Chapter 1 - Introduction

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good and bad things. Loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity
are the kinds of food to purify our mind.
The above discussion, which obviously points out what the
importance of āhāra in human life is, has put forth the profound meaning
of food and the purpose of food consumption. However, for human
beings, the importance of food seem to be ignored and the food is not
evaluated by one's mind how to eat and what to eat rightly for the
growth of spirit or compassion. On the contrary, it is evaluated through
the useful guidelines, models, and formulas in which the instructions are
inclined to the aim of food consumption for sport, for indulgence, for
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16 personal charm, and for beautifying. These instructions constantly
stimulate greed, hatred, sexual pleasure of human beings; hence, they are
always subject to the food and face the sufferings. This is the reason why
Lord Buddha has taught: "This body has come into being through food, is
dependent on food; the food must be abandoned. According to the
Buddha, the abandonment of food is that of suffering.
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Having known the importance of āhāra in human life, Lord Buddha
taught about āhāra to his followers with the view of the Truth of life,
dukkha and dukkhanirodha or Nibbāna in which āhāra is regarded as the
cause of suffering:
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"Looking upon this pain that springs from the āhāras as misery,
Having seen the result of all āhāras, no resorting to all āhāras.
According to Buddha's concept, āhāra is categorized into four types
of āhāra viz, edible food
edible food
(kabaliṃkārāhāra,) sense impressions
(phassāhāra,) volition
(manosañcetanāhāra,)
and consciousness
(viññāṇāhāra) as recorded in many texts in Pañca Nikaya as well as in
16 S. 11, 98, sutta No. 63.
17 A. II, 144, Bhikkhunīsutta No. 9.
18 Sn., v. 748.