Experiences with Fasting - Page 2

craig r · #11 11-25-2005, 05:17 PM

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try to keep yourself occupied and it won't be too horrible.

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This makes no sense to me. Like I said, I was brought up Jewish and have a fairly good understanding of it, but Yom Kippur is the day of repetance. Why would you not want to think about your suffering/hunger? That seems to defeat the purpose. And this could easily lead into the Buddhist fasting ideas and principles (actually not just for fasting with Buddhism). By avoiding the pain, you are not experiencing the moment. You are not in the here and now. Which, as Buddhist will discuss, is one of the worst things. By, living in the past and thinking about the future you are not conscious of what is going on around you. Since pain is unavoidable, you need to experience that as well; you need to be conscious of all suffering (of all beings). One buddhist monk (Zen) says that when you leave a house, do not slam the door. Not because slamming the door is in and of itself wrong, but because by slamming it, you are not paying attention. Your mind is somewhere else.

Also, I am not saying I believe all of this, I just understand it. So, I don't know why you would fast if you weren't trying to be conscious of the pain. Which is what I think you are suppossed to be doing on Yom Kippur.

craig.

p.s.Jews make up about 2% of the population of the U.S., but a large majority of American born Buddhists/converts are Jewish. I guess because Judaism is more conducive to Buddhism, since 1) they are both eastern religions at heart 2) very focused on the hear and now 3) as general rules compassion for all beings is held at a very high regard (I am not saying all Jews are compassionate, good people, etc..but I am not saying bad about any Jews becasue I don't want to be kicked out of the Zionist Occupied Government (ZOG). I am just about to be made a producer of some TV show. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

gamblore99 · #12 11-25-2005, 05:40 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
try to keep yourself occupied and it won't be too horrible.

[/ QUOTE ]

This makes no sense to me. Like I said, I was brought up Jewish and have a fairly good understanding of it, but Yom Kippur is the day of repetance. Why would you not want to think about your suffering/hunger? That seems to defeat the purpose.

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The purpose of Yom Kippuer is to cleanse the body in an effort to be more pure, and closer to god. Not to endulge in pain. At least that is what the majority of the orthodox jews say.

My personal experience for fasting on Yom Kippur is that it sucks. I hate it. And from pictures of you Bruiser, you need to be eating more, not less. And also going to the gym wouldn't hurt.

Voltron87 · #13 11-25-2005, 05:46 PM

does anyone here have a scientific reason for saying "oh dude it will totally cleanse you body of the negative energy you built up while working for the man"? im not saying its not true, the people saying it just sound half baked.

gamblore99 · #14 11-25-2005, 05:49 PM

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I was raised Jewish (not practicing anymore) and would fast for Yom Kippur, but I was like 8, and hated it

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I don't mean to nit pick, but children aren't supposed to fast on yom kippur. Being 8 and fasting would be horrible. That sounds like child abuse.

craig r · #15 11-25-2005, 05:50 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
try to keep yourself occupied and it won't be too horrible.

[/ QUOTE ]

This makes no sense to me. Like I said, I was brought up Jewish and have a fairly good understanding of it, but Yom Kippur is the day of repetance. Why would you not want to think about your suffering/hunger? That seems to defeat the purpose.

[/ QUOTE ]

The purpose of Yom Kippuer is to cleanse the body in an effort to be more pure, and closer to god. Not to endulge in pain. At least that is what the majority of the orthodox jews say.

My personal experience for fasting on Yom Kippur is that it sucks. I hate it. And from pictures of you Bruiser, you need to be eating more, not less. And also going to the gym wouldn't hurt.

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I was not raised Orthodox, but reformed. I can't imagine we were more strict. But, since it is the "Day of Atonement" aren't we suppossed to suffer a bit, not because suffering is good, but because this suffering makes us conscious of our "sins" (I use "our" loosely)? And I don't understand why you do it if you hate it. I would think being closer to God would be a good thing. And you don't have to answer here, that is your own personal thing (but if you wnat to PM me that is cool). But, I know when I fast, I love it. And not just for the health reasons (also, like i said, sometimes I have to eat an orange or two, because of anxiety).

You are right that we are suppossed to be close to God on Yom Kippur (like every other day; once again I use "we" loosely, because I don't know my thoughts on this), but even more importantly we are suppossed to ask for forgiveness from those we may have harmed in anyway and forgive all debts (once again, more similar to Buddhism). Hmmmm..that makes me wonderif the owner of my Visa Card is Jewish. Won't he have to drop that debt?

craig

calmasahinducow · #16 11-25-2005, 06:13 PM

I wrestled in high school and fasted pretty much from every day from Monday to Friday night during season and also didn't drink Thursday or Friday. Fasting slows the metabolism down to a crawl. I pretty much hated my life because I couldn't eat and could barely drink because I had to lose 15 lbs. a week. In one case, I lost 18 lbs. in a day but this was mostly due to diarhettics, plastic suits, and a sauna. There's probably some permanent damage done to my digestive system or other internal organs because of what I did; I don't think it was worth it looking back on it. There's nothing enlightening or cleansing about it. It just sucks. If anyone has any other questions, I'll answer them.

Senor Cardgage · #17 11-25-2005, 06:29 PM

Change that "a" to an "i" and these posts take on a horrifyingly different tone.

That's what I honestly thought the thread was about on a moment's glance. However, I've never fasted, so that pretty much ends my usefulness here.

sfer · #18 11-25-2005, 06:53 PM

A friend of mine does this about once a year. The fasts vary from a couple of days to ten days, and she drinks this weird maple syrup/water/cayenne mixture during it.

It's funny because she does it for the body cleaning reasons but she's very likely an alcoholic.

tolbiny · #19 11-25-2005, 06:57 PM

High school wrestling.

MMMMMM · #20 11-25-2005, 08:37 PM

Just to clarify, fasting is not a Buddhist practice, and various Zen masters have specifically advised against it. Also, Buddha Sakyamuni himself rejected fasting and asceticism after trying them both thoroughly (as well as rejecting a life of luxury and indulgence, passing on both in favor of following "the Middle Way").

A brief "cleansing diet" of 2-3 days can be a good thing (you can look up details of "cleansing diet" on the web), as far as removing toxins from the system and accumulated garbages from the bowels, but fasting itself is actually physically harmful.

And yes, I've fasted a few times, but that was before I learned that the same benefits can be obtained through a cleansing diet, without the associated harms; and before I read the words of a Zen master I hold in great respect.