Diet-related health problems of monks in Thailand

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poto
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Re: Diet-related health problems of monks in Thailand

Post by poto »

This is one area that I'd like to see modernized. I know that may not be a very popular idea, since it goes against tradition, but ultimately I think it would be a better solution.

We have the ability to fairly accurately calculate caloric needs of humans at various heights, weights and activity levels. We can also accurately calculate the calories of various foods. It would be nice if we actually used this ability.

I think eventually we might see some monasteries move to a system of planned or distributed meals. Something that would remove guesswork of how much to eat from the equation. Giving monks fixed meal portions that were tailored to each individual monk's caloric requirements would likely prevent a lot of the problems of the present system.

It's easy to shake your finger and say those monks should just self-regulate their food intake and/or fast or exercise. But I think that ignores the human aspect of it. Having a bowl of tasty food in front of you and eating until you're full... I think the majority of humans in that situation would tend to take in more calories than they need.

I'm not saying we would 100% have to do away with alms rounds and such. What I'm saying is that maybe with the aid of technology monks could do something like bring all the alms food back to the temple and calculate the calories of that food, then divide the portions out respectively. Maybe that would be more of a compromise between tradition and science. Personally, I would prefer to see something more standardized, but meh... :shrug:
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DarwidHalim
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Re: Diet-related health problems of monks in Thailand

Post by DarwidHalim »

I ever read a Sutta that roughly tell when you eat, it is 1/3 food, 1/3 water, 1/3 empty space. I can't remember exactly the portion and what Sutta it is.
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Goofaholix
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Re: Diet-related health problems of monks in Thailand

Post by Goofaholix »

David N. Snyder wrote:What is done with the leftover food in Thai temples?
I have seen literally truckloads of leftovers on festival days, or every day where there is a famous teacher (Luangta Maha Boowa's monastery for example).

I'm told the trucks were headed to orphanages or the poor.
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Durt_Dawg
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Re: Diet-related health problems of monks in Thailand

Post by Durt_Dawg »

Maybe they should start eating Chinese Buddhist quisines.
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retrofuturist
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Re: Diet-related health problems of monks in Thailand

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,
Goofaholix wrote:I'm told the trucks were headed to orphanages or the poor.
Good to hear.

At the festival day I went to on Sunday, it was like a larger scale version of what I mentioned above, except that instead of maybe 10-15 preparing/serving the food to the monks and eating the leftovers once the monks had finished, it was more like 300.

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Retro. :)
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