responding healthily
So I firmly believe there is a tremendous difference separating hunger from craving. So I first want to start with an example using cell phones. Imagine your injured and you need some help from someone in order to continue living. But you can't get up, nor are you able to call for help with your voice because no one is nearby. How then, in this day and age, are you able to contact someone you know? A cell phone seems to be the primary device we use for communication amongst one another. Now that I've outlined that idea, lets say someone is on their cell phone, but they are just browsing the internet casually due to boredom. Isn't the two natures of use of 'that' cellphone absolutely different? In one example the usage is for desperate need, while, the other is for idle satisfaction.
Now back to the idea I first begun with, separating the two instances of hunger from that of greed oriented craving. Considering the nature of the bodies biological activation of the instinctual calling or notification of hunger, mentally list the reasons for this, then group them into categories relating to why it is that such a biological action occurred. In my mind, it seems that there are two potentially reasonable explanation for this. Firstly, ones body sent the notification to alert ones consciousness that ingesting food was important to prolong a healthy state of survival. The second option that comes to mind is that of a greedy habitual routine that one gets into to then provide their body with the pleasure provided by foods that provide such pleasure. Like the previous example, the body is in two different states of being. The first state is of a desperate plea and request for something incredibly important, while the second state is that which results from a greed infested state of mind. Two incredibly different manner of results develop from these two different states of mind in relation to food. The first is rather well understood, that being, a healthy and continued state of existence. The other is that of becoming obese and rather unhealthy if not terribly ill.
The activity of reconditioning your reaction to hunger is very important in maintaining ones health. Also, since this very much helps the physical body, it also includes very powerful psychological effects also. In developing and conditioning ones body how to respond to the notification of hunger, you give yourself an important insight into Buddhas second noble truth. The second noble truth is: the cause of suffering (clinging, craving, grasping, attachment, ect.). So in conditioning your bodies reaction in relation to food, one gains very clear and valuable insight to the cause of suffering. By conditioning your body to develop a reasonable and rational reaction to that of hunger, you gain all the benefits provided by eating the natural amount of food your body actually needs to maintain itself.
So by simply reconditioning your bodies conditioned response for hunger into one that lacks greedy and pleasurable content, you gain two wonderful qualities. The first being that of a more healthy and acceptable body, the second is that of a important mental memory to help be a guiding force for trying to journey through Buddhas Noble Eight-fold Path.
Cheers!
周培森