Meditation for the First Three Bites

Friday afternoon, the box of chicken rice from the stall at the head of the street was still hot, steam beading under the lid. I opened it, and the first three bites were already in my mouth before I knew what I had picked up. This is a short guided meditation for exactly those three bites, read slowly in about five minutes. Three bites only. The rest of the meal, you eat as usual.

You can read it silently, read it aloud to yourself, or ask someone to read it to you. Wherever you see …, pause for a breath or two. While you eat, eyes open. Only in the first part, when your hands are not holding anything, a gentle closing of the eyes is fine. If the food is hot, blow on it lightly before it goes in. Please do not do this while driving or while standing at a stove cooking, and if someone is eating with you, you do not need them to follow along, let them eat in their own way.

It does not ask you to enjoy the food, feel grateful or feel calm. If you are following an eating plan from your doctor, keep following your doctor; this is not about what to eat, only about paying attention. And if eating makes you miserable, ashamed or afraid, or the feeling has lasted for weeks, please talk to a doctor or someone with professional training. Stopping here is also a way of looking after yourself.

Before you pick up the chopsticks

Put down whatever is in your hands. …
Phone, newspaper, dish towel.

Sit down, if you have not yet. …
Both feet on the floor.

Closing your eyes gently is fine, …
or look down at the table.
Only for now, while your hands hold nothing.

Breathe in … knowing you are breathing in.
Breathe out … knowing you are breathing out.

Right here, right now, …
there is no bite you need to finish.

One more breath. …
Let the out-breath run a little longer.

Now open your eyes. …
From here to the end, eyes open.

Look down at your meal. …
Which color is nearest?

Smell it once. …
Which scent arrives first?

If you are hungry, … know you are hungry.
If you are not very hungry, … know that too.

The first three bites

Pick up your chopsticks. …
Or a spoon, or your hand.

The first bite. …
Choose what you want to eat first.
Lift it, and look at it for a breath.

If it is hot, … blow on it first.

Bring it to your mouth. …
Do not chew yet. … Let it rest a moment.

Chew … at your own pace.
No need to be slow. … No need to be fast.

What taste is arriving? …
Salty, sweet, deep, sour. …
Does it change?

Swallow. … Put the chopsticks down.
One breath.

What taste is left in your mouth? …

The second bite. …
This time choose something different.
A different dish, or a different part of the same one.

Look. … Smell. …
Then bring it to your mouth.

While you chew, … your hands do nothing else.

If your mind wanders off, …
that is all right. …
Come back to the chewing.

Swallow. … Put the chopsticks down.
One breath.

The third bite. …
Choose what you like best. …
Or whatever is nearest, if you cannot choose.

Same way. …
Look. … Smell. … Bring it in. … Chew.

Is this one different from the last two? …
Or the same.

Both are fine. …
Just know what it is like.

Closing

The first three bites are done. …
Now keep eating as you normally would.

Fast or slow is fine. …
Talking while you eat is fine.

If you forget along the way, …
that is all right. …
Just remember the first three bites.

Thank you for giving three bites to this meal. …
Enjoy the rest of it.

After you finish reading

The first time I read this to myself, I picked up my phone at the second bite. At the third I came back, a little sheepish. The rice cooled a bit, and nothing else happened. That was all, and it was enough for me to try again next time.

If your first three bites are nothing special, that is a result too. Some days they are just three bites of rice. If you find it hard to sit still with a bite, try this instead: do only the very first bite, then eat as usual.

May you have a meal with three bites fully present.

This article was created with AI assistance.