What Do Buddhist Monks Have for Breakfast?

[Mack A. Damia]

What Do Buddhist Monks Have for Breakfast?

Monks are not allowed to hoard food. Nor are they allowed to cook. So,
in order to survive they have to go out in the morning to receive food
from Buddhist followers. When they come back, they sort through the
food. Some food they will eat straight away for breakfast. Other food
they will save for their last meal of the day at 11 am. The food that
is left over is not wasted. Some may be given to the nuns or children
who help out around the temple. Other food is given to poor people who
come to the temple at mid-day. Any left-over food is given to the
temple dogs and cats.

Some monks only eat once a day. Others eat twice a day. However, all
monks have to finish their last meal before mid-day. There are five
categories of food that can be presented to monks only in the morning.
These are: staples, desserts, preserved and dried food, fish and meat.
The following five nutriments can be presented to and eaten by the
monks at any time of day and night: honey, sugar and syrup, fat, ghee
and butter, and cheese.

There are ten kinds of meat that monks and novices are not allowed to
eat. They are: human flesh, elephant, yellow tiger, tiger, leopard,
bear, lion, snake, dog and horse.

There are quite a few rules regarding monks and food. For example,
they are not allowed to put food in their mouth that hasn’t been
offered to them first. If the food was offered to them yesterday, they
then cannot eat it today. If someone told a monk that he will come
with certain foods to offer the following day, then the monk cannot
eat it. There is also quite a long list of 30 rules regarding food
which monks must obey. It is worth taking note of these because
Buddhism is so much an important part of Thai culture.

A monk should train himself thus:-

1) I will receive binderbaht food attentively.
2) When receiving binderbaht food, I will look only into the bowl.
3) I will receive curries in the right proportion to the rice.
4) I will receive binderbaht food only until it reaches the rim of the
bowl.
5) I will eat binderbaht food attentively.
6) When eating binderbaht food, I will look only in the bowl.
7) I will not dig up the rice making it uneven.
8) I will eat curries in the right proportion to the rice.
9) I will not eat rice only working from the top down.
10) I will not cover up curries – or curry mixed with rice – because
of a desire to get a lot.
11) When I am not sick, I will not ask for curries or rice for the
purpose of eating them myself.
12) I will not look at another’s bowl with the idea of finding fault.
13) I will not make up a very large mouthful of food.
14) I will make food up into suitably round mouthfuls.
15) I will not open my mouth until the portion of food has been
brought to it.
16) When eating, I will not put my fingers into my mouth.
17) When food is still in my mouth, I will not speak.
18) I will not throw lumps of food into my mouth.
19) I will not eat by biting off mouthfuls of rice.
20) I will not eat stuffing out my cheeks.
21) I will not eat and shake my hand about at the same time.
22) I will not eat scattering grains of rice about so that they fall
back into the bowl or elsewhere.
23) I will not eat putting my tongue out.
24) I will not eat making a champing sound.
25) I will not eat (or drink) making a sucking sound.
26) I will not eat licking my hands.
27) I will not eat scraping the bowl.
28) I will not eat licking my lips.
29) I will not take hold of a vessel of water with my hand soiled with
food.
30) I will not throw out bowl washing water which has grains of rice
in it in a place where there are houses.

http://www.thaibuddhist.com/what-do-monks-eat-for-breakfast/