Karl’s morning routing that included post-breakfast meditation caught my eye. It caught me so much I commented, Karl e-mailed and we began a discussion on the topic. It was slightly odd, but very rewarding for me. Our discussions led me to see the ‘theory only’ advice/teachings I was offering to Karl, valid as they are, were without direct experience or understanding from me.
Below is a condensed reply of our conversation, hopefully illuminating our key points and the flow things took. After that contains a small section on the lessons learnt. I hope, and believe this post illustrates the theory vs the actual present moment.
Conversation
Me: Biologically, energy is required to break down food, which removes the mental focus from meditation.
Karl: I sometimes like to use the breakfast as a way to channel my energy in a different direction.
Me: I pose openly put(ting) yourself at a disadvantage in your practice does not seem like a skillful application of the teaching.
Karl: Sometimes I meditate during my lunch break or after dinner because it’s better to meditate on a full stomach then not at all.
Me: Have you tried change the order of eat/sit with sit/eat for the lunch time sits? It’s the same amount of time in total, just a different order? In every method there are pitfalls, and there’s also no right answer. Our practice is a personal practice, and if it works for you, it works for you. Seeing other people’s approaches and perspective even makes me smile. It shows me the flexibility and the lack of strict routine in this. I like seeing a frame work that each and everyone can apply in a way that works for them. It demonstrates lay practice is possible, and this is not just something for monks.
Karl: I’m going to try meditating before I eat for the next several days and let you know what I think. I meditated first thing when I got up this morning. I had a hard time concentrating because I was still groggy, but it was easier to focus after a few minutes than after I eat.
Me: I’ve actually been meditating a few days after meals to see the difference from my side. “Live by experience” 
The Lesson learnt?
The evolution of our discussion from theory to application, for me, is a great lesson about finding your own path and practice. Self experience, self examination are the core philosophies of Buddhism, not living in the text books, but living in the actual.
I also learnt that, personally, sitting after a meal is a hard sitting, but as Karl said, it is better than no sitting at all. Thanks Karl for this discussion and online version. I look forward to many more insightful discussions with you in the future.
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Having exploratory conversations like this one was a great privilege. It’s amazing how one conversation can steer my life into a direction that I needed to go, but couldn’t figure it out until you pointed out the way. I hope we can do it again.