“1) Consider the amount of work involved to bring the food to where it is eaten. Think it over. How much human labor was necessary to bring even a single grain of rice to the table? It first had to be planted, then tended, then harvested and stored. And so the ancients had a poem which reads:

The farmer hoes in the midday sun;
His sweat falls on the soil.
Who can guess how much toil it took
To bring the food to the bowl?

“2) Consider whether one’s own virtuous conduct is sufficient to enable one to accept the offering. Again, think it over. Have you cultivated any virtuous conduct? Count it up. How much do you have? Is it sufficient? Is it lacking? Are you entitled to receive this offering of food?

“3) Take as one’s guiding principle the guarding of the mind against transgressions such as greed. Take as your principle, as your doctrine, a mind free from greed, anger, delusion, pride, and doubt.

“4) Properly taken, the food is like medicine, to keep the body from wasting away. If you don’t eat, your body grows weak. Therefore, it is only to prevent weakness that you receive the food.

“5) This food is accepted only in order to accomplish the Way. Think to yourself, ‘I only take this food in order to cultivate and accomplish the karma of the Way.’” (SV 55-56)

食存五觀