My view is just my view, but is one that is sometimes criticized by Buddhists of a more literal or traditional bent ... who often tell me that my beliefs and comments will land me next life reborn as a wild fox, or perhaps in a Buddhist Hell.
According to Professor Foulk, the first
reference here is to "the
famous
story of a poor old woman who made an offering to Buddha of the water
that she had used to rinse rice and, as a result, was reborn as a deva
or human
for fifteen kalpas [long ages], gained a male body [typically necessary
for Budhahood in traditional Buddhism], and eventually became a buddha
herself" ... the second is about "
(I
mean, one may not need to take literally every belief of ancient
Buddhism ... such as that belief about women, still felt in some
corners of Buddhsm)
As for the [proper]
attitude in preparing food offerings and handling ingredients, do not debate
the fineness of things and do not debate their coarseness, but take as
essential the profound arousal of a true mind and a respectful mind.
Have you not seen that
a single bowl of starchy water, offered to Him of the Ten Names, naturally
resulted in wondrous merit that carried an old woman through future births; and
that half a crabapple fruit, given to a single monastery, enabled King Ashoka
finally to establish his vast good karmic roots, gain a prediction, and bring
about a great result? Although they create a karmic connection with the Buddha,
[donations that are] large and vacuous are not the same as [ones that are]
small and sincere. This is the practice of a [true] person.
From: Tenzo Kyokun - Instructions for the Cook by Eihei Dogen - Translated by Griffith Foulk
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