaching or giving advice without mentioning the Buddha
- 📝 Did the Buddha have more advice for the lay follower than is typically supposed?
- 📝 Was Gautama Buddha a believer of the religious beliefs prevalent in his time and in his cultural context?
- 📝 Did the Buddha state that there is only one way, and state/imply that any other path (such as those practiced by yogis) was futile?
- 📝 What was the reason behind the fall of Buddhism in India?
- 📝 What advice did the Buddha give to corrupt officials?
- 📝 What's the advice for dealing with an abusive partner?
- 📝 What is known about enlightenment before the lifetime of the Buddha? Are there any claims that he was the first?
- 📝 The Buddha is said to have rediscovered the ancient path. Why was it lost to begin with?