Buddhism and physical exercise

[Serrao]

Originally Posted by VinceField

Then, p.s., you must have loved my answer!

A direct answer, by definition, is either an honest, frank, or straightforward answer, or saying exactly what you mean in a way that nobody can pretend not to understand. Also, my answer was clear, and concise enough to remove the possibility of ambiguity.

Your input in this thread was indeed clear enough and informative. Thanks for your help and insights. I've grown positively thanks to this thread too, and that's what Spiritual Forums is mostly about for me.

[VinceField]

Originally Posted by sunsoul

Update: I checked up on this and indeed the rule is not to eat from midday to dawn. There is nothing in the Vinaya that explicitly says that a monk only has to eat once a day. Some monks do eat three times even. In the forest-dwelling traditions it is more normal to eat once.

This is from Bhante Dhammanando:

"The Vinaya rules prohibit monastics eating from midday until dawn. Between dawn and midday a bhikkhu may eat as many meals as he likes, though the commonest practice in Asia is to take breakfast at around 8 am and then a more substantial meal at 11 am. The next most common is to take three meals: a bowl of rice soup before one sets off on almsround, a heavier breakfast when one gets back, and then lunch at 11 am.

As for eating just one meal a day, this is one of the 13 ascetic practices and originally was a voluntary observance for those bhikkhus who needed to overcome a tendency to gluttony. Nowadays, however, there are certain monasteries —mainly those in forest-dwelling traditions— where the one-meal-a-day practice is incumbent upon all residents."