12.100 Harsh ascetic practice, it was clear, Was torturing his figure to no purpose, and so the sage, Wary of this cycle of becoming, Resolved, in his longing for buddhahood: 12.101, "This is not a way to detachment, Or to awakening, or to release; The state I realized at the foot of the rose apple tree: How I was then is surely the way to be. 12.102 And that mode of being, for one who is weak, Is unattainable." So, soberly, With a view to increasing his bodily strength, On this, more deeply still, he reflected: 12.103 "Clapped-out by hunger, thirst, and fatigue, A mind that, through fatigue, is not itself, Is reaching for the fruit that is for a mind to enjoy: But how, if the mind is uneasy, can it enjoy that fruit? 12.104 The joy of effortless ease is properly gained From constant appeasement of the senses; From senses that are well integrated and content, The mind recovers its health. 12.105 When the mind is well and serene, Physical balance asserts itself; And when balance is in the harness of intelligence, Zen practice gets going. 12.106 Teachings, through zen practice, Are realised; and by those means is gained The hard-won state of peace and agelessness -- That supreme, deathless state." 12.107 Food, therefore, is the foundation of this process, A means-whereby. Having decided so, He was steadfast in his taking of food -- He of unbounded mind had made up his mind.