Fasting in Buddhism
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Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
, there are a variety of attitudes towards different forms of
fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...
( Skt. ''upavāsa'' or ''anaśana''). The Buddha is known to have practiced extreme forms of fasting which led to his emaciation and to have famously abandoned it before his great awakening. Nevertheless, different forms of fasting are practiced in various Buddhist traditions.


Fasting in early Buddhism and Theravada

Traditionally,
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
monastics follow the '' prātimokṣa'' rules outlined in the various Vinayas (texts outlining the monastic discipline) all which specify that one must not eat after the noon meal. Instead, Buddhist texts mention that this is a period which should be used for meditation or sutta chanting. Breaking this rule is considered a '' pācittika'' offense which needs to be confessed. This is not considered a kind of fasting, but a simple and moderate way of eating which is said to aid one's meditation and health. Devout lay Buddhists will also follow this rule as one of the Eight precepts during important days of religious observance (''
uposatha The Uposatha ( sa, Upavasatha) is a Buddhist day of observance, in existence from the Buddha's time (600 BCE), and still being kept today by Buddhist practitioners. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind ...
'').Johnston, William M. (ed.) ''Encyclopedia of Monasticism'', Routledge, 2013, p. 467-468.


In early Buddhism

The Buddha's Middle Path refers to avoiding extremes of indulgence on the one hand and self-mortification on the other. According to the
early Buddhist texts Early Buddhist texts (EBTs), early Buddhist literature or early Buddhist discourses are parallel texts shared by the early Buddhist schools. The most widely studied EBT material are the first four Pali Nikayas, as well as the corresponding Chines ...
, prior to attaining
Nibbana Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, '; Pali: ') is "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activities of the worldly mind and its related suffering. Nirvana is the goal of the Hinayana and Theravada Buddhist paths, and marks the soteriologica ...
,
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
practiced a regime of strict austerity and fasting which was common among the sramana religions of the day (limited to just a few drops of bean soup a day). These austerities with five other ascetics did not lead to spiritual progress but did cause him to become so
emaciated Emaciation is defined as the state of extreme thinness from absence of body fat and muscle wasting usually resulting from malnutrition. Characteristics In humans, the physical appearance of emaciation includes thinned limbs, pronounced and protrud ...
that he could barely stand. It was only after he gave up the practice of harsh asceticism, including extreme fasting, and instead focused on the practice of meditation and
jhana In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind (''bhavana''), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, "burn up" the ...
, that he attained awakening. Because of this experience, the Buddha criticized the fasting practiced by Indian ascetics of his day, such as that practiced by
Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
, who believed that fasting burned off bad karma. According to
Bhikkhu Analayo Bhikkhu Anālayo is a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk), scholar, and meditation teacher. He was born in Germany in 1962, and went forth in 1995 in Sri Lanka. He is best known for his comparative studies of Early Buddhist Texts as preserved by the various ...
:
the Buddha noted that ascetics who underwent periods of fasting, but subsequently resumed eating to regain their strength, were just gathering together again what they had earlier left behind (MN 36).Bhikkhu Anālayo
"Food and Insight", ''Insight Journal'', 2019
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Instead, the Buddha focused on practicing mindfulness while eating, a practice he recommended to both monastics and laypersons. According to Analayo, this practice connects the second and third satipatthanas (foundations of mindfulness), that of mindfulness of hedonic tones ( vedana) and mindfulness of the mind (
citta ''Citta'' (Pali and Sanskrit: चित्त; pronounced ''chitta''; IAST: ''citta)'' is one of three overlapping terms used in the '' nikaya'' to refer to the mind, the others being '' manas'' and '' viññāṇa''. Each is sometimes used i ...
) respectively. This allows one to understand how sensual craving arises out of worldly pleasant feelings, and gain
insight Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intui ...
into the very nature of sensuality (and thus lead to its cessation). The Buddha held that practicing mindfulness of eating/food could lead to weight loss and better health. In the sutras he states "when a person is mindful and thus knows moderation in eating, his ailments diminish, he ages gently and he protects his life" (S.I,81-2). However, the Buddha did end up recommending that monastics not eat anything after noon. This practice could be considered a kind of
intermittent fasting Intermittent fasting is any of various meal timing schedules that cycle between voluntary fasting (or reduced calorie intake) and non-fasting over a given period. Methods of intermittent fasting include alternate-day fasting, periodic fasting, a ...
, which restricts eating to a specific time period. The Buddha recommended this kind of fasting after noon for health reasons, stating "I do not eat in the evening and thus am free from illness and affliction and enjoy health, strength and ease" (M.I,473). According to J.E.E. Pettit, early Buddhists also considered abstaining from meat (i.e. vegetarianism) to be a meritorious form of fasting. However, they were not full time vegetarians, generally eating whatever was offered by the laity.Salguero, C. Pierce (2017) ''Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources,'' pp. 130-131. Columbia University Press.


One meal a day practice

In
Theravada Buddhist ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
monasticism, there are various optional ascetic practices named '' dhutaṅga'' (literally "means of shaking off" or "shaking up", as in to "invigorate") which are popular with Thai forest monks, several of them have to do with food. One practice is called "one-sessioner's practice" (''ekāsanikanga'') which refers to eating only one meal a day. Another practice consists of only eating food collected on one's bowl during the daily alms round (''piṇḍapāta'') during which monks go begging for food. If one happens to receive just a little food or not to receive any at all on one particular day, one would have to fast.Fredricks, Randi, ''Fasting: an Exceptional Human Experience'', 2012, p. 200. '' Dhutaṅgas'' are seen as means to deepen one's spiritual practice, and to develop detachment from material things, including the body.


Fasting in Mahāyāna Buddhism

Indian mahayana Buddhists practiced the abstention of food after noon as other Indian Buddhists did. They also sometimes had their own unique fasting practices. One of the most popular of these was a one day fast associated with the cult of Amoghapāśa and the ''Amoghapāśahṛdayadhāraṇi'' (i.e. ''Amoghapāśanāmahṛdaya Mahāyāna Sūtra''). Fasting is also an important part of medicinal cures in Indian Buddhism, which were a key part of Buddhist monastic practice (as bad health was understood as being a detriment to one's spiritual practice).Salguero, C. Pierce (2017) ''Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources,'' p. 146. Columbia University Press. Yijing's ''Record of the Inner Law Sent Home from the Southern Seas'' is an extensive record of the life in Buddhist monasteries which discusses medical topics. According to this text, regarding the various medical sciences "absention from food is of utmost importance."Salguero, C. Pierce (2017) ''Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources,'' pp.152-153. Columbia University Press. According to Yijing, these medical fasts were done for up seven days in central Indian monasteries (but in other regions, two or three days were the upper limit). However, he also mentions one person who underwent a 30 day fast and recovered afterwards and so he states that the number of days depends on various circumstances and is not fixed.


East Asian Buddhism

In East Asian Mahayana Buddhism, there are different fasting ( Chinese: ''zhai'') practices. The most common form refers to a strict form of vegetarianism. A common part of East Asian Buddhist vegetarianism is also avoiding the five pungent foods. One of the most important forms of fasting historically was the Chinese Buddhist practice termed ''zhaijie'' or ''baguan zhai'' (eight-fold fast)'','' which became an important practice for serious lay Buddhists during the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
.Chuan Cheng, ''Ethical Treatment of Animals in Early Chinese Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices'', Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014, p. 66–67. During a ''baguan zhai'' one was expected to avoid all meat (and fish) and take the eight precepts (this includes not eating after noon). The duration of the fast varied; common forms were a six-day fast (''liuzhai'') and a three-day fast (''sanzhai''). Another form was a long fast (''changzhai'') which is observed continuously, "in the first half of the first, fifth, and ninth month". These practices were popular among many Chinese lay Buddhists, including high ranking literati and officials who would gather together to observe fasts. The popularity of the practice may have to do with some Chinese emperors, such as Emperor Ming (465-472) of the
Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period ...
, who was a vegetarian and a practitioner of fasting. The eight-fold fast was often practiced during certain Buddhist holidays, such as during
Vesak Vesak (Pali: ''Vesākha''; sa, Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival commemora ...
. In the Japanese Buddhist sects of
Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...
and
Shingon Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...
, the practice of total fasting (''danjiki'') for a length of time (such as a week) is included in the qualifications of becoming an ''ajari'' ( ''acarya'', a master teacher). The Tendai school's grueling practice of ''
kaihōgyō The ("circling the mountain") is an ascetic practice performed by Tendai Buddhist monks. The practice involves walking a route on Mount Hiei (the location of the Tendai school headquarters), the longest of which takes 1000 days to complete; all ...
'' ends with nine-day period of fasting, which is a total abstention from food and drink.Blacker, Carmen (2004). ''The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan,'' pp. 69-71. Routledge. This practice (along with other ascetic practices like bathing in freezing water - ''suigyo'') is considered to be highly effective at producing ascetic spiritual power as well as having cleansing properties and producing mental clarity. Fasting is also practiced in Korean
Seon Buddhism Seon or Sŏn Buddhism (Korean: 선, 禪; IPA: ʌn is the Korean name for Chan Buddhism, a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism commonly known in English as Zen Buddhism. Seon is the Sino-Korean pronunciation of Chan () an abbreviation of 禪那 ('' ...
, as a supplement to meditation and as part of a training called ''geumchok.'' The East Asian Buddhist practice of self-mummification ( ''sokushim-butsu'') also includes intense fasting (until death).


In Tibetan Buddhism

The
Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
practice of ''nyungne'' is based on the outer tantra practice of Chenrezig and traced back to an Afghani Buddhist nun named Gelongma Palmo. It is said that Chenrezig appeared to an Indian nun who had contracted
leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
and was on the verge of death. Chenrezig taught her the method of ''nyungne'' in which one keeps the eight precepts on the first day (as well as eating only vegetarian food), then refrains from both food and water on the second.Wangchen Rinpoche, ''Buddhist Fasting Practice: The Nyungne Method of Thousand-Armed Chenrezig'', Shambhala, 2009, pp. 170.


See also

*
Buddhist meditation Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are ''bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and '' jhāna/dhyāna'' (mental training resulting in a calm and ...


References

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