Pine Needles and Hermit Survival tips!

[Seth Ananda]

Hi Everyone

A while back, someone posted an Interview with a Korean Taoist Hermit, who lived mainly on Pine Needles ground into a sticky paste and with some water added {If I remember rightly} for many years...

 

As Pine forests are so abundant on the planet this could be very useful Info for anyone planning a Hermit retreat...

 

So does anyone have any further Info on living on Pine Needles, or any other awesome tips for someone who is hermiting?

 

Thank you.

Seth.

[Mokona]

Hi Everyone

A while back, someone posted an Interview with a Korean Taoist Hermit, who lived mainly on Pine Needles ground into a sticky paste and with some water added {If I remember rightly} for many years...

 

As Pine forests are so abundant on the planet this could be very useful Info for anyone planning a Hermit retreat...

 

So does anyone have any further Info on living on Pine Needles, or any other awesome tips for someone who is hermiting?

 

Thank you.

Seth.

 

No way man, Pine needles? I hear they have more Vitamin C than Oranges though, I wonder what dosage they make that claim off of though.

 

Hey, when you eat some, however you decide to prepare them, please tell us how it tastes! I'm totally curious.

[Chang]

I believe that Confucius (the wisest man in the world ) once found himself trapped on a mountain between two opposing armies in winter and was reduced to eating acorns.

 

This has afforded the Taoists much amusement. I can well see how this wise mans plight could be a source of such fun, but for those interested there are ways of using acorns for food which could well add variety to a diet of pine needles.

 

Eating Acorns

Edited February 10, 2012 by Chang

[Ish]

Anyone got a link to the interview with the Korean hermit?

 

I remember reading about a Buddhist master who lived in the mountain for a few years, he apparently turned green due to his diet - i think it was solely pine needles but i don't think he was Korean

[zerostao]

pine nuts and pine pollen.

[mYTHmAKER]

Milarepa was supposed to have a green tint due to eating nettles

[noelle]

eating and using pine needle for foods is still very common thing in Korea and from long long time ago the pine needle was called 'hermit's food'

 

pine needle wine

Pine needle powder

Pine needle juice (& tea)

Pine needle fermented juice........

 

also eat its inside skin(松肌) for rice cake and rice soup...

and pine tree flower powder for cookie(harden with honey)

 

: )

 

but not sure if you can use all species of pine tree.... because I'd seen my mother used only its endemic species in Korea....because of milder taste, better fragrance, and less tough....

But most of all you must get the clean one, also free from chemicals...

 

I believe that Confucius (the wisest man in the world ) once found himself trapped on a mountain between two opposing armies in winter and was reduced to eating acorns.

 

This has afforded the Taoists much amusement. I can well see how this wise man's plight could be a source of such fun, but for those interested there are ways of using acorns for food which could well add variety to a diet of pine needles.

I can't agree to that Confucius was the wisest man in the world but anyway... : )

 

I made 'Muk'(Korean food made with arcon powder) today....It's very common food also here....

It's very interesting European also eat arcons...I didn't know that...thanks for link!

Edited February 10, 2012 by noelle

[Chang]

I suspect that the original Korean Taoist Hermits referred to are this lot:-

 

Korean Taoist Hermits

[noelle]

Korean Taoist Hermits

 

really sorry but reading the link, well.....I do not think it shows the true Korean Taoist hermits and its practice at all.....

 

 

The true Taoist hermits with wisdom would not show off his breaking power on TV! It's like 'Martial art show' mixed some spices of mysticism and Taoism even mentioned 'SunDo'(?)

: )

 

Seth Ananda, I'll be back with more info how to eat pine needle in Korea later for you.

Edited February 10, 2012 by noelle

[suninmyeyes]

Nice topic Seth.

Remeber reading the book about old skool Orthodox Christian family living for 50(?) years in wilderness in Siberian taiga. The book is called 'Lost in Taiga'

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=P28aAAAAYAAJ&q=lost+in+taiga&dq=lost+in+taiga&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xVM1T-ikGYbB0QXVxLmZAg&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA

A very interesting document of such an unusual way of living. Their main food was pine milk (water and pine nuts paste) and pine nuts, plus some other stuff.

I reccomend the book although it is a bit slow in parts , but at the same it is a incredible testament of very unique lifestyle.

Met a hermit once who was eating only raw food, he would know all the plants growing around. He ate a lot of roots,I suppose becouse there wasnt much else at that time of the year on high altidude. He lived like this for a long while.

A lot of hermits take kilos and kilos of some sort of staple like rice and lentils into their retereat in the forest, together with a little camping stove and live like this devoting time to their spiritual practise.

It would be interesting to hear some tips from anyone on hermiting or what they found particulary useful whilst spending time in nature.

Any tips from personal expirienece from anyone on dealing with wild animals? Bears for example?

Edited February 10, 2012 by suninmyeyes

[Seth Ananda]

Wow, this is great!

Thanks everyone, and keep it coming

 

Also I have been trying to dig up the Interview, I was sure I had book marked it but i have not found it yet... lol

[Aetherous]

On my hikes, sometimes I sample the different trees. Some needles are sweet, whereas others are bitter and nasty. I think the high vitamin C idea is true, because I tend to get the shits afterward...and for that reason wouldn't personally rely on it as a food source.

 

Acorns on the other hand...

[Taomeow]

I was being taught what can be eaten in a forest since I was five, and when I was 13 or 14, I knew how to make quite a few dishes with that stuff. Not much of it is edible raw, you have to know the methods of preparation. (E.g., acorns used to be a staple food with many Native American tribes, but the preparation is laborious and you have to know what you're doing, or you wind up with bitter and barely digestible meals instead of the delicious pancakes that are your other alternative.)

 

I have books on the subject of edible wild plants and suggest that everyone who is planning to live off the land learn everything (or as close to everything as possible) about what's edible in what form in their area. The worst mistakes are deadly (e.g., here in CA, there's hemlock that you could easily mistake for wild parsley -- please don't! ) Mushrooms too -- you need to study them very well or leave them alone. Pine needles are not the greatest food if you're in a decent forest, they are best served as a decoction -- high in vitamin C (which they happen to have in a stable form not destroyed by this method) and an all-around nice vitaminizing addition to your wild diet, besides its medicinal value (treats all manner of lung and bronchial disorders). I wouldn't overdo it -- pine needles are mildly toxic to the kidneys, so I would never think of them as a staple food in any shape or form. Pine nuts, on the other hand, are completely safe (except for some people who get a weird disorder from eating some varieties that makes all their foods taste bitter for a week or so -- I have a family member who has this strange reaction and apparently he's not the only one, though the condition is exceedingly rare.)

 

And, Seth, since you mentioned earlier you've given up on buddhism... and authentic zen buddhism (e.g.) has no problem with fish anyway... I'd learn to fish, the most memorable forest meals I recall were fish soups with appropriate wild greens, fried fish (eel does not ask for any frying oil, for the rest you may want to have some unless you're a wilderness purist), smoked fish (you use dry leaves for the best flavor), every which way but raw (but the Japanese would disagree... ) Frogs are edible (and, unlike pine needles, are excellent for your kidneys.) Turtles... crawdads... wild boar...

[Informer]

I would travel to the age of 21st century hermit. "Off the grid living"

 

I have only heard of pine needles being brewed into a tea. To extract sap requires the tree I think.

[Seth Ananda]

 

 

And, Seth, since you mentioned earlier you've given up on buddhism... and authentic zen buddhism (e.g.) has no problem with fish anyway... I'd learn to fish, the most memorable forest meals I recall were fish soups with appropriate wild greens...

Hehe, thanks Taomeow, you always come through with the goods!

The most memorable forest meal I remember having {aside from once being forced to eat dog whilst on a survival camp} was Trout tickling then eating eating it raw for lunch like Smeagol in lord of the rings.

 

I got hunting and basic fishing down, including hunting with spears or bows, but I am wishing to know about foods that don't take time, so one can just meditate...

 

When I read about the hermit living on crushed pine needles, I thought, wow, seriously simple... The kidney thing is concerning though...

[Harmonious Emptiness]

I'm just speculating, but maybe if you boil the needles in a tea that will break them down enough to eat them safely. May be worth checking out. I read that the acorn seeds have to be soaked to get the tannins out of them before eating them.

 

Dandelions are super nutritious too, but not much in the way of carbs or protein.

[Seth Ananda]

Bump! where are those recipes?

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

No way man, Pine needles? I hear they have more Vitamin C than Oranges though, I wonder what dosage they make that claim off of though.

 

Hey, when you eat some, however you decide to prepare them, please tell us how it tastes! I'm totally curious.

 

 

kind of like grapefruit, but chalky and not juicy, but that's without water...

 

 

I would add sugar

Edited February 14, 2012 by Hot Nirvana Judo Trend

[Protector]

Catch a fish with your bare hands

Gut it and just leave only the delishus parts

Nail the fish to a piece of wood and place it in front of your campfire to cook

Wait around 40 minutes or so

Add pine needles for flavor

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

Catch a fish with your bare hands

Gut it and just leave only the delishus parts

Nail the fish to a piece of wood and place it in front of your campfire to cook

Wait around 40 minutes or so

Add pine needles for flavor

 

 

delicious. i hope you mean to keep the delicious parts, and not eat the guts you jsut removed.

 

 

And your hands should taste good too, jsut dont burn them too crisp.

 

 

 

 

How do i find pine nuts???

[Protector]

Presumably you have only a knife with you so there's nothing you can do with the guts at this point and sometimes the guts are the most... not eatable part of a fish

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

toss them into a tree and see if you cant kill a bear with a knife by dropping from above!!!

 

 

 

 

How do i find pine nuts?

Edited February 14, 2012 by Hot Nirvana Judo Trend

[Protector]

Ask the squirrels

[Taomeow]

How do i find pine nuts?

 

They nestle under the scales of a ripe pine cone. If it's overripe, they fall out (or the birds and squirrels get to them first.) You crack them with a stone. I've done it in the center of Rome, not just in the forest. There are many large, old, fruitful pines around some of the most famous historic buildings in Rome. The pine cone (pigna) is an ancient occult symbol with the farthest out implications (tip: the pineal gland is related). Do you know what symbol exactly sits smack in the center of the Vatican? (tip: it's not a crucifix... it's this... used to adorn the temple of Isis... but now it's here:)

 

[zerostao]

They nestle under the scales of a ripe pine cone. If it's overripe, they fall out (or the birds and squirrels get to them first.) You crack them with a stone. I've done it in the center of Rome, not just in the forest. There are many large, old, fruitful pines around some of the most famous historic buildings in Rome. The pine cone (pigna) is an ancient occult symbol with the farthest out implications (tip: the pineal gland is related). Do you know what symbol exactly sits smack in the center of the Vatican? (tip: it's not a crucifix... it's this... used to adorn the temple of Isis... but now it's here:)

 

 

 

dont tell everyone that the cat is still in the bag about how pine cone motifs are found in so many ancient art and why they were , and dont mention a dmt connection either!

Edited February 15, 2012 by zerostao