We accept this food so that we may become enlightened.
We are taught in Zen not to waste food, not to throw it away, not to let it spoil or go bad.
In the Dhammapada there is this verse from the Old Age section:
Those who while still young
neither choose a life of renunciation
nor earn a good living,
will end up bemoaning the past,
falling like spent arrows
that have missed their mark.
Verse 156
At the turning of the year, walk on in faith. Eat your life wholeheartedly and above all do not waste it.
