Special Topics

Practice on Monthly Fasting Days and Experience the Monastic Life

Six Fasting Days

 
The Sanskrit term for fasting, Upavasatha, means "to cultivate good karma and lead a life of purity" Ancient Indian legend maintains that, on fasting days, hundreds of ghosts gained power and took advantage of humans. Thus, during these days, people abstained from meat, upheld precepts, fasted, and performed good deeds to prevent ghosts from ushering disasters. In contemporary Buddhist traditions, fasting days are considered the days when Buddhists diligently practice by upholding precepts to cultivate merits.
 
In ancient society, dates and years were counted based on the phases of the moon. The days when a Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter, and Third Quarter occur are the 15th, 30th, 8th, and 23rd days of the month. These days, along with the 14th and 29th, came to be the six fasting days in each month.  
 
 

Fasting with The Eight Precepts

 
During his time, Shakyamuni Buddha allowed his disciples to practice fasting every half month, whereby the Bhiksus well-versed in precepts gave Dharma talks on precepts, and monastics reflected on themselves and repented in front of everyone if they had violated precepts. By doing so, monastics could keep precepts in purity. Lay people uphold the first eight of the Ten Precepts for novice monks at home for one day and one night. This is known as the "Eight Precepts."
 
The Essentials of Buddhist Sila and Vinaya by Master Sheng Yen states that the Eight Precepts include 1) No Killing; 2) No Stealing; 3) No Sexual Behaviors; 4) No Verbal Misconduct; 5) Abstaining from Alcohol; 6) Refraining from wearing ornate articles and perfume, singing, dancing, or purposefully going to shows; 7) Refraining from lying on grand, luxurious beds; 8) Refraining from eating when it is not the mealtime. The Eight Precepts are a combination of upholding precepts and fasting. Other than keeping pure precepts, one refrains from eating past noon, also known as fasting. 
 
Normally, the Eight Precepts are transmitted and given by acharyas. Everyone is allowed to receive and uphold the Eight Precepts regardless of whether they are upholding the Five Precepts or not. Upholding the Eight Precepts for one day and night is similar to living the monastics' purified life; lay practitioners can experience the monastic life and learn about monastic precepts, thereby planting good causes of renunciation.
 
Besides, the Eight Precepts are usually thought to be received on the Six Fasting Days. However, according to the Medicine Buddha Sutra, practitioners can uphold the precepts for 7 days and nights, 3 months, or even one year. Therefore, upholding the precepts is not limited exclusively to the Six Fasting Days.

 
Resource:
Issue 354 of Life Magazine, Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation
Text: Chiu Hui-Min (邱惠敏)
Translation: Hsiao Chen-An
Editing: Min Shi, Keith Brown

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