With a genuine keenness or readiness to serve others, one can attain happiness in any group or community, and the eagerness to serve others will endow you with the power and skill necessary for the required service. Nowadays, we tend to regard it as derogatory to serve, but there is great worth in service.
Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth, “You owe Me.” Look what happens with a love like that; it lights the Whole Sky.
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.
