Youth Sutra, The Buddha's Diet Plan

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Anti-fat propaganda poster, USA, 1942

Want guaranteed weight loss and better health? What if there were a "Royal Buddhist Diet"? Well, there is and it's hard, but it really works.

King Pasenadi of ancient Kosala was very fat.

• [So as not to body shame the royal, let's just say he was voluptuous, zoftig, big boned, had a glandular condition, metabolic syndrome, was prediabetic, loved flying his freak flag and doing his own thing, had too much plastic xenoestrogen in his body and brain from the environment, ate too much, and had poor impulse control from early traumatic childhood events that made his regulation of dopamine a challenge.]

• NATIONAL STRAWBERRY DAY (Feb. 27th)

• 

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  Nat'l Strawberry Day adds an extra aphrodisiac to the American "month of love." Devilishly sweet, delightfully low in calories, strawberries (which are not really berries though avocados are) are the perfect food to feel naughty and nice at the same time. Grown both around the U.S. and around the world almost year-round, we’re never far from a supplier of this tasty tongue-tickler to celebrate!
• It's also FAT THURSDAY, International Polar Bear Day, Protein Day, Pasty Day, World NGO Day, The Big Breakfast Day, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, No Brainer Day, Retro Day, Chili Day, National Toast Day...

What does this Japanese Elly Amai Strawberry from Erewhon cost $19? (Food & Wine)

• A $19 strawberry has caused a stir online. And of course, it's sold at Erewhon (and currently sold out)
• Erewhon’s $19 strawberry is dystopian: Why so fancy?
• I spent $20 on one single strawberry that's 'best tasting'

TikTok live from Pasadena (@alyssaantocii)

He waddled around his kingdom, belly swollen, feet sore, short of breath. One day, after eating a bucket of rich, royal food, he found the Buddha and sat beside him, panting like a sweaty mess.

The Buddha gently commented, "When one stays mindful, one will know how much one has eaten and what amount is enough. Then all of that person's afflictions will become slender and one will age gently and protect one's life."

Rich foods are royal. Healthy foods are priceless

A Brahmin youth from the king's retinue was standing nearby. King Pasenadi instructed him to memorize the Buddha's words and recite them whenever the king was about to eat.

As soon as King Pasenadi learned to pay bare attention to his eating -- to savor it and remain aware of chewing and tasting and swallowing it -- he was able to delight in a single cup of rice.

Going vegan saves the animals and the planet.

In time King Pasenadi became slender and strong, full of energy and beautiful. And as he sat stroking his slender limbs, he said:

"The Buddha has twice shown me compassion -- for my benefit now and for my benefit in the future."

What is this diet regimen called? "Mindful eating." What is "mindfulness"? Let's ask Ven. Analayo:

• Mindfulness in Early Buddhism (Analayo) PDF
• Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal: Mindfulness Explained
• Mindfulness Revisited: A Buddhist-Based Conceptualization - Ronald E. Purser, Joseph Milillo, 2015
• Is Mindfulness Present-Centered and Nonjudgmental? – Georges Dreyfus

Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease

Hacking of American Mind: Science Behind Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains

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The Buddha looks too young

Mahavira: The Buddha was 35

In the Dahara Sutta, SN 3.1, King Pasenadi hints that the Buddha is young -- so young that, compared to other prominent teachers, must not yet be fully enlightened.

The Buddha explains to the that there are four things in the world that must not be taken lightly on account of their youth:

1. a noble,
2. a snake,
3. a fire,
4. a holy person.

It was this discourse that resulted in the conversion of King Pasenadi (S.i.68f.), which Mahayana refers to as the Kumāradrstānta Sutra (Rockhill: p.49).

Youth Sutra: Too Young?

Ven. Sujato (trans), Dahara Sutta (SN 3.1), suttacentral.net edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Thus have I heard. Once when the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, in Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery, King Pasenadi of Kosala arrived and exchanged pleasant greetings with him.

When their greetings and polite conversation were over, the king sat respectfully to one side and said to the Buddha: “Does the worthy Gotama claim to have awakened to supreme enlightenment?”

“If anyone should rightly say of someone that he has awakened to supreme enlightenment, it is of me that one should say it. For, great king, I have awakened to the supremely perfect enlightenment.”

“There are those wandering ascetics and [temple-bound] Brahmins who lead a monastic order and spiritual community (sangha) and tutor that community. They are well-known and famous founders of religions, deemed enlightened (holy) by many, such as:

• Pūraṇa Kassapa,
• the bamboo-staffed ascetic Gosāla,
• the Jain ascetic of the Ñātika clan,
• Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta,
• Pakudha Kaccāyana,
• Ajita of the hair blanket.

Little serpent (naga) can become mighty dragon

“I also asked them whether they claimed to have awakened to supreme and perfect enlightenment, but they made no such claim. So why do you, given that you are so young and only [relatively] recently gone forth [into the left home life of a wandering sannyasin]?”

“Great king, these four should not be looked down upon nor disparaged because they are young:

• a noble,
• a serpent,
• a fire,
• a mendicant.

“These four should not be looked down upon nor disparaged because they are young.”

That is what the Buddha said. Then the Enlightened One, the Teacher, went on to say [in verse]:

“A person should not despise

a noble of impeccable lineage,

high-born and famous,

just because such a one is young.

For it is possible that that lord of humans,

as a royal heir, will gain the throne.

And in anger will execute a royal punishment

and have one violently beaten.

Hence, avoid such a noble

for the sake of life.

Whether in village or wilderness,

wherever a snake is seen,

one should not look down on it

nor despise it for its youth.

With its rainbow of colors,

a snake of fiery breath slithers along.

It lashes out and bites a fool,

male and female alike.

Hence avoid it

for the sake of life.

A fire devours a huge amount,

a conflagration with a blackened trail.

One should not look down on it

just because it is young.

For once it gets fuel

it will become a huge inferno.

It will lash out and burn a fool,

male and female alike.

Hence avoid it

for the sake of life.

When a forest is burned by fire,

a conflagration with a blackened trail,

shoots will spring up there again,

with the passing of days and nights.

But if a wanderer endowed with virtue

burns you with holy power,

you will have neither sons nor cattle,

nor will your heirs inherit wealth.

Childless and heirless you become,

like a palmyra palm-tree stump.

That is why a wise person,

seeing what is beneficial,

will always treat these four properly:

a snake, a fire,

a famous noble,

and a holy person endowed with ethics.”

When this was said, King Pasenadi of Kosala exclaimed:

I've got my eye on you, Little Fire

“Excellent, sir, excellent! As if one were righting what was overturned, or revealing the hidden, or pointing out the path to one who was lost, or lighting a lamp in the dark so people with eyes could see what is there. Just so the Buddha has made the Teaching clear in many ways. I go for guidance to the Buddha, to the Teaching (Dhamma), and to the [noble] Saṅgha. From this day forward, may the Buddha remember me as a lay follower who has gone for guidance as long as life lasts.”

• Practical Buddhism: Royal Buddhist Diet: Guaranteed Weight Loss; Ven. Sujato (trans) (Dahara Sutta, SN 3.1) edited by Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly