At the Mindfulness Project, we like to say mindful food blessings before each meal to remind ourselves how lucky we are, how interconnected we are, and what this nourishment and energy can go towards in co-creating a more loving, safe, green world. In the morning, we recite the following:
“With wise reflection, I eat this food.
Not for joy or pleasure,
Not for beautification or intoxication.
Just to maintain this body to live a spiritual life,
Dedicated to the people who need our help.
May we use the energy of this food to help the people who don’t have enough to eat right now,
Who don’t have access to shelter, medicine or clothes.
And may we also use the energy of this food to help the environment and animals.
May all living beings be full of loving kindness.
May all living beings be healthy and free of physical pain.
May all living beings be calm and relaxed and free of fear.
May all living beings be happy, content and really free!”
This blessing is adapted from the Buddhist teachings of loving kindness, the last four lines being what Buddhist monks repeat in their minds when they are doing loving kindness meditation. It is a reminder to be mindful that we are so blessed to have this food, and what we could possibly use the energy from this food for.
Before eating lunch, we recite these words:
“Thank you for this food.
Thank you to everybody who participated that this food can come to us.
Thank you you the earth, providing all the fruits, vegetables, and grains for us.
Thank you to all the farmers who worked so hard on the field to grow this food.
Thank you to all the people who brought it to the market, sold it there, and brought it here.
Thank you to all our lovely cooks and helpers who put so much love and energy into preparing this food.
May we use the energy of this food to help the people who don’t have enough to eat right now,
Who don’t have access to shelter, medicine or clothes.
And may we also use the energy of this food to help the environment and animals.
May all living beings be full of loving kindness.
May all living beings be healthy and free of physical pain.
May all living beings be calm and relaxed and free of fear.
May all living beings be happy, content and really free!”
In addition to the morning words, this blessing brings us to be more mindful of how amazing it is that the earth, the plants, the animals, and people involved with creating, bringing us, and preparing this food did so much hard work so we may be nourished. The gratitude that we feel in our hearts increases when we recite this blessing before eating, and makes us aware of how much we would like to give back the love we have received through this food.
Would you like to join us for a mindful meal?
The Mindfulness Project is a Buddhist charity in Northern Thailand where volunteers come to do deep inner and outer transformation through neuroscience, psychology, yoga, meditation, conscious relating, Buddhist teachings, local community service, permaculture, earth building and reforestation. We have a volunteer program and meditation retreat in Thailand and events in Europe. Book an experience with us now for volunteering or for a retreat or event!
May all living beings be healthy, calm, happy and free!
Let’s heal the world from the heart together.
