The Philosophy of Fat
Fat is a mode of consciousness that pervades throughout the whole world, a religion with the refrigerator as the temple of transmutation and food as the Blessed Sacrament. Fat is not just a personal matter having to do with health or beauty but is a way of approaching life that affects the environment, ecology, education, war, finance, drug and alcohol addiction and a host of other problems that the world suffers from.
From a Buddhist Point of view fat is the result of clinging, of selfish desire for that which is unattainable, the elusive more that can never be satisfied. It is one of the four blemishes of character that must be eliminated before transformation is possible. Greed, sensuality, ill will and delusion are all related to the problem of fat. Watch closely as a fat person eats and one can see all of these characteristics in how the food is approached, taken in, masticated, swallowed and finished with. All of these actions are usually done in a state of mindlessness, that is, not paying attention to what they are doing.
A fat man went to see an old monk living in the forest. Please venerable sir, won’t you help me. I am terribly fat and in poor health because of it. I eat constantly and think only of food. All day, in the middle of the night, junk food, sugar, starch, Big Macs, all garbage that I know is not good for me but I just can’t help myself. I have great difficulty breathing, I have heart palpitations, diabetes, bad breath, I don’t sleep well, my lower back and joints are painful and I sweat profusely and my feet are always swollen. I’m ashamed to put on a bathing suit and can’t stand to look at myself in the mirror. Girls aren’t attracted to me, I look ugly, I feel ugly and I am so depressed I just want to die. Please venerable sir, you are my last hope, if you can’t help me to stop eating I know that I will surely die soon.
You are going to die anyway, the monk replied, what difference does it make if you live a few weeks or a few months longer more or less? Keep eating all you want, as many Big Macs as your palpitating heart desires but only with one difference. Make your eating a meditation. If the Japanese can make te
From a Buddhist Point of view fat is the result of clinging, of selfish desire for that which is unattainable, the elusive more that can never be satisfied. It is one of the four blemishes of character that must be eliminated before transformation is possible. Greed, sensuality, ill will and delusion are all related to the problem of fat. Watch closely as a fat person eats and one can see all of these characteristics in how the food is approached, taken in, masticated, swallowed and finished with. All of these actions are usually done in a state of mindlessness, that is, not paying attention to what they are doing.
A fat man went to see an old monk living in the forest. Please venerable sir, won’t you help me. I am terribly fat and in poor health because of it. I eat constantly and think only of food. All day, in the middle of the night, junk food, sugar, starch, Big Macs, all garbage that I know is not good for me but I just can’t help myself. I have great difficulty breathing, I have heart palpitations, diabetes, bad breath, I don’t sleep well, my lower back and joints are painful and I sweat profusely and my feet are always swollen. I’m ashamed to put on a bathing suit and can’t stand to look at myself in the mirror. Girls aren’t attracted to me, I look ugly, I feel ugly and I am so depressed I just want to die. Please venerable sir, you are my last hope, if you can’t help me to stop eating I know that I will surely die soon.
You are going to die anyway, the monk replied, what difference does it make if you live a few weeks or a few months longer more or less? Keep eating all you want, as many Big Macs as your palpitating heart desires but only with one difference. Make your eating a meditation. If the Japanese can make te
posted by India Jones at 1:14 AM
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