……出家人要忍人所不能忍,讓人所不能讓,吃人所不能吃,受人所不能受。吃人所不能吃,也不是儘撿垃圾來吃,那個垃圾也都要洗乾淨了。如果你儘撿垃圾,說人家不吃垃圾,我吃,這樣不合衛生的,你一定要把它洗乾淨了。知道嗎?
萬佛城的出家人都吃一餐,老年的可以吃兩餐,三餐都可以的,因為年紀老了,精神不那麼充足了;年輕的人都要吃一餐,這是跟著我出家的一個條件。可是吃一餐,你不能吃得太多,吃太多把胃脹壞了,又生了胃病了。這一餐最好就吃八分飽,不吃太多,吃太多人受不了。不是說我吃一餐,三餐的飯我一餐都吃了它。不是這樣的,這樣是不均勻了。
我告訴你們,我當初吃三餐的時候每一餐我吃五碗飯,這麼大的碗,五碗。等到我吃一餐時,你們猜怎麼樣?這吃一餐,應該吃十五碗了?不是的,我這一餐只吃三碗。當初吃三餐,改吃一餐是餓了一點。餓一點我就忍著、忍著、忍著,慣了也就不餓了。這是我的經過,我告訴你們,以前我沒有告訴你們,可是我看你們自己都不懂。我當初也沒有人教我怎麼樣吃一餐,可是我吃一餐的時候,不單沒有吃十五碗,我還減了,只剩吃三碗。你們說這可以不可以?你們大家想一想,可以不可以?
你們一定說不可以;不可以我到現在也還活著呢,沒有餓死。你們不要好像餓鬼似的那麼吃了又吃,甚至於拿個槌子往裏頭頂,這一定出毛病的,一定不會好的。所以吃一餐,要有吃一餐的方法,一定要不吃飽;就因為吃一餐,所以不要吃太飽。不是吃完了又喝點水,好再吃多一點,不可以這樣子;你要是這樣子,你胃一定出毛病的。
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Left-home people [monks and nuns] should endure what others
cannot endure, yield where others cannot yield, eat what
others cannot eat, and take what others cannot take. Eating
what others cannot eat doesn't mean picking through the
garbage for things to eat. Garbage has to be washed clean
first. If you like to pick through garbage, saying, "I'll
eat this garbage that no one else wants," you are not
practicing good hygiene. You must first wash the garbage so
that it's clean. Do you understand?
The left-home people at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas eat
one meal a day; elder monks and nuns can eat two or three
meals daily because they are elderly and don't have as much
energy. Younger people must eat one meal a day—that's one of
the conditions for leaving home with me. However, you should
not eat too much in that one meal. If you eat too much, your
belly gets overstretched and your stomach starts to have
problems. Each day you should eat until you are eighty
percent full. Don't overeat. If you overeat, your body won't
be able to take it. You shouldn't think, "Since I only have
one meal, I'm going to fit three meals' worth in that one
meal." That's not the way to do it.
When I used to eat three meals a day, I would eat five bowls
of food at each meal. The bowls were this large. When I
began to eat one meal a day, do you think I ate fifteen
bowls of food? No. I only ate three bowlfuls. When I reduced
my meals from three to one, I felt some slight hunger pangs.
But I endured them until I got used to them, and then I no
longer felt hungry. Now I've told you my personal
experience. I didn't tell you before, because I wanted to
see if you would know how to go about it. No one told me how
to eat one meal a day when I did it. However, instead of
eating fifteen bowls of food, I reduced my intake to three
bowlfuls. Do you think it can be done? Is it possible?
You'll definitely say that it's impossible. Impossible
though it may be, I am still alive and haven't starved to
death. You don't want to keep eating and eating like a
hungry ghost, even using a hammer to shove more food down
your throat. You will certainly end up sick and unwell that
way. You have to use the right method to eat one meal a day.
You can't eat till you're full. Since you only have one
daily meal, you can't stuff yourself. After you finish, you
shouldn't think of drinking some water and then eating some
more. If you do that, you'll definitely have stomach
problems. |