One of the most striking aspects of temple life is the beauty of the day’s rhythms.
With clockwork precision, the daily schedule is punctuated by a series of exquisite sounds: A bell clangs before dawn. Wake up. The sound of wooden sticks being clapped. Meditation begins. Another bell is struck. Time for breakfast, then the work period. And so on. And so on.
During my two-month stay at a Zen Buddhist temple in south-east Asia, I have ample time to contemplate, observe and bear witness.
I notice, for example, that the regularity and set structure of the days have done wonders for my digestive system. Eating a largish breakfast and lunch followed by a very light dinner (or no dinner at all) makes tremendous sense as the stomach energy is strongest in the morning, particularly between 7 and 9am.
As a longtime traveller, I am blessed with a relatively strong gut. But in the first week or so after landing in a new place, I sometimes experience turmoil from the new, sometimes-challenging, cuisine and spices.
Eating three meals a day in the temple at exactly the same hour is certainly one of the fundamental principles behind a robust digestive system. There are numerous other commonsense wisdoms which lie at the heart of mindful eating and contribute to a healthier, longer life.
• When eating, just eat. We live in an age of frenetic multi-tasking and an increasing trend towards computer lunches and TV dinners. Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, known for his exquisite meditations on mindfulness, reminds us about the practice of conscious eating:
“Mindful eating is very pleasant. We sit beautifully. We are aware of the people that are sitting around us. We are aware of the food on our plates. This is a deep practice. Each morsel of food is an ambassador from the cosmos. When we pick up a piece of a vegetable, we look at it for half a second. We look mindfully to really recognise the piece of food, the piece of carrot or string bean. We should know that this is a piece of carrot or a string bean. We identify it with our mindfulness: "I know this is a piece of carrot. This is a piece of string bean." It only takes a fraction of a second.
When we are mindful, we recognise what we are picking up. When we put it into our mouth, we know what we are putting into our mouth. When we chew it, we know what we are chewing. It's very simple.
• Eat according to the seasons. According to traditional Oriental medicine, of the best ways to give your body what it needs is to align with the cycles of nature. This generally means choosing warmer, cooked foods such as soups, stews, porridges and spices (ginger, cardamom, turmeric and pepper) in winter and raw, lighter foods in summer. This system also encourages us to avoid greasy foods, refined sugars, too much alcohol and eating while emotionally upset. Eating fresh, wholesome foods which are locally grown – and preferably organic – also helps us eat what nature intended at certain times.
• Chew slowly. It is said that the flavours of food are released by chewing each morsel anywhere between 30 up to 100 times. We can get the most out of our food by extracting more nutrients from what we eat through the enzymes in our saliva. By doing so, we are more likely to feel content after a meal. This teaching came alive for me during a yoga retreat I attended years back where the meals consisted of a small bowl of brown rice and a scattering of vegetables and side pickles. The Japanese teacher encouraged us all to chew our food thoroughly as we were not getting extra servings!
• Eat only what you need. During some temple’s 7-day retreats, formal meals form part of the meditation practice. These meals are based on an age-old monastic practice, oryoki, which generally refer to containers which hold just the necessary amount, no more, no less. Because everything in the bowls has to be finished, and within a prescribed time, it is essential people don’t take too much. Conversely, they should take enough to keep their energy levels up. Extending this philosophy into the wider world, how do we resolve the ongoing question about how much to eat? How do we not overeat or undereat?
American physician and meditation teacher Jan Chozen Bays explains that food is often used “to sooth, to distract, to procrastinate, to numb, to entertain, to seduce, to reward, and even to punish”. She suggests that one way towards a healthier relationship with food is to ask yourself the questions: Am I hungry? Where do I feel the hunger? What do I really crave? What am I tasting just now?
• Try fasting. Endless information exists about the benefits of fasting but until recently, it was something I would never have considered doing, given that I suffered from hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar levels. Friends and family will attest to the fact that I could not go for more than a few hours without having a snack or a meal or the consequences would be dire – mental confusion, stomach cramps, disorientation, dizziness and an overall malaise. Or so I thought. Until I was encouraged to try a 40-hour fast as part of a meditation retreat. Wracked with fear and anxiety as the day approached, I raised by concerns with the teacher. His response was to laugh and say: “Me, I have the same condition. Don’t worry, no die.” I had no choice but to try. The most miraculous thing was I did it. I did not feel immense pain or suffering. In the process of fasting, I realised that it is our minds which tell us to eat, mostly out of habit and routine.
With the western world’s preoccupation with body image, getting fit and over-consumption, it is not always easy to eat mindfully. But the ultimate beauty of this meditation practice is that it can be “done” every single day and by everyone. Within its heart, lies freedom and with that, immense gratitude.