American
Pie
Comparing
an average American’s eating habits with ours is a
revelation
by itself.
An
American eats a cow / bull every ten years.
In
every American there are at least 5 cows in him / her by the time
s/he
is fifty.
If
he has not got mad cow disease or Alzheimer’s disease what s/he
eats
in the rest of his life is any American doctor’s guess.
He
eats a pig every three years.
He
eats at least 50 chickens and one turkey a year.
Some
Americans of course eat much more than that.
My
worry is every cow/bull s/he eats, at least an equivalent of 8Kg
of
fodder is needed to support its life to obtain 1Kg
of
meat.
If
an American stops eating 1Kg of beef s/he is saving about 8Kg of
grain
for a poor soul in Africa or Bangladesh.
Out
of the tons of grain produced more than half (this ratio has gone
up
with the increase of Chinese Middle Class population) is spent on
animal
feeds and some American cows are better fed than African
kids.
Only
to be sacrificed as human food.
The
current Pope should give due consideration to these facts and
he
should give a hearing to this fiasco and if the grain saved by
saving
the poor cows / or bulls is multiplied by the factor of eight by
1000
(well the fed cow’s weight) there is an excess grain in this
world
to feed everybody.
Equally
FAO should take this into cognizant.
Looking
by some of Ceylonese who lavish on food I cannot say there
is
any difference to American mentality, here in Ceylon
(especially
who visit here to take a break from the winter).
Coming
back to a single meal, if an American or Western guy
sacrifices
a single meal a week, like our Buddhist monks who live on
a
single meal a day, we would be able to feed some hungry children
in
Africa and Asia without any problem or NGOs.
WHO
also should take this fact to their cognizant.
I
don’t believe in what our agriculture minister who says, that
food
prices
have gone up because of biofuels.
The
production of biofuels has being going on for over 25 years.
One
should realize that the ancient man and his closest friend the
dog
survived on a single meal in spite of their aggressive hunting
skills.
Eat
less is my recipe!
Three
rice meals a day is two much (unless one is in heavy manual
labour).
I
lost my weight only after stopped eating rice.
I
was like a pig when I was eating meat including pork!
Dhana
and SingleMeal
June
9, 2011 by asokaplus
Single
most important principle in Buddhist Practice is its Dhana,
the
giving away ones possessions, without expecting anything in
return.
This
is something of an antithesis to modern world, where, self,
image
and one’s possessions are dear and belonging.
How
it is practiced by Buddhist monks is discussed here briefly to
make
a novice monk adopt to modern trends in a demanding world.
A
Buddhist monk ought to be light in baggage and belongings.
A
monk could have only two cloths (Chivara), one for wearing and
another
for change.
How
it should be made is also under strict and elaborate
instructions.
The
eating habits are also under strict code of practice. I would
discuss
that in detail here. When it comes to eating, if one ignores
the
morning meal, which is very light indeed, a monk has to survive
on
a single meal, and that has to be taken in the early evening not
late
as is modern day practice.
You
may wonder why I took some interest in this
This
examination is scientific in nature and if you need satire read
American
Pie.
There
are many reasons, and I would jot down only a few.
If
a monk in the west practices this according to the strict code, it is
a
severe test for them, adopting this regime in the winter months.
Equally,
I have seen some monks who try to adhere to the regime
regimentally
and religiously have ended up sick and malnourished.
If
one becomes a Buddhist monk in adult life who had enjoyed
somewhat
a liberal life, changing to a single meal is a severe
restriction
on their diurnal habits.
One’s
hormonal status, glycogen storage and status of the acid
secretion
in the stomach are habituated by ones daily routine (life
style).
Changing
this having become a monk should be done on a staggered
basis
giving time for the body to adjust.
Additionally,
many of them do not have an understating of what is a
balance
diet.
What
I stated above is obvious, but over years, I have seen many
Buddhist
monks suffering from food related diseases, especially
diabetes
mellitus.
This
is something not welcome and unexpected for my own
consumption.
I have no intention of going into how one becomes a
diabetic
but for me somebody on a single meal getting diabetes
mellitus
was something of an enigma.
In
this scenario, having thought a bit about it, I put the blame
squarely
on the layman.
Hope
one is not amazed by this statement.
I
would go into this briefly.
The
upper and the higher middle class
families
are the ones who get quota for the Dhana for the residential
monks
in the city.
Their,
idea of a meal is a lavish one.
Many
of them are also diabetic because of their over indulgence.
The
offer of Dhana is not done on a regular basis.
So
on the day all the sugary, starchy, heavy but nutritionally
unbalanced is offered. These Dhana days also happen to fall on
weekends and holidays. The monk has nochoice. They consume a diet
heavy in carbohydrates which stimulate their pancreas to the limits
on weekends and practically having an
austerely
meal rest of the week.
My
theory of this up and down (erratic) stimulation of the insulin
status, make them prone to diabetes in middle age.
This
may be aggravated by lack of exercise and having sugary
drinks
(tea) to counteract the late evening hypoglycemia.
It
is the duty of the layman to look after their welfare on a regular
basis
instead of lavish feast once a month.
Medical
education is in its prime stage now especially on nutrition,
the
doctor should advise the upper middle class families what is a
balance
single diet for a monk who are practically at the mercy of
the
rich laymen who impart their inherent diseases to the clergy.
I
would give some advice later regarding what to be offered and
what
ought not to be but for now let me digress a little.
I
wanted to test myself whether I can survive on a single diet.
(For
the record, I have not taken a single rice meal over 12 years
and
it is my health secret!)
I
am more than convinced that it is possible and healthy.
But
it takes time and it cannot be practiced overnight.
Prehistoric
Man
Prehistoric
Time -15,000 to 30, 000 ago
Having
proved it to myself, I delved into man’s prehistoric period and
how man survived in adverse climatic conditions and food
scarcities.
Hunter
gather never had three meals a day.
At
best he had only a single square meal never three meals.
He
mainly survived on big games in a community life style. He was
omnivorous
and supplemented his diet with fruits and nuts. They
probably
did not suffer from diabetes mellitus and his teeth were
strong,
the enamel was thin but the dentin was thick, hardly had
caries.
In times of food shortages and diseases there were signs of
enamel
deficiency and bone diseases. These changes are recorded in
prehistoric
fossils which date back to 15,000 to 30,000 years. Until
such
time he became nomadic man milk was in short supply. Only
milk
supply was maternal. The average woman was thin, and she
only
had children once in four years or so. (It is now believed that
when
a woman is thin -prehistoric women had to work hard, almost
equaling
man’s efforts-like modern day women athletes the ovulation
does
not occur. Additionally, prolong breast feeding without weaning
suppresses
ovulation).
The
man probably was sturdier and taller but comparatively thinner
since
he had to work hard in hunting exercises. He probably lived a
shorter
life than a woman (45 years), probably 35 years or so died
not
of modern day diseases but by injuries sustained in hunting.
As
far prehistoric man is concerned a single diet existence is not a
fantasy
but a fact.
Paleolithic
Period- 5000 to 13 000 years
Why
man became an agricultural man is a mystery but available
evidence
suggests dramatic changes in climate at the end of the ice
age
and population expansion. With the emergence of the nomadic
life
and mans entry into agricultural endeavours, he entered into a
sedentary
life style.
However,
he never gave up game and hunting until such time he
domesticated
adequate livestock.
I
would like to figure out that he was never a pure vegetarian.
The
Asian wolf became associated with man around 13,000 years
ago
probably scavenging around man’s domain. The dogs and wolf
can
live on a single diet perhaps even longer and with the loss of
mammoths
and huge games, wolf also found living difficult but
drifted
with the man for game. His eating pattern, scavenging to
begin
with which our present day dogs inherit and illustrate by
scavenging
city dumps, is a reminder that even this period the man
existed
(present day practice of feeding a single meal to a pedigree
dog
which I don’t agree with) on a single main diet.
Even
though, the agricultural practices were extensive, failure of
crops
were common phenomena, the demise of Maya Dynasty was a
true
example of catastrophe in history. In spite of extensive
agriculture,
food was not plenty and the food preparation from
harvest
to meal was labour extensive and man continued to
supplement
meal on animal and animal sacrifices. In this period
population
expanded probably because women becoming
comparatively
fatter and fertile (it is interesting to note that when a
woman
is too fat, like present day, fertility drops) and their body
composition
was ideal for reproduction. But with success there was
impending
catastrophe too. Famines were common due to
reduction
of crops, failure of rains or floods.
The
man became shorter and less sturdy due to sedentary life.
We
may be able to surmise that even in this period man ate a
variable
diet, characteristically a single meal which was
supplemented
by animal, fish, shells, fruits and nuts.
How
and when man discovered use of salt and spices is open to
question
probably towards the latter stage of Paleolithic time.
Contemporary
History from 5000 years to 2500.
During
this period man was eating mixed diet containing milk (animal),
sugar, salt, spices and animal and fish products. In spite of
agriculture man
never
ceased to consume animal food, in fact it became a major
constitute,
judging by the tribal and religious practices from 5000 to
2000
years.
This
is probably the period where single supper or a single meal changed
to multiple meals especially in the upper classes but
slaves and lower classes subsisted on an average single large meal.
The
longevity and average health increased proportionately to
double
the prehistoric period.
Most
of the sages and philosophers except hedonists lived an austere
life
while recommending the same to the masses.
2500
and the emergence of the Vegetarian Life
Even
though some Jainers advocated vegetarian life, it was with the
emergence of the Buddhists way of life in India that preceded the
current wave of vegetarian (purported to be healthy) food fads.
Neither,
Ten Commandments, the Jesus Christ’s Sayings nor Muslim Koran
abhors
sacrifices of animals.
The
vegetarian life is comparatively new one probably only 2500
years
old in the history of mankind and that is why, there are so
many
misconceptions.
Unlike
monkeys, baboons and gorillas who are mostly vegetarians, from
which man originated in an evolutionary point of view, the man had
always been a carnivorous mammal.
2500
years is a small time in evolutionary time scale, a healthy
dialogue
on vegetarian diet is mandatory in the present context.
Our
intestine and teeth bear different relationships to tree dwelling
mammals,
some are morphological in nature (genetic) and some are
based
on the diet (environmental) we eat.
That
is the view I hold, an opinion not substantiated.
As
far as the growth and development of children are concerned my view
is that single diet is not adequate.
That
is my entry point to discuss another point of view.
Can
a young novice monk who has not gone through puberty be
sustained
on single diet?
This
is a question I find it difficult to answer even thought I have
stated my gut feeling above. This is another reason I defer on
ordaining young underage monks (there are other reasons stated
elsewhere) apart from psychological maturity to go on an austere
life as prescribed by Vinaya.
Parents
should have a critical say in these issues.
They
should not plunge a young one into priesthood early in their tender
years.
What
should an average Dhana (Single Meal) should contain?
The
physiological effect and the calorie intake of an average meal
should
last
18 hours.That is the time when the glycogens storage starts to
become
depleted.
The diet should not have high sugary (desert) components that
stimulate
surge of insulin and late dumping syndrome due to insulin
surge
at the time of the meal. The vegetarian diet has no problem since
the fiber makes the release of dietary sugar gradual.
The
best desert for the monks is not ice cream but fruits.
Out
of the fruits, the best is bananas which releases its sugars
slowly
without upsetting insulin surges and maintaining a stable blood
sugar. Milk and curd are preferred, since they give a supply of fat
for starving intervals.
Missing
ingredient is nuts, not only they contain short fatty acids which
supply nutrition for starving intervals and also healthy vitamins.
I
would encourage the young monks to go liberal on fruits and
nuts.
A
supply of nuts (not aggalas and jaggery and sweets), fruits, papaw,
banana and proper breakfast cereal containing millet (Kurrakkan)
should be the breakfast for our monks.
Somebody
should invest and develop a proper breakfast cereal for our kids
(which can be used by young monks in their growing years) instead
of foreign breakfast cereals. For the monks in the West a Buddhist
dietitian with knowledge in Vinaya practice should investigate how
their mid day Dhana
should
be constituted.
My
belief is many of them are having an inappropriate diet for
winter
conditions. I hope a good breakfast cereal will emerge from
the
West for the monks on a meagre diet.
My
prescription for priesthood is entirely different. When I see young
monks in the TV giving emotional speeches rather than mature
sermons, I become sometimes terrified.
Even
my twilight years, I sometimes reserve my judgment or giving
advices
on certain issues. Never over the telephone, only, when I can
have
an eye to eye contact with the person concerned where I, can
have
an immediate assessment of the person’s psychological makeup
and
the reactions.
One
can do more damage by volunteering advice not appropriate. My advice
goes as this. Let the young one follows a simple observational life.
In other words learn to observe in a simple scientific and logical
fashion.
Teach
them science in simple terms as we tend to understand them from facts
to fiction. Children learn fiction better in the early years and they
should be
allowed
to mature into scientific and factual way. They have the
philosophical views embedded in their brains. Encourage them as much
as possible.
This
is why they always asks mommy why?
Encourage
the philosophical views at an early age, even though we do not have
ready made answers always.
Then
only they should be allowed to think of a religion or religions in
their life. If we are to stop, young from being taken into terrorist
or religious cadres, that is the only way out left. That is the very
thing we are not doing at present and ignoring. We are slowly
encouraging and allowing young militants being made out of innocent
minds because of our failure in commonsense education. Most of the
religious and militant groups know this very well, the best currency
to propagate their rigid views is the young mind.
