Chapter 7 diet

Then an old man, the owner of the inn, said, please tell us about food. He said: I certainly hope that you can live by the fragrance of the earth, as the plants in the air live by the sun. But since you have to kill for food, and snatch the mother's milk from the mouths of newborn babies to quench your thirst, let this be a form of worship. Raise on your desks an altar, and on this altar sacrifice the innocence of forest and plain to the innocence of man. When you slaughter an animal, you should say to it in your heart: "The power that now slaughters you will also slaughter me, and I too will be eaten.

"For the same law that sent you into my hands will also send me into stronger hands. "Your blood and mine are but sap that nourishes the tree of heaven." When you chew an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart: "Your seed shall live in me, "Your bud will open in my heart tomorrow, "Your fragrance melts into my breath, "You and I will live each season with joy." In autumn, when you gather grapes from your garden to make wine, say in your hearts: "I too am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be picked and brewed, "And I will be like new wine into the vessel of eternity."

In winter, when you drink fine wine, please sing a song for each glass of wine in your heart; Let the song recall the autumn, the vineyard, and the making of the wine.