After reaching enlightenment at Bodhgaya, Shakyamuni meditated and fasted for forty-nine days. Thus, showing him as an emaciated renouncer relates to his enlightenment and his status as a yogic ascetic who has ultimate control over his body.
The fig tree became known as the bodhi tree because the Buddha reached enlightenment (bodhi) after meditating beneath one such tree for 49 days.
This practice could be considered a kind of intermittent fasting, 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).
Undiscouraged, his still active mind searched for new paths to the aspired for goal. He felt, however, that with a body so utterly weakened as his, he could not follow that path with any chance of success. Thus he abandoned self-torture and extreme fasting and took normal food.
After reaching enlightenment at Bodhgaya, Shakyamuni meditated and fasted for forty-nine days. Thus, showing him as an emaciated renouncer relates to his enlightenment and his status as a yogic ascetic who has ultimate control over his body.
When asked "what's the biggest mistake we make in life?" The Buddha Replied "The biggest mistake is you think you have time.
Theravada and Mahayana: often do not eat meat and fish, some are vegan. Theravada and Mahayana from China and Vietnam: do not eat garlic, onion, chives, shallot or leek (five pungent spices – believed to increase one's sexual desire and anger) Tibetans: never eat fish, usually will not eat foul.
Fasting is a method for practicing self control for Buddhists, a method of purification. And, depending on the tradition, fasting usually means abstaining from solid food, with some liquids allowed. Buddhist monks traditionally have no solid food after the noonday hour. Some monks fast as a method of freeing the mind.
Zen Buddhist monks strive for minimalism in their meals as well as in all areas of life. The first meal is breakfast, which is shoshoku. It usually consists of rice and pickles. Lunch, called tenshin, is also rice or soup, also with pickled vegetables.
So what did the Buddha say about intermittent fasting? There are quite a few quotes and they often repeat themselves in other locations. The first example is when The Buddha talks about eating in one sitting. That means He not only eats only one meal per day, but if He gets up from His seat, He does not eat again.
With regard to eggs, they are in the fleshy smell category because they can become chicks, and they also contain animal scent. Therefore, one who has taken a strict vegetarian vow should not consume eggs. Although mass-produced eggs are now sterilized and do not contain life, they are obviously not of plant origin.
He then would sleep for an hour. Thus we can see the Buddha was busy the whole day. In fact he only slept one hour each day during this 45 years of teaching. During the early hours of the day he saw the whole universe, blessed it with his boundless love and brought happiness to millions.
The Buddha refused to stop meditating until he had found supreme enlightenment. A central teaching that he achieved was that temptation can be overcome. He had gone from a life of privilege to overcoming the temptation of basic human needs. After he had achieved enlightenment, he shared his knowledge with others.
After spending 49 days sitting under a Bo-tree meditating, Siddhartha Gautama became Buddha Gautama; he had finally reached enlightenment. During those 49 days, tradition says that Gautama was tempted by the evil one, Mara. By resisting the temptations, he was open to enlightenment. At this point, he had a choice.
The days when a Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter, and Third Quarter occur are the 15th, 30th, 8th, and 23rd days of the month. These days, along with the 14th and 29th, came to be the six fasting days in each month.
- You are allowed to rinse your mouth and nose with limited water, such that you do not swallow it. If you do so, it invalidates your fast. - You can take a shower during your fasting period as you may feel thirsty, dehydrated or heated. However, make sure that you do not swallow the water.
Following Buddhist philosophy, the dishes at Bodhi avoid the use of the five pungent vegetables - onions, garlic, green onions, chives and leeks.
In general, Buddhism prohibits the eating of any and all meat, because (1) the killing of animals violates the First Moral Precept and (2) meat is considered an intoxicant to the body, which violates the Fifth Moral Precept.
For many Chinese Buddhists, beef and the consumption of large animals and exotic species is avoided. Then there would be the aforementioned "triply clean meat" rule. One restriction on food that is not known to many is the abstinence from eating animal offal (organ meat).
It is said that the Buddha is defined by three bodies of enlightenment, the so-called trikaya of classical Mahayana theory. These include the dharmakaya, the body of ultimate reality; the sambhogakaya, the body of joy; and the nirmanakaya, the Buddha's conditioned, human body of flesh and blood.
“Buddhism was harmed by the Chinese government. Buddhism could not be destroyed from China. Even today, there are many people who believe in Buddhism in China,” he added. Dalai Lama also said that the Chinese government destroyed many Buddhist Viharas, but the number of followers of Buddhism has not decreased in China.
Three kinds of wrong view are unwholesome courses of action, akusala kamma patha, through the mind, and these are capable of causing an unhappy rebirth.