Each man is a microcosm of the universe. Your body is made of all the elements of the world. Nature supplied all the ingredients that make your body, which means that the universe made you by donating itself. You could accurately say that you are a small walking universe that can move, whereas the cosmic universe is stationary.
Fasting in the monastic community is considered an ascetic practice, a “dhutanga” practice. Dhutanga means “to shake up” or “invigoration”. The Buddha, as is well known, emphasized moderation, the Middle Way that avoids extremes, in all things. Fasting is an additional method that one can take up, with supervision, for a time.
The voting booth joint is a great leveller, the whole neighbourhood – rich, poor, old, young, decrepit and spunky – they all turn out in one day.
In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.
