<Overeating>
Overeating
is worst than eating meat. Because our stomach and brain are linked directly to
each other, our brain is clear when our stomach is unclogged, and our brain
becomes cloudy when our stomach is clogged. Therefore a glutton is hopeless. In
order to free us from such a bad habit, the savior of mankind had to fast for
six weeks (forty days) to pay the price for mankind’s bad habits of overeating
and heavy drinking. An old proverb teaches, “If your child is lovely, do not
spare the rod. If your child is loathsome, feed him more.” It means that
children who eat too much, will fall to ruins. Those who overeat will never
understand the truth of heaven. Since their brains are clogged, they will
merely yawn in their seats without being able to understand a thing. Those who
desire to understand the truth should strictly avoid overeating. However, when
engaging physical labor, you should eat enough to work while avoiding
overeating at the same time.
Self-indulgence of
the appetite (overeating) does not strengthen the body, but rather weakens it
and causes feeble-mindedness, forgetfulness, amnesia , and loss of memory. It
also fatigues the tissues of the body. It calls an excess amount of blood to the
stomach, causing the extremes of the limbs – the hands and feet – to chill
quickly. If we tax our stomach with an excessive amount of food to digest, it
will become fatigue and we will feel hungry. Some mistakenly think that they
are hungry, as their stomach had digest everything. Many do not know that the
stomach is crying out, “Please let me rest. Please spare me!” and mistakenly
interpret the feeling to be a sign of malnutrition, a demand for more food.
Instead, of allowing the stomach to rest, they again burden the stomach with
more food. Repeating this will give rise to serious illnesses and ultimately
lead to death. A glutton (overeater) can never become a saint.
You can see how
terrible overeating is by looking at a puppy. When a puppy overeats, its front
legs warp. It cannot run properly and will live deformed for the rest of its
life. That is how harmful overeating is. It brings fatal consequences to our
body. Since our stomach and brain are linked together, we should never be so
foolish as to clog our brain by overeating. On the other hand, we should not
eat too little. People who farmed supposedly take five meals a day; that is
being intemperate. If your work involves physical labor, you should have no
problem digesting three full meals. Eating too eating too little will result in
lack of energy. Therefore, we should eat three full meals. Please be sure to
chew your food sufficiently.
<Snacking
between Meals>
We should never
snack between meals. Snacking between meals is like digging our grave with our
own hands. No matter how strong a man may be, he will soon collapse if he is
made to work day and night without sleeping. Likewise, if our stomach is not
given rest, it will soon become exhausted and break down.
Carefully observe
regulated dietary habits, making sure not to eat a single grain or morsel of
fruit between meals. Once food enters our stomach, it needs three to four
laborious hours to digest. Afterwards, the stomach needs thirty minutes to an
hour of rest in order to strengthen itself so that it can digest the next meal.
It is when the stomach has become exhausted and is about to rest after laboring
to digest large quantities of food that many snack on a piece of bread or
minced meat. For example, a rice mill has to run all its rice-polishing
machines whether it is polishing one bowl or one bushel of rice. In the same
way, even if it is just for a grain of rice or a piece of fruit, the stomach
must labor to digest it.
Those who overcome
their appetite can overcome the devil, the god of this world. On the other
hand, he will overcome those who cannot overcome their diet. Man fell because
he could not overcome appetite and as a result, the god of this world defeated
him.
Many eat snacks after breakfast, then after
lunch, again after dinner, and while watching television until midnight. The
food forces the stomach to continuously dispose of it until the stomach finally
cannot push out anymore. Then, it begins to decay, and when such a person
burps, he releases a putrid smell. Moreover, if the person continues to eat,
the stomach will suffer from prolapsed and later gastroptosis, the ultimate
cause of cancer. That is why we are digging our grave with our own hands when
we overeat and eat between meals.
Those who are
suffering from gastroptosis should fast for several days. Then, all the food
that has accumulated will exit the stomach, and the prolapsed stomach will be
restored to its original position. After fasting, they should remedy their
stomach by starting with rice porridge. Otherwise, their stomach will have to
be removed, eventually placing their life in danger. Therefore, breakfast
should be taken early, and a sufficient amount should be eaten deliciously.
Because our digestion is good in the morning, we should eat enough, but at the
same time not overeat. In addition, we should not eat anything except water or
juice until lunch time. Dinner should be taken early and consist of light,
simple foods that can be easily digested. Our stomach should be completely
empty when we sleep at night. Then, we will be able to sleep soundly and get up
the next morning filled with strength and vigor.
Those who eat
heavy dinner or eat late at night may snore while they sleep. This is because
their their stomach has to work all night long in order to digest the food, and
they cannot sleep soundly. Their fatigue is not relieved, and so when they get
up the next morning, they feel wearied and exhausted. They have no appetite and
lose all interest in work. However, those who sleep on an empty stomach after
having a light early supper of just fruits will be full of life and vigor the
following morning. They will feel refreshed and have a good appetite for
breakfast. Such people have happiness and victory guaranteed for them that day.