Mindfulness consumption : an integration of Bhojana Sappaya principle on contemporary cultural food consumption

Abstract

Health problems caused by consuming inappropriate food has been a crucial global issue for over a decade. In Thailand, the government has committed substantial budget and resources on health care to combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Moreover, statistics show that each year such diseases cause seventy-three percent of all deaths in Thailand. The health situation of Thai monks mirrored that of the Thai laities because the monks are passive consumers of the food received from laities. In this study, this phenomenon was examined from the inter-relationship of three social facts: health, food, and religious aspects, all of which have influenced the norms, belief, values, and goal of Theravada Buddhist monks. It proposes that a solution to this problem can be found in the Bhojana Sappaya, or Mindfulness Consumption, provided in the Dhamma and Vinaya guidelines for food consumption. The objectives of this research were (1) to study the concept of Bhojana Sappaya described in the Tipiṭaka and Buddhist scriptures, (2) to study the interpretation and practice of Bhojana Sappaya by Theravada Buddhist monks, and (3) to analyze the utilization of Bhojana Sappaya in the daily life of Theravada Buddhist Monks. As a unit of the study, a group of Thai Theravada Buddhist monks from the "Keeping Dhamma and Vinaya Buddhist Network" - a new Thai Buddhist movement- were purposively recruited as informants. Based on qualitative analysis, both documentary research and fieldwork research were used as methods and evidence to compile and collect data. Results revealed the following: (1) Bhojana Sappaya in Theravada Buddhist scriptures is the basis of food culture for monks, informing the norms, beliefs, values, and goals of their consumption patterns; (2) Theravada Buddhist monks learn and analyze Bhojana Sappaya as The Eightfold Path and Sīla-Samadhi-Panna, and put it into practice with Mindfulness meditation , whose goal is the cessation of suffering; (3) Theravada Buddhist monks utilize Bhojana Sappaya as a guideline for consuming food for well-being and cultivating physical, mental, social, and intellectual health. It was also found that key factors to succeed in utilization of Bhojana Sappaya are the following: (1) living with a purpose to attain the cessation of suffering; (2) learning and understanding the Dhamma and Vinaya; (3) practicing Mindfulness Meditation; and (4) social support.