초기 불교의 식생활과 현대 사회의 웰빙– 요니소 마나시까라와 사띠·삼빠쟌나를 중심으로 -

Abstract

The present paper attempts to apply early Buddhist dietary practice into those who seek physical and mental well-being in contemporary society. The Buddha emphasized the middle position between fasting and over-eating in dietary practice. He did not approve fasting nor over-eating because the former was a kind of self-mortification and the latter was a kind of indulgence in sensual pleasure and generated sloth-and-torpor (thīna-middha). For the Buddha, both were not conductive to awakening. Therefore, the middle position between fasting and over-eating is moderation in eating (bhojane mattaññutā). According to Early Buddhism, food as an materiality (rūpa) can be an object of sensual craving (kāma-rāga) which belongs to the five lower fetters (pañca-orambhāgiyāni-saṃyojanāni) tie us to the sensuous sphere (kāmā-dhātu). It is for this reason that ‘how to eat’ is more important than ‘what to eat’ in Early Buddhism. This attitude is comes about through wise attention (yoniso manasikāra) before taking food and mindfulness and awareness (sati-sampajāñña) while taking food. Wise attention (yoniso manasikāra) for taking food is shown in the Buddha’s admonition for monastics to take food neither for amusement nor for intoxication nor for the sake of physical beauty and attractiveness, but only for the endurance and continuance of his body, for ending discomfort, and for assisting the holy life. Eating without mindfulness and awareness (sati-sampajāñña) tends to eat fast without noticing pleasurable sensation (sukha-vedanā) on tongue, and thus leads to over-eating and gluttony. In a sense, the early Buddhist dietary practice is closely related to the modern concept of ‘mindful eating’ which means eating with the attention necessary for noticing and enjoying your food and ‘slow food movement’ which initially aims to defend regional traditions, good food, gastronomic pleasure and a slow pace of life. Thus, we can safely say that early Buddhist dietary practice not only applicable to monastics but also to ordinary people who seek well-bing in contemporary society.