The Five Contemplations are recited before meals during special sangha gatherings such as a Day of Mindfulness or while on retreat. This practice helps to bring mindfulness to the source, journey and purpose of the food we're about to eat. It also helps to bring awareness to our attitudes and habits surrounding consumption.
The Five Contemplations
This food is the gift of the whole universe: the earth, the sky, numerous living beings, and much hard, loving work.
May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive it.
May we recognize and transform our unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed, and learn to eat with moderation.
May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that we reduce the suffering of living beings, preserve our planet, and reverse the process of global warming.
We accept this food so that we may nurture our sisterhood and brotherhood, strengthen our community, and nourish our ideal of serving all living beings.
- Source: The Mindfulness Bell