..續本文上一頁ct of food. Food should not be overcooked. For the elderly, we can make gruel and shred the vegetables in the blender, since their teeth are not strong and they cannot chew hard food. Children should also be served softer food, which is easier for them to digest. We should treat others” children just like our own. But you can”t be too indulgent and spoil them; that”s not right either. In general, we should regulate our diet and eat with good hygiene.

　　We shouldn”t have so many different kinds of food everyday; it”s too complicated. We can change the fare from day to day, eating this kind today, and another kind tomorrow. If we always give our stomach the same kind of food, it will soon get tired of it. You can serve a different dish every day. But in one meal, one main dish and one soup is enough; we don”t need too many different dishes. If there are many dishes, people will have false thoughts. When they get food, they think, "Should I eat this kind

　　 Or should I take that kind

　　" As they calculate, they become greedy, thinking "Why did they cook this dish

　　" So this causes people to have false thoughts. But if there is only one main dish and one soup, then whether you want it or not, that”s all there is. You may vary the food from day to day, but don”t serve bread, rice, margarine, and a whole bunch of different things all at once, because when I go look, I don”t know what to eat. As a result, all the joy is gone, because during the meal I”m calculating: this tastes good and that doesn”t taste good. So I”ll get a lot of what tastes good, and I won”t eat what isn”t delicious.

　　Cultivators! A superior person seeks for the Way, and does not seek for food. We take food just to sustain our lives and to keep from starving to death; and need not concern ourselves with whether it tastes good or not. For instance, take the vegetables we eat: today we have cabbage, tomorrow lettuce, and the next day we can see which vegetable will spoil the fastest, and eat it first. Those which keep longer can be eaten more slowly. The kitchen manager has to check the icebox every day. It shouldn”t be that the vegetables and fruit are spoiling and she doesn”t even know. Isn”t that just harming people

　　 The food was perfectly fine; but if you wait until it rots to serve it, you”re just creating offenses!

　　Spoiled food should never be served, because it”s unhealthy and easily makes people sick. "Sickness enters through the mouth, and disasters come out from the mouth." You put no limit on food and drink, not knowing to eat in moderation. What is called eating in moderation

　　 When we cultivators eat, we should not stuff our bellies full; especially if we eat once a day, it”s a mistake to purposefully eat a lot. If you do so, you”re likely to get a stomachache, because you didn”t restrain your intake. Unrestrained eating soon leads to problems. So what should we do

　　 Eat food which is lighter, with less oil and salt. This is good for you. But when there”s a Dharma Assembly and people come from outside, we cannot cook such bland food. We have to prepare delicious vegetarian food which people will like to eat. You cannot say, "The rule at the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is that we only eat food with no oil or salt." The City has no such rule, and I haven”t fixed anything: You must act according to the circumstances and people.

　　When only our own cultivators are here, it”s fine to eat bland food with no oil and salt. But when visitors come, they cannot adjust to such a simple lifestyle, and it would be unreasonable to expect them to. This is not to play up to people, but since people from outside are used to tasty food, we cannot tell them to be just like us. So when a Dharma Master came and improved the kitchen”s operation, this was very good. He…

《日常生活見修行 食衣住行顯功夫 Cultivation is seen in Daily life· How we eat, dress, live, and act shows our skill· 》全文未完，請進入下頁繼續閱讀…