Chapter 9 - An Affinity with Fruits

In my solitary days, my only outing is simply buying vegetables and fruit. I have to cook my own food as food is the staff of life. I may be enlightened but I still need to eat.

Recently I consume much fruits, especially bananas. Bananas are grown here in the French Polynesia and thus they are very inexpensive. When I first arrived, I would buy a bunch of bananas at a time, not just a few fingers or a cluster.

One bunch of bananas can last you a long time, if you eat them by yourself. Yet it also brings me headache. You see, a bunch of bananas ripens at the same time, and you must consume them when they all turn yellow. After three days, they will be overripe and the skin will turn black. The bananas are no longer firm and you can only use them to bake banana cakes.

I make some calculations and realize it is not economical to purchase one bunch of bananas. Even if I consume five fingers of banana per day there would still be many left to decompose. So today I only buy one cluster of bananas each time.

There are many varieties of bananas here. They are:

1. Popoulu: Found mainly in Banana Plantation. It is a common variety. Plump and tastes sweet.
2. Highland Banana: Grown mainly in the highlands. Slender and not so delicate. It has good texture.
3. Pisang Jari Buaya: Elongated and slender, like a pickle. Not sweet and has a funny taste.
4. Red: It is similar to the common banana, except for the red skin.
5. Basjoo: Plump and small sized, the fresh is not sweet but firm. Its skin darkens quickly.

Nowadays, I prefer the Highland Banana. These bananas first grow in the wild and they are unusually tasty. I feel that this could be a coincidence as most chickens that grow in the wild simply taste differently from those bred by humans.

So which is better, the Highland Banana or common dessert banana? Although it is difficult to describe their individual taste, but once consumed, you can really tell the difference. It is like comparing the wild Highland Banana and the common banana to the taste of non-domestic chicken and domestic chicken.

One day, the lady who sells fruits told me, "Old pop! You don't have to buy bananas today."

"Why?" I was curious.

"I give you!"

She opened a big basket and there lied many bananas all ripen and yellow. She said, "The treat is on me. Take as much as you want."

I was stunned. Should I take or shouldn't I. The bananas were overripe and would rot the next day. If the bananas were not sold, they would have to be discarded. I knew she was giving me a favor done at no cost. I could not refuse her goodwill and finally I decided to accept a cluster and thanked her for the treat.

Come to think about it. I am a solitary old man and if I can cut down on expenses, I should. I am thus grateful to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for this free banana treat.

Here's a verse:

Before I turn fifty seven
I have tasted fruits in abundance.
Living in seclusion today.
Who shall I turn to
For a taste of any fruit I yearn.

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