Blessing the meal

Here is a simple prayer to say before eating. By taking a moment to reflect a bit on the nature of food production and the work required to make your meal possible, we can begin to see how we participate in a great complex web of inter-being.

This food is the gift of the whole universe;
The earth, the sky, and much hard work.

May we live in a way that makes us worthy to receive it.

May we transform our unskillful states of mind,
Especially our greed.

May we take only foods that nourish us and prevent illness.

We accept this food so that we may realize the path of practice.