Many people know that the peoples who are frail need to eat less, frequent meals. 

Why eat small, frequent meals? Because if they eat too much at once, their bodies cannot digest it all. By eating just a little at a time, they prioritise digestion. They stop when they’re nearly full. That meal might not keep them full for very long; they’ll feel hungry again after a while. Then they eat a little more. They repeat this process.

When I explain it this way, perhaps only a few people realise that I am talking about them. Most people will feel it has nothing to do with them, because they do not consider themselves frail and do not feel they need to eat small, frequent meals.

In fact, the modern practice of eating three meals a day is a classic example of eating small, frequent meals. Many people probably believe that three meals a day is a safe eating habit; they cannot see a better way of eating.

If a person needs to eat three meals a day and feels unbearably hungry if they miss even one, this indicates that they have already begun to grow weak. Everyone has experienced this: when they were young, they could skip a meal without any problem. They could even go a whole day without eating. They wouldn’t feel hungry, and their physical strength and energy would remain unaffected. At that stage, they were relatively strong. This demonstrates that when a person requires three meals a day, they are already in a state of weakness.

A person of strength and vitality can eat a large meal without feeling bloated. They can also go several days without eating without feeling hungry, whilst remaining full of energy. This does not mean they have such eating habits, but rather that they possess this capacity. Those with such capacity can be relatively free in their eating habits. They may choose to eat three meals a day, or they may choose not to eat at all, or they may eat a great deal. They are not bound by eating habits; they can transcend them.

Those who can only eat three meals a day are, by definition, constrained by their diet. As soon as they skip a meal or have no food, both their bodies and minds are plunged into distress.

Those who eat small, frequent meals are, relatively speaking, frail. How can one become stronger? How can one become more powerful? How can one achieve freedom in one’s diet? One can treat eating as a form of training. It is much like running. If one wishes to develop a strong running ability, one should begin with short, frequent runs. First, run 5,000 metres. Then rest thoroughly. Once properly rested, run again. Then rest again. Through such sustained training, perhaps one day, he may well be able to run a full marathon with ease.

Yet many fail to achieve this. Most have not learnt—neither how to run, nor how to eat; they have learnt nothing at all. This is because, after running, they do not rest properly. Without adequate rest, that strength will not return. For those who eat small, frequent meals, if their body’s vitality and energy are in a state of healthy circulation during the intervals between meals—and their strength is being restored—then their ability to digest food will increase. If a person, through dietary training based on eating small, frequent meals, continually increases their capacity to digest food, they may eventually be able to eat just one meal a day, or even one meal every few days. They may even be able to go without food for extended periods.

Throughout this process, they must take care of their mental strength. A person who is mentally peaceful, relaxed and at ease has very few needs; they need nothing at all. They need no food, no tasks to perform, and no work to do. They need not study, speak or exercise. It is only in this state that all their strength will return—the strength to eat, to sleep, to run and to work. The ultimate state is one in which, when vital essence is abundant, one has no thoughts of lust; when vital energy is abundant, one has no thoughts of food; and when spiritual energy is abundant, one has no thoughts of sleep.

Three meals a day is not the optimal dietary regimen. If you can look after your mental state, you may only need to eat once a day. The only exceptions are those engaged in extremely strenuous physical labour.