Vishwa Rathna Dr B.R.Ambedkar thundered “Main Bharat Baudhmay karunga.” (I will make Prabuddha Bharat Buddhist)
Now All Aboriginal Awakened Societies Thunder ” Hum Vishwa Prabuddhamay karunge.” (We will make world Prabuddha Prapanch)
People have started returning back to their original home Buddhism.
Folk Buddhism
We are all physicists, at least at a naïve level, insofar as we must deal with the
world of mass and motion, light and liquids, gravity and gyrations. Try asking
some folk physicists things like: What keeps the moon and airplanes up but us
down? Why is the back of the refrigerator so warm? How can radio waves
carry sounds and pictures? What makes water freeze? … and you may receive
in return an astonishingly imaginative array of folk understandings that trail
off into total misunderstandings, superstition and “old wives’ tales,” alongside
some rather sound guesses. Music, philosophy, art and engineering are other
areas in which expert or adept knowledge or skill exists side by side with naïve
or folk understandings. Buddhism, because of its utmost sophistication, is no
different, never has been since the earliest days, and never will be.
Folk Buddhism is a wilder, less domesticated and more popular understanding
of Buddhism than Adapt Buddhism, an understanding, or rather range of
understandings, that manifests in a particular social, cultural or regional
context. It is the attempt to harmonize the radical message of Adept Buddhism
with the conventionality of the prevailing folk culture. Malleability is therefore
a prominent property of Folk Buddhism. Folk Buddhism includes many
elements found also in Adept Buddhism but also a hefty admixture of folk
beliefs, highly devotional practices, elements of non-Buddhist religious,
ethical and philosophical traditions, many colorful elements from myth or
popular entertainment, and many false understandings of Buddhist teachings to
boot.
It should be understood that, far from being a perverse anomaly, Folk
Buddhism plays a necessary role in the Sasana. First, it overlaps with Adept
Buddhism. Its defining characteristic is not spuriousness, but its relative
popularity among the general Buddhist population. Non-Path Sasana elements
are particularly common to adepts and folks alike. Certain Path elements may
also be; witness the relative popularity of meditation practice in both Burmese
and Western Buddhism. Second, Folk Buddhism holds Adept Buddhism in
high regard and is drawn to approximate it. Folk Buddhists are generally
aware in outline of the Path as something they might someday pursue. Third, it
is Folk Buddhism that makes Buddhism comprehensible for most Buddhists
and virtually all non-Buddhists. Particularly as Buddhism enters a new culture,
it is Folk Buddhism that softens the clash of cultures and mediates the give and
take that can bring these into harmony. It is the oil between piston and
cylinder, the wheel between axle and road. We see that Folk Buddhism is a
necessary part of a healthy Buddha-Sasana.
If Adept Buddhism is resilient and Folk Buddhism is malleable, what holds
Buddhism together? Folk Buddhism is tethered to Adept Buddhism by Refuge.
As Buddhists who have taken Refuge in the Triple Gem, those in the tail know
in which direction the head is found and are open to the strengthening and
shaping influence of Adept Buddhism. For this reason, Folk Buddhism is not
Buddhism in decay, eaten at by the prevailing folk culture. Rather it is
something suspended between countervailing forces, the domestication of
Adept Buddhism and the wilds of the folk culture, and in the eternal process of
reconciling itself with both. Refuge, veneration for Buddha and Dharma, and
for the Sangha that represents them, keeps Folk Buddhism firmly under the
influence of Adept Buddhism and lends authority to the word of the adepts.
Ideally Folk Buddhism is strongly conditioned by admirable friendship
(kalyanamitta), sustained through close and frequent association with the
example of the Noble Ones.
Folk Buddhism differs from Adept Buddhism but it is drawn into rough
consistency with it. As fads and fashions come and go, this relationship
ensures that trends that run counter to Buddhist values are noted, admonished
or nipped in the bud. A healthy Folk Buddhism is one that is relatively
consistent with Adept Buddhism in the values and practices it promotes, but
generally represents much simpler understanding, often bordering on
misunderstanding, and practice, rarely bordering on malpractice, with many
admixtures and ofttimes distortions that originate in the embedding folk
culture.
This is much like the popular relationship of general folks to science. For
instance, if I don’t have much of an understanding of how the weather works, I
might have some odd notions about it and even share these with other people.
If someone argues with me, we generally have a way to resolve the
disagreement: look it up or ask an expert. If I habitually refuse to be corrected
by the experts in such matters, my understanding will likely degrade, as it
loses its mooring in science altogether and floats off into supposition and
superstition. It is more normal in our society to defer to scientists as authorities
and thereby at least open ourselves to an improved understanding of science.
Similarly, the Folk Buddhist will defer to adepts lest he float off in a wildly
devotional cultic bubble. In short, the adepts occupy the soapbox.
Here is Folk Buddhism, contrasted with Adept Buddhism:
Adept Buddhism
Adherents 2 Sanghas, specialists,
“adepts”
Basis Vinaya + Path
Quality Authentic, resilient
Content Orthodox, limited folk
adaptations
Folk Buddhism
General Buddhist community,
“folks”
Refuges
Consistent, malleable
Fusion of Buddhist & folk-
cultural elements
It is inevitable in Folk Buddhism that, alongside some proper understandings
of authentic teachings, there will also be naïve misunderstandings, for
instance, that there is a soul or a fixed self that acquires merit through good
deeds, and that Nirvana is a particularly felicitous realm where that self can be
reborn to dwell forever. It is likewise common in Folk Buddhism to seek
protection from outrageous fortune in amulets or in special chants or in the
simple presence of monks or nuns. Folk Buddhism is highly conditioned by
the embedding culture, as well as by universal human needs. Many Asian
cultures have had strong animist and shamanic influences since before the
advent of Buddhism, and these have since become blended with Buddhism in
the popular mind. In East Asia, for instance, ancestor worship is very much
integrated into Folk Buddhism with its many traditional expressions, such as
the symbolic burning of money. Folk Buddhism serves as a middle way
between Adept Buddhism and the general embedding folk culture, and is an
enduring part of a healthy Sasana.
When you’re on a student budget, nothing will make your day
more than scoring free food. It’s not the easiest thing to come by, but
we’ve got tips!
You might think getting your hands on free food is verging on the
impossible (and maybe even the criminal), but this is where you’re
wrong, friends!
There are actually a whole host of legit ways you can score free food, all of which keep well within the law.
The trick is simply just to know where to look for your free grub, so we’re here to tell you where to focus your hungry eyes, plus a few tricks on how to get maximum results.
These are the best ways to get free food and drink:
Supermarket cashback apps don’t always
guarantee free food – but at any given time there’s usually a couple of
freebies across each of the apps. And even when you’re only getting a
discount, the savings can be substantial.
All you need to do is download the apps, view the offers and check
the eligibility criteria (like which supermarkets are taking part).
Then, once you’ve bought the product, simply scan the receipt (and
sometimes the product’s barcode) and voilà – you’ve got your cashback!
As we said, not every offer will get you 100% cashback on your food but the savings are usually at least around the 50% mark. However, if you use Shopmium to its full effect, you could get referral credits that’ll cover the rest of the cost too.
Check out our guide to the best supermarket cashback apps for more details on how to get free food in your weekly shop.
Fancy getting free food from your favourite restaurants? Well, look no further than mystery dining.
All you need to do is sign up to an agency, wait for them to give you
an assignment at a local restaurant or food chain and then write a
report on your experience.
These agencies are paid by the owners of the establishment to ensure
certain standards are being met and, in turn, the agency ‘pays’ you for
doing all the hard work.
The reason we say “pay” with a pinch of salt (pun intended) is that agencies will only cover your grub and you won’t be paid in cash for your efforts.
But if you’re just in it for a free meal, what’s the harm? Find out what you need to do to sign up here.
Loads of restaurants and fast food joints offer something free when
you download their app or sign up to their newsletter, including the
likes of Be at One, GBK and KFC (and it’s worth noting that there are tonnes of other ways to get cheap and free KFC too).
Other chains are a little more sporadic in their offerings. Take Subway, for instance, who regularly give Subcard holders free sandwiches, cookies and other treats for all kinds of reasons (including, unsurprisingly, National Sandwich Day).
McDonald’s are pretty generous with their app,
too. They’ve previously given away Cheese Dippers, fries, McMuffins and
to app users, as well as massive discounts on other menu items. Check
out our guide to getting free McDonald’s for more tips like this.
The lesson here is: if you like eating somewhere, see if you can get involved with their newsletter or app (using an alias email
to avoid the spam). Even if there aren’t any freebies right now, you
never know when they might decide to treat you with some free food…
If you’re looking to get free food online, then look no further than our deals section – we’re always featuring offers for free meals just for signing up to cashback sites like Quidco and TopCashback.
When we say that we’re “always featuring” these offers, we’re barely
exaggerating, either. Most weeks there’s an opportunity for new customers to register for a free account and be rewarded with a reasonably large spend at a takeaway company.
Typically it’ll be something like £15 off at Domino’s or Just Eat, which can often be enough to cover the whole order! Free food delivered right to your door. The dream.
Check to see if you have any food waste supermarkets in your area (yes, they really do exist!).
Essentially, food waste supermarkets have a deal with major
supermarkets and restaurants meaning that any food that isn’t up to
their lofty standards – but is still perfectly edible – is donated to their warehouses.
This stops crazy amounts of food being wasted, and the products they have are amazing!
The Real Junk Food Project have warehouses and cafes popping up all over the UK, all of which operate on a ‘pay as you feel’ policy. This means you can either pay by donation or offer some hours of your time volunteering
in the warehouse in return for your purchases. So, as long as you don’t
mind a bit of hard graft, you could be in for a load of free food!
We’ve all been there. You drastically overestimate just how many
oranges you’ll eat in a week, and all of a sudden it hits you – they’re
gonna go off before you get a chance to eat them.
Fortunately, precisely because we’ve all been there, there’s now an app for you and everyone else to get rid of their excess food for free!
It’s called Olio,
and what’s on offer will vary based on what people in your area have
going, ranging from raw ingredients to leftovers from a cooked meal.
Sometimes they may ask for a small donation to charity as payment, but
more often than not there are freebies to be had!
And, in the spirit of Olio, it’s worth checking out Too Good To Go and Karma
(although this is mostly only available in London and the South East),
too. These apps let cafes and restaurants sell their excess stock at a
cut-price, and while you’re unlikely to get anything for free, you’ll
almost certainly bag yourself a bargain!
If eating for free isn’t quite enough for you, it turns out you can even get paid to go to the pub now, too.
Sign up as a pub tester
with Serve Legal and you’ll be asked to visit pubs and confirm that
they’re checking the IDs of any young people buying alcohol.
Due to the nature of the work, Serve Legal are primarily looking for
applicants aged 18 or 19 (as teenagers are more likely to look like
they need to have their IDs checked). But, if you fit the bill, you could be paid £5 – £50 per audit – free drink and hopefully a tasty profit to go along with it!
Loads of takeaway companies offer free food when you first sign up to their app.
For example, delivery services Deliveroo and Uber Eats
both offer money off your first order with them and, depending on how
generous they’re feeling, that can sometimes mean getting a meal for
free!
Getting a free coffee from Waitrose is one of the oldest money-saving tricks in the book.
Back in the day, it was completely free for all MyWaitrose
cardholders, but Waitrose eventually changed the rules and now you have
to make a purchase to get your complimentary tea or coffee.
Doing your weekly shop at Waitrose can get expensive, so we wouldn’t
recommend switching it up just to get a free hot drink. However, as
there’s no minimum spend to qualify for the offer, you can just buy the cheapest thing going (apparently if you put a very small mushroom on the scale, it’ll cost 1p) and still get your tea or coffee.
And it’s not just Waitrose shoppers who can get free hot drinks. Sign up for an IKEA Family card
and you’ll get unlimited free tea or filter coffee (unlike Waitrose,
the fancy coffees aren’t free here) in the in-store restaurant.
Customers of O2 and Vodafone won’t need us to tell them that their
network hooks them up with some seriously good offers through their Priority Moments and VeryMe
apps. Both are always giving their customers free coffees, free
chocolate and even free beer – but what if you’re not on either network?
Worry not, as we’ve got a guide on how to get O2 Priority Moments on any network. Just a heads up – you’ll need to make sure you unlock your phone first (if it isn’t unlocked already).
Once you’ve done that you’ll have access to loads of free food, as well as your fair share of non-edible freebies and offers too.
This one may only come in handy once a year, but you wouldn’t believe how many restaurants and cafes offer free food on customers’ birthdays.
Play it right and you can dine like royalty for breakfast, lunch and
dinner (and have some cheeky free snacks to keep for the next day)
without opening your wallet once. And, to clarify, it’s just not food –
there’s plenty of free alcohol on offer too!
Check out our ultimate guide to birthday freebies for more deets on where you can get your free food, plus how to get it.
Using paper coupons at the supermarket may seem a bit wartime, but this little trick still has a place in modern life.
Now and again we’ll feature a coupon for free food in our deals section
and, more often than not, you’ll either be able to print it off for
yourself at home or find it in a free newspaper, like Metro.
Then all you need to do is find a shop stocking the product (after
you’ve looked at the T&Cs to check if any chains aren’t
participating, of course) and present your coupon at the checkout.
We’ve used coupons to get all kinds of free food in the past,
including ice cream, ready meals and dog treats… ok, so the last one
isn’t really free food for you, but we’re sure your doggo will appreciate it!
Having a small garden gives you the opportunity to grow an array of different fruit and veg, and free seeds often pop up on our deals page.
Allotments are great for the committed, but these can be scarce in some areas and normally involve costs (although sharing an allotment with friends or flatmates can work out pretty economical).
If you don’t have either of these things, even just a simple window box can play host to all kinds of herbs and salad greens.
And, if you’re feeling super adventurous, you could even craft a
small potato patch from dustbin filled with compost. Did you know that
if you plant a single potato in there, multiple potatoes will grow from it? We’re full of fun facts today!
Think you’re up for the challenge? We’ve got a whole article on growing your own fruit and veg at uni!
The top chefs do it, so why can’t we? Foraging is something that can
be done year-round by picking and collecting foods that are in season.
You’d need to take a wild food course to know what you’re doing when
it comes to mushrooms/fungi, but others are easier to identify – and
this super cheap guide to finding free food in the wild is a great starting point.
Obviously, this one suits the countryside dwellers a
bit better and might not be a way to score free food if you live in a
city like London – especially as we don’t recommend breaking into any
poor sod’s allotments and nabbing all their precious veg…
Here are a few to get you started:
Highly abundant and available throughout the year, it’s usually easy
to find garlic as it gives off a strong aroma (of garlic, obviously).
The best time to harvest wild garlic is July–December, when the plant is
dormant.
If you’ve ever gone blackberry picking at some point in your life,
you’ll know that it grows just about anywhere! They can be made into
crumbles, pies, added to ice cream or made into jam. And the best thing
is you can freeze them until you decide exactly how you’d like ‘em!
Live by the seaside? You can also go cockle picking – just check
Google to find out the best spots near you. Once they’re cooked and
thoroughly cleaned, they can be placed in a jar of vinegar to enjoy whenever you’d like.
Seaweed might not be at the top of everyone’s list, but the health
benefits that it offers are unparalleled. Boil it, steam it, make sushi
with it, or fry and add it to salads and soups.
If you’re looking for a part-time job at university, then why not look for one that involves getting your food paid for?
A lot of cafes and restaurants will give their staff free meals during their shift, and also food to go home with if there are leftovers (although it might not be the best idea to ask about this during your interview).
Becoming a delivery driver for a takeaway joint is also a great way to get freebies, as you’ll almost always get to take something home with you after your shift.
Restaurants, cafes and bars often give out samples when promoting
events. And, elsewhere, big brands will sometimes hire promo staff to
dish out samples of new products when launching.
The trick is to head for the busiest street corners you know of (train and tube stations are normally a good bet, too) and get your freebie-dar on.
Many brands also offer freebies online and will even cover postage costs. Our deals section and freebies page invariably list great free grub, and signing up to our deals roundup, Facebook page and Telegram group will serve up some edible freebies for you every week!
Also remember that things like sugar and ketchup sachets (and even some premium condiments, like Nando’s Peri-Peri sauce
sachets) are free in a lot of places. That said, while there’s no harm
in taking a couple of extra packets when you’re paying for the main
item, don’t go overboard!
Not one for the faint-hearted, but signing up to an eating competition can be a great way to get some free food and loads of free kudos points.
Often (but not always) eating competitions will be held for free (or the winner won’t have to worry about parting with any cash), which is all the more motivation to eat up.
Similarly, look out for restaurants that have posters promoting
massive meals that they’ll give to you free-of-charge if you manage to eat the whole thing in one sitting.
If you’re yet to join a university society, this could be the push
you need. Societies regularly hold meet-ups for members and these tend
to involve free food and even free booze!
Freshers’ week is probably the best time to join a society, and going to the freshers’ fair should be one of the first things you do when you start uni. As well as being the ideal place to sign up to multiple societies at once, a fair share of the stalls will be giving out free food as a way to draw people in!
As for the societies themselves, not only are they are a great way to network and boost your CV, but you’ll also fill your belly free of charge. Just don’t get caught shoving the buffet sandwiches into your bag.
This also applies to film screenings at your SU and art exhibition
openings. Stock up on free food and have a side order of culture – what
could be better?
If you know of a new supermarket opening in your area (or any other
food shop for that matter), make sure you’re there for opening day.
You can pretty much guarantee there will always be free samples a-plenty on offer, so make sure you show up with an appetite!
Restaurant launches are great for this kinda thing
too. While you may not get your whole meal for free (note: you still
could do!), new restaurants will almost always offer a decent discount
on their opening night (or opening week).
And if you’re keen to milk these events for all they’re worth, but
scared of getting caught (although, let’s be honest, who cares? Free
food is free food), stick on your best disguise and do the rounds again!
Exhausted all of these hacks for getting free food? Head over to our bumper list of ways to save money on food and make sure you never pay full price for your meals.
Weekly deals, guides + free cheat sheet. Privacy policy
Weekly deals, guides + free cheat sheet. Privacy policy
Ask us a question or share your thoughts!
Next Article
Save the Student provides free, impartial advice to students on how to make their money go further.
PhD loans for doctoral students 2021
20 April 2021
How coronavirus impacts students and what to do in 2021
20 April 2021
How to make money selling your hair
20 April 2021
How to make money from elections
20 April 2021
Disclaimer: All content on this website is based on individual
experience and journalistic research. It does not constitute financial
advice. Save the Student and its authors are not liable for how tips are
used, nor for content and services on external websites. Common sense
should never be neglected!
We sometimes use affiliated links which may result in a payment
following a visitor taking action (such as a purchase or registration)
on an external website. This helps keep Save the Student free. The user
experience shouldn’t be any different, and our editorial decision making
is not affected by such links.
Privacy Policy - Sitemap - © 2021 Save the Student. All Rights Reserved. Climate Positive Website
illness”.
All other illness can be cured in time, but hunger is
incurable!