Five Tonics & Conjey
Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:55 am
I've been practicing the eight precepts recently and what constitutes the five tonics came up... I was having dark chocolate with no milk in it, but was reading through the relevant section in the Vinaya and was struck by this:
"According to Mv.VI.16.1, even if the sugar has a little flour mixed in with it simply to make it firmer — as sometimes happens in sugar cubes and blocks of palm sugar — it is still classed as a tonic as long as it is still regarded simply as "sugar." If the mixture is regarded as something else — candy, for instance — it counts as a food and may not be eaten after noon of the day on which it is received."
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... .html#NP23" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Doesn't this mean all chocolate is out? It also doesn't seem to be open to interpretation.
On a somewhat separate note, I know conjey is praised in the Vinaya (http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?tit ... _of_conjey" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and even in those days when monks only had one meal-a-day they used to have conjey in the mornings.. I was wondering if something similar (like oatmeal for example) is used in the West using the Great Standards.. This is obviously within the allowable time (sunrise to midday) - but I was interested since taking the Eight Precepts constitutes being a one-mealer (ekabatthika as the Arahants):
"'As long as they live, the arahants live on one meal a day, abstaining from food at night, refraining from food at the wrong time of day [from noon until dawn]. Today I too, for this day & night, live on one meal, abstaining from food at night, refraining from food at the wrong time of day. By means of this factor I emulate the arahants, and my Uposatha will be observed."
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"According to Mv.VI.16.1, even if the sugar has a little flour mixed in with it simply to make it firmer — as sometimes happens in sugar cubes and blocks of palm sugar — it is still classed as a tonic as long as it is still regarded simply as "sugar." If the mixture is regarded as something else — candy, for instance — it counts as a food and may not be eaten after noon of the day on which it is received."
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... .html#NP23" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Doesn't this mean all chocolate is out? It also doesn't seem to be open to interpretation.
On a somewhat separate note, I know conjey is praised in the Vinaya (http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?tit ... _of_conjey" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and even in those days when monks only had one meal-a-day they used to have conjey in the mornings.. I was wondering if something similar (like oatmeal for example) is used in the West using the Great Standards.. This is obviously within the allowable time (sunrise to midday) - but I was interested since taking the Eight Precepts constitutes being a one-mealer (ekabatthika as the Arahants):
"'As long as they live, the arahants live on one meal a day, abstaining from food at night, refraining from food at the wrong time of day [from noon until dawn]. Today I too, for this day & night, live on one meal, abstaining from food at night, refraining from food at the wrong time of day. By means of this factor I emulate the arahants, and my Uposatha will be observed."
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;