Saturday, December 10, 2016

The suitable & unsuitable during Fasting


The suitable & unsuitable during Fasting : 

"Vikalabhojana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami" or undertaking the precept to refrain from eating at the forbidden time (i.e., after noon) will limit food intake to the hours between dawn and noon.The practice of not eating in the afternoon is a very old tradition mentioned in the earliest Suttas & included in many precepts like Eight Precepts of the lay devotees ,etc. 'Food' here refers to things like cooked grains; sweets made from flour, beans, etc.; fish; meat; fresh milk and sour milk;... fruits, tubers and all 'main course' foods.

After observing this precept of fasting, one should not eat fruit — which is food — after midday, they can drink the 'fruit juice' any time throughout the day. However, When preparing fruit juice, it is important that to be well strained so that no pulp or fruit particles remain, for the fruit itself counts as food and so can not be consumed in the afternoon.

Juices made from any large fruits like — Palmyra fruit, coconut, jack fruit, breadfruit, bottle gourd, white gourd, musk melon, water melon, and squash considered unsuitable as it would fall under the same class as the juice of grain. From this judgment, large fruits such as pineapple or grapefruit, could not be consumed in the afternoon.

"Juice drinks made out of the freshly squeezed juice of sugar cane, lotus root, all fruits except grain, all leaves except cooked vegetables, and all flowers except the [bassia latifolia] are also allowed according to the Mahaavagga pali in vinaya pitaka. Apart from these things 'tonic-medicines' (sattaahakaalika) can also be consumed at any time.

* Juices made from of small fruit items like Mango, apple, avocado, wood apple, lime, orange, bananas, etc, even tea, coffee without milk powder are some examples for suitable during this period.


May all beings be well & happy and attain the fruits of Nibbana.

Suranda Weediyage
BA, Tripitakachariya, Dip in Pali/ Buddhism (Pali & Buddhist University of Sri Lanka), HNDBF,
surandalk@gmail.com
http://www.thebuddhadhamma.wordpress.com

No comments:

Post a Comment