When a man honours his father and mother, God says, “I regard it as though I had dwelt among them and they had honoured me."
Rain down your wisdom in sacred streams to carry me like an upturned leaf through the currents of this grey day.
Fasting in the monastic community is considered an ascetic practice, a “dhutanga” practice. Dhutanga means “to shake up” or “invigoration”. The Buddha, as is well known, emphasized moderation, the Middle Way that avoids extremes, in all things. Fasting is an additional method that one can take up, with supervision, for a time.
To trust a stranger without investigation invites troubles so endless that even descendants must endure them. To rust a man who has not been tested and to suspect a man who has proven trustworthy lead alike to endless ills.
