The Zen of eating
Kabatznick, Ronna
Tikkun
Vol.13 No.2 (March-April 1998)
pp.20-23
COPYRIGHT 1998 Institute for Labor and Mental Health
And I discovered that profound truth, so difficult to perceive,
difficult to understand, tranquilizing and sublime, which is not to
be gained by mere reasoning, and is visible only to the wise.
- The Buddha
The key to healthy eating is learning how to change your state of
mind. What you eat or don't eat is not nearly as important. That's
"the Zen of eating" in a nutshell. It is an invitation to transform
the emotional hungers that create eating problems into spiritual
nourishment that creates inner peace. This kind of nourishment comes
from connecting to your deepest longings and most passionate desires
with wisdom and compassion.
The Zen of eating is based on the teachings of the Buddha, also
called The Great Physician and Healer. Although the Buddha isn't
known as an authority on eating problems, his expertise on hungers
of the heart and disorders of desire is unsurpassed. These emotional
hungers are the cause of many severe problems, including alcohol and
drug addictions. And like these other addictions, eating problems
express both the depth and range of suffering that occurs when
emotional needs are ignored and physical needs are indulged. When we
focus on the fleeting pleasures that come from indulging the senses,
other aspects of ourselves become deprived. The Buddha's aim was to
find a way to nourish those parts of ourselves that are capable of
experiencing lasting satisfaction.
The Buddha defined suffering as a ravenous appetite to find peace
and security in places where it can't be found. In the context of
eating, this peace and security might be sought through what you
weigh, what you look like, how you cook, or what restaurants you eat
in. His plan to address this ravenous appetite and to offer peace of
mind and heart is known as The Four Noble Truths.
The Four Noble Truths
The essence of the Four Noble Truths and its application to your
eating problems is this: Food for the body is necessary, of course.
But it is eaten one day and eliminated the next, whereas food for
the heart lasts forever. In fact, you can think of the Four Noble
Truths as recipes for nourishing the heart because that's exactly
what they are. They address the various kinds and levels of
spiritual food that are capable of providing a sense of fullness
that no amount of food can ever match. The nourishing aspects of
this kind of food aren't always obvious and they contradict what
many of us consider common knowledge. For instance, restraining from
pleasure is more nourishing than pursuing it; generosity is more
nourishing than self-indulgence; letting go of the things you love
is more nourishing than grasping them.
The Four Noble Truths identify the problem, offer a diagnosis, state
the outcome, and lay out the treatment plan to end suffering. Unlike
traditional weight loss plans that focus on what you can take in,
this plan focuses on what you can give away. It emphasizes the deep
and lasting emotional satisfaction that comes from being generous,
expressing gratitude, and finding special meaning and purpose in
what you eat. Eating becomes a doorway to many penetrating insights
that reveal the interconnectedness of all living things, and how
your emotional hunger helps heal everyone else's as well. Just as
Isaac Newton explained physical motion in three simple laws, the
Buddha explains our nature in four simple principles.
Here's a brief summary of the Four Noble Truths and how they relate
to eating problems:
1. There is suffering (the problem). The First Noble Truth
recognizes that life is fundamentally unsatisfying because it is
fragile. Nothing lasts. What you weigh or what you eat cannot
provide lasting nourishment because they are always changing.
2. The cause of suffering is attachment to desire (the diagnosis).
The Second Noble Truth recognizes the cause of suffering as the
misguided tendency to grasp pleasure and to reject pain. But the
more you grasp (or reject), the more you suffer and feel hungry.
Emotional hunger grows deeper and more painful the more you struggle
against it.
3. Suffering ends by letting go of attachments to desire (the
prognosis). The Third Noble Truth recognizes that freedom from
suffering is possible. It is attained by letting go of attachments
to desire, which bind you to the futile habit of seeking nourishment
where it cannot be found. What provides the fullness you hunger for
is not grasping at what's pleasant or rejecting what isn't, but
staying present with whatever is going on.
4. The Noble Eightfold Path outlines how to let go of attachments,
and so end suffering (the treatment plan). The Fourth Noble Truth
contains the recipes for emotional nourishment that offer lasting
satisfaction. The skills and qualities you learn on this path are
the food for the heart that the Buddha was referring to when he said
that this type of food lasts forever.
The nourishment that comes from being kind to yourself and to others
is the kind of food that stays with you. Unlike physical nourishment
that comes and goes no matter how many times you feel full, the
fullness that comes from facing difficulties head-on creates a
secure foundation of confidence and self-respect that money can't
buy and physical food can't give. Qualities such as personal
integrity, kindness, and honesty are priceless and can only be found
within your own heart. The Eightfold Path shows the various ways to
access and manifest these qualities in your everyday life, no matter
what you are doing or how you are feeling.
The Middle Way
Nobody handed the Buddha the Four Noble Truths. He discovered them
for himself, just as you and I must do for ourselves. Although his
life was unique in many ways, he suffered and wanted lasting
happiness just like every other human being.
Unlike you and me, the Buddha did not bounce back and forth between
the extremes of indulgence (overeating) and deprivation (restricted
eating). He realized that either extreme was a painful and
unproductive path. Yes, he did have some glorious moments, but they
didn't completely dispel his desire for lasting peace and security.
You've probably had your share of blissful moments too (great food,
great sex, vacations, etc.). But when it's over, it's over, and you
find that the same old empty feeling is still there.
Instead of looking anywhere else, the Buddha decided to follow the
"Middle Way," to stay focused in the present moment instead of
looking for extreme solutions outside himself. He turned his
attention inward and mindfully examined what was going on in his own
body and mind.
The Buddha sat down under a bodhi tree. He resolved not to get UP
until he found freedom from the hunger that seeks satisfaction where
it cannot be found. During the night "armies" of desire, lust,
pleasure, pain, aggression, fear, temptation, frustration, hatred
and doubt tried to divert him, but he was unmoved. The longer he
sat, the stronger and more demanding these forces became.
Imagine sitting under a tree tantalized by your favorite sights,
tastes, smells and sounds, and then viciously attacked by what you
most hate and find unspeakably repulsive. Imagine sitting there hour
after hour, having resolved not to get up until you are absolutely
certain you have discovered the key to happiness. That's exactly
what the Buddha did on the evening of his enlightenment.
From the outside, the Buddha's response to these forces was
unremarkable. He just sat there. But what he did on the inside was
extraordinary. He focused his attention on what was going on, but he
did not react to it. Sometimes the forces of desire became so strong
that the Buddha had to touch the ground, as his witness and support.
No matter what appeared - from the most heavenly to the most demonic
- he just sat there quietly and observed. He neither grasped at the
delights nor rejected the repulsive. He watched them follow their
natural cycle of arising and passing away without interfering with
them. What he realized was as simple as it was profound. When he
didn't grasp at pleasure or push away pain, he saw that his
assailants were powerless. And so these forces were defeated.
By looking deeply within himself, the Buddha freed his mind from the
tyranny of desire. This same freedom is available to you when you
look within. What the Buddha saw and learned on that night is just
as available to you and me as it was to him. He found the
nourishment he was looking for, but it took both effort and honesty.
There were many things he had to face and learn about before he
reached enlightenment and found freedom from suffering.
He realized the lifetimes of misery that had been created because of
a basic misperception: that pleasure can last and pain can be
avoided. We hurt ourselves and others over and over again by
grasping at experiences that change, such as our bodies and our
relationships. Some suffering is inevitable because loss and change
are built in to every life, but a lot of suffering is optional. It
is created by our resistance to the present moment and the fact that
whatever it is, it is destined to change, whether we like or not. In
fact, there's nothing to like or dislike. When you look closely at
each moment, you find that opposites like pleasure and pain, and
even weight gain and weight loss have both advantages and drawbacks.
When you lose weight, you may feel happy for a while, but then worry
sets in. You think "What if I can't keep the weight off?" or "What
if I regain it all back, or even more?" And if you gain weight, you
may be upset for awhile, but then a feeling of optimism may pop up.
You think "Maybe I can lose weight and feel better about myself."
Weight gain and weight loss both contain elements of happiness and
unhappiness, so there's no point in clinging to one and rejecting
the other. They are contained within each other. When you do realize
this truth based on your own experience, you can receive nourishment
from any moment, regardless of its content.
The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path teach you how to make
peace with the challenges and changes that are always present. They
explain how to let go of the infatuation with pleasure and the fear
of pain so you can enjoy food, your body and your life situation,
whatever that may be now, knowing that it will eventually change.
When you apply these instructions and suggestions mindfully, you
learn to accept the truth of each moment graciously, without
struggle. That's how you find nourishment in the places where it can
be found. This is your challenge and practice, pure and simple.
Indulgence, Restriction and the Middle Way
The Buddha compared the Middle Way that you learn from applying the
Four Noble Truths to a log floating down a river. On one bank is
indulgence, and on the other is deprivation. As the log flows down
the river, it passes both extremes. If it gets stuck on either
extreme, the log sinks or rots. But when the log follows the Middle
Path, it floats down the river and reaches the ocean of freedom.
Most people struggling with eating issues are stuck on the bank of
either indulgence or restriction. On the bank of indulgence, 58
million people in this country are defined as "obese," and that
number is growing. One in three Americans weighs 20% more than his
or her ideal body weight. On the bank of restriction, 60 million
people are trying to lose weight. Although there are plenty of "get
thin quick" solutions, statistics show that people are gaining more
weight and losing less.
Both extremes involve a lot of suffering. Overweight people are at
an increased risk for diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke,
gout and some forms of cancer. Those stuck on the bank of
deprivation to the point of anorexia or bulimia risk disturbing
their digestive and elimination systems, and even the possibility of
death by starvation. There is tremendous emotional suffering taking
place at both extremes. People feel like worthless failures, unable
to overcome their struggle with managing their appetites or
relentless feelings of deprivation. Keep in mind, the Buddha never
said "The end of suffering is easy." He did say, "The end of
suffering is possible."
Disorder of Desire
Like you, I've spent many years trying to free myself from the
extremes of deprivation and indulgence. My obsessions with both
overeating and under eating helped distract me from feeling painful
emotional wounds. I could have spent the rest of my life examining
the relationship between my eating habits and my childhood - there
was certainly enough to look at. But the past didn't necessarily
bear any relationship to what I was eating in the present. When it
came to wanting a cheese omelette with french fries,
self-examination didn't help much. Like Oscar Wilde, I could "resist
anything but temptation." I managed to stay at a reasonable weight,
but the struggle was so unpleasant it hardly seemed worth it.
My preoccupation with food eventually became a career. For nine
years I helped develop the psychological aspects of the Weight
Watchers food plan. My job was to develop techniques and strategies
to help overweight people learn self-awareness and self-acceptance
as they lost weight.
I scoured the scientific literature searching for clues to the
mystery of obesity and why so many proposed solutions have eluded so
many intelligent people. Scientists can learn how to duplicate life
through cloning; politicians have helped end decades of racial
persecution in South Africa. Religious leaders have begun a peace
process in the Middle East; astronomers have found signs of life on
Mars. Why can't anyone figure out how to help people maintain a
healthy weight?
I also spoke with many amazing people, ones who had overcome
life-threatening illnesses and unspeakable tragedies while going to
school, managing careers, raising children, and running households.
Yet when it came to their weight, they were powerless. What accounts
for this disparity? Why were they able to endure tremendous
sacrifices in their lives but not able to pass up a candy bar? How
could they could give up bread at Passover, alcohol at Lent, or fast
all day during Ramadan, but be unable to resist fattening foods?
The Four Noble Truths help us see the answers to these questions:
overeating is a disorder of desire. Eating problems are the result
of not understanding the futility of attachment to desire in a world
that is constantly changing. Freedom from eating problems comes from
changing your relationship to desire and learning how to make peace
with whatever is present. This requires a willingness to explore
alternative forms of nourishment that are capable of offering the
inner satisfaction that's eluded you for so long.
The Soup Kitchen
One key aspect of the Eightfold Path (Right Action) stresses the
importance of generosity. The Buddha said, "If you knew what I do
about the power of giving, you wouldn't let a single meal go by
without taking the opportunity to give."
So between business trips and helping patients struggle with the
burden of abundance, I discovered how emotionally nourishing it was
to offer time and resources to a local soup kitchen. At this church
meeting hall free food was provided for between 150 and 200 people.
Among them were families who ran out of food stamps and single
parents with small children. They gathered for a free hot meal,
possibly their only one of the day.
At the soup kitchen food is a source of delight, not a source of
misery. People rarely complain. There are no menus so there are no
choices. It's "take it or leave it." No one turns down food because
it is "too fattening" or sends it back to the kitchen because it
wasn't prepared the "right" way.
Everyone at the soup kitchen receives the same simple meal. Most
consist of canned pork and beans or spaghetti and meatballs.
Processed turkey loaf with instant mashed potatoes is a special
treat. There's a special feeling of community among those who give
and those who receive. For a few moments in the day, people who are
normally perceived as outcasts experience a sense of dignity and
worthiness that comes from being well fed and treated with kindness.
At the same time, people who have the luxury of abundance have the
opportunity to help others, and share their resources in ways that
bring substantial nourishment to both groups.
Dieters Feed the Hungry
I often left the soup kitchen feeling full and exhilarated. My
enthusiasm about the nourishment that comes from helping others led
me to start an organization called Dieters Feed the Hungry. The idea
was to encourage people struggling with eating problems to expand
the ways in which they nourish themselves by practicing generosity
and feeding hungry people. I put a small ad in the local newspaper
and the program took off. I matched volunteers, their skills and
interests to various soup kitchens and food give away programs. Some
people made casseroles for a battered women's shelters, some people
donated eggs to a breakfast program for homeless men, and others
served food or washed dishes in local soup kitchens.
Just as the organization was taking off and gaining momentum, a
firestorm ripped through the Oakland, California hills, and burned
down nearly 3,000 houses including my house and office. Everything
was destroyed: the Dieters Feed the Hungry mailing list, volunteer
and resource lists, our correspondence, and plans for new projects
were burnt to ashes (in addition to everything I owned, except for
the shirt on my back).
Although Dieters Feed the Hungry is no longer operating, many
volunteers have continued to donate their time and resources to the
soup kitchens and food give away programs they made a commitment to
many years ago. They continue to receive a kind of lasting
nourishment from giving to others that they can't find in anything
they eat.
It's my hope the insights and changes that come from applying the
Four Noble Truth and practicing generosity help transform your
emotional hunger into lasting nourishment. I also hope that you will
share your physical and emotional resources with hungry people so
everyone gets fed and feels nourished, on every level.
The "desire crisis" that hurts millions of people and helps almost
no one can be transformed. But you're the only one who can make this
work.
Ways to Become Mindful of Right Aspiration:
t. What food symbols and traditions are important to you? How can
you integrate them in how you cook, shop and eat so that you feel
more connected to and inspired by these experiences?
2. Learn more about the culture, history and origins of food and
food traditions.
* What is halva and where does it come from?
* Do watermelons really come in yellow and white as well as pink and
seedless?
* Where and when was broccoli first grown?
* What food customs do religious Greeks or Norwegians follow?
* What is the history of rhubarb?
3. Make a commitment to saying grace and/or dedicating merit at
every meal, for one month. Notice what impact this practice has on
your relationship toward food and its meaning in your life.
4. Volunteer in a local soup kitchen or food give-away program. Feed
the hungry programs usually operate both throughout the week and on
weekends, so finding the right fit with your schedule may be easier
than you think.
Adapted from the book, The Zen of Eating: Ancient Answers to Modern
Weight Problems, published in March 1998 by Perigree Books, a
division of Pengiun Putnam Inc. Ronna Kabatznick, Ph.D., is a
psychologist and author living in Berkeley, CA.