Self Defense

"I'll guard the gold,
and you go Yoga Class."

"Indians never attack at night,"
said the Indian. "I'll guard the gate
an you go s l e e e e e p e e d e e p e e s l e e p e e"

These four should not be dealt with
carelessly simply because they are young:
A crown prince
A poisonous snake
A fire
A sorcerer's apprentice

Guarding the Senses

These are the senses:
Sight
Hearing
Smell
Taste
Touch
Knowing

These are what are here called the Gates to the Senses:
The Eye
The Ear
The Nose
The Tongue
The Body
The Mind

Conscious awareness arises as a consequence of the contact of a sense organ with its appropriate stimulus.

A visual object comes into contact with the eye,
and sensation associated with seeing occurs
(experienced as pleasant, unpleasant, or not-pleasant-but-not unpleasant);
from sensation comes perception of sight.
an act of identification with the process creates the experience known as
"My Sight", or "I am Seeing."
and conscious awareness of sight follows.

Arising from this experience comes liking or disliking
depending on the sensation.

Both liking and disliking are forms of wanting
and lead to action that repeats the cycle
and results in an outcome determined by kamma.

For this reason train to be wary
of sights, sounds, scents, flavors, touches, and thoughts.

Being aware of the danger, defend "the doors of the senses":

When an object of sense
comes into the range
of an organ of sense,
neither pay attention to its general appearance
nor to its details.

Moderate Eating

Here is described the practice of the time called The OneMealMan Practice in order to provide an idea of how the modern practitioner might modify his own eating habits in order to further his Dhamma progress:

In this case a Beggar eats one meal a day,
after sunup, before high noon.

The original practice consisted of two styles, called "Hard Man" and "Soft Man".

Hard Man practice was the practice of eating at one sitting from the contents of one bowl.

The meal is done, no matter how much was eaten, if the Beggar rose up from eating (hand-out bowl clean) (we would say get up from the table.)

In the Soft Man Practice (which was the Practice adopted by Gotama, The Buddha), a Beggar could eat several bowls full at several sittings and even take one bowl full back to his residence for eating later, provided all eating was completed before High Noon.

The Buddha's usual actual practice, we can gather from his own statements and descriptions found in the Pāḷi, was to eat one bowl full at one sitting. Occasionally he would take additional food, which is why he would be described as practicing "Soft Man Style".

At one time The Buddha pointed out: "It is not because I am austere in my eating practices that those who follow me respect me as they do,
for there are those whose practices are far more austere than mine,
it is because I teach the Higher Dhamma that they respect me as they do."

Modifications were made to both practices at the request of laymen wishing to make good kamma. These were that a Beggar of either style could, if he had such, drink a beverage and eat a piece of bread or pastry upon rising up before going on his begging rounds.

All Beggars ate whatever was placed in the bowl.

There was, at one time, a huge dispute over what was and what was not proper to eat. The dispute was begun by the infamous Buddhist Bad Guy, Devadatta, who tried to institute the practice of not eating flesh. (He wanted to prove himself more austere than Gotama). The dispute threatened to disrupt the Order, and so Gotama laid out the rules of what was proper to "accept" in a formula he called "The Threes:"

Flesh was acceptable if

It was not

1. Seen
2. Heard
3. Suspected

To have been
1. killed by one's self
2. requested to have been killed by one's self
3. killed specifically for one.

An individual could be a vegetarian if he wished, but there was no Bad kamma (and no rule) associated with eating something "killed on speculation" by a butcher or hunter or found dead, etc.

It is the intent that is the important thing, and in such a case there is no intent (that is, by the Beggar, or by another for the specific Beggar).

It is possible to adopt the One-Meal-Man practice and be quite fat and happy. One should approach this sort of diet with good sense. There is a reasonable period of adjustment of a few weeks during which there will be a fair to middling battle with desire for food. A six month or so period follows during which there is considerable weight loss (especially for people who are overweight) and during this time one should be careful not to exceed one's limits; this is a practice that was intended to provide adequate sustenance to a Beggar whose desire to bring kamma to an end had already caused him to become a homeless wanderer, willing to die, if necessary, to achieve his goals. It was not designed for a modern family man working long hours or doing manual labor or who was under a great deal of stress. After a six months or so period of adjustment, the body will return to a normal healthy weight and the energy level will be high and there will be a substantial improvement in one's feelings of well being. At this point it is possible to work long hours, do manual labor and keep up with the strongest of them or work under great stress without problems. It is during the period of adjustment that caution should be taken.

One meal or many meals, all are advised to eat moderately,

Not for the Pleasure of Taste
Not out of Habit
Not to Fill Time
Not for Good Looks
Not for Show of Wealth,
But only just sufficient to keep the body going a little further on This Way, thinking:

"By this moderate eating practice
I will bring old kamma to conclusion
and set going no new kamma
and I will have sufficient sustenance,
while living blamelessly."

Some of the benefits of Moderate Eating are:

One wants little
In times of scarcity one is prepared
The body is healthy: One has few illnesses and recovers from illnesses quickly
One's time is not wasted in slavery to the belly
The mind is clear and alert
One is of little trouble to one's supporters

Content with Little

Content with Little
Like a Bird on the Wing
That Takes with him only His Wings
As He Flies
So the Beggar, Beggars
Takes only his Bowl and Robes
And Goes Whithersoever He Will

The Wakeful Watch

For the sake of those wishing to adjust their own habits of wakefulness, here is the Pāḷi Ideal:

During the day, pace back and forth and sit, clearing the mind of distracting mental states.

During the first watch of the night, pace back and forth and sit, clearing the mind of distracting mental states.

During the Middle/Magic watch of the night, lie down in the lion posture (on the right side, with the head supported by the right arm, and with the legs one on top of the other so that one foot is over the other, bone on bone) and clearly conscious and wide awake, focus the mind on the time of rising up again.

foot on foot

During the last watch, after rising up, pace back and forth and sit, clearing the mind of distracting mental states.

The Buddha was said to have slept only rarely, on occasions when he was ill, or when he was very old, during the hottest part of the day.

No Other Single Sight

Beggars!
I see no other single sight
by which a man's mind is more enslaved
than by that of a woman
indeed, beggars,
the sight of a woman
obsesses a man's mind.

Beggars!
I see no other single sound, scent, taste or touch
by which a man's mind is more enslaved
than by that of a woman
indeed, beggars,
the sound, scent, taste and touch of a woman
obsesses a man's mind

Beggars!
I see no other single sight
by which a woman's mind is more enslaved
than by that of a man
indeed, beggars,
the sight of a man
obsesses a woman's mind.

Beggars!
I see no other single sound, scent, taste or touch
by which a woman's mind is more enslaved
than by that of a man
indeed, beggars,
the sound, scent, taste and touch of a man
obsesses a woman's mind

The Mind is Pure

The mind, Beggars, is pure, but is defiled by corruption from without.

This the uneducated common man does not understand as it really is.

Because he does not understand this, the uneducated common man makes no effort to cultivate the mind, I say

The mind, Beggars, is pure, and can be cleansed of corruption's that came from without.

This the well tamed, well trained, well educated student of the Aristocrats understands as it really is.

Thus there is for the well tamed, well trained, well educated student of the Aristocrats cultivation of the mind, say I

Energetic Effort

In the Beggar that makes energetic effort
good conditions not yet in the here and now appear, and
bad conditions in the here and now disappear

Wanting Little

Beggars!
I see no other single thing
of more power to cause
the arising of good conditions
not yet in the here and now, or
the subsidence of bad conditions
already in the here and now, as
wanting little
in the beggar that wants little
good conditions not yet in the here and now appear, and
bad conditions in the here and now disappear

Contentment

Beggars!
I see no other single thing
of more power to cause
the arising of good conditions
not yet in the here and now, or
the subsidence of bad conditions
already in the here and now, as
contentment
in the beggar that is content
good conditions not yet in the here and now appear, and
bad conditions in the here and now disappear

Tracking Things Down to Their Origins

Beggars!
I see no other single thing
of more power to cause
the arising of good conditions
not yet in the here and now, or
the subsidence of bad conditions
already in the here and now, as
tracking things down to their origins
in the beggar that tracks things down to their origins
good conditions not yet in the here and now appear, and
bad conditions in the here and now disappear

Objective Detachment

Beggars!
i see no other single thing
of more power to cause
the arising of good conditions
not yet in the here and now, or
the subsidence of bad conditions
already in the here and now, as
objective detachment
in the beggar who is objectively detached
good conditions not yet in the here and now appear, and
bad conditions in the here and now disappear