Question: How do we know what time to eat by on Eight Precepts’ (八戒) days, in order to ‘not eat passing noon’ (过午不食)?
Answer: If you wish to be specific, for daily noon times, you can see sites like this: https://www.sunrisesunsettime.org/asia/singapore/singapore-october.htm.
For example, for today, the 10th of October in 2024, which is the 8th day of the 9th lunar month, as a Six Purification Day (六斋日), also in one of the Three Purification Months (三斋月) for observing the Eight Precepts, the table says the exact noon time is 12.52 pm. This is when the sun is exactly at the zenith, directly overhead, (which is thus not always at 12 pm). If you wish to abide by an estimated time, you can eat by a fixed time, perhaps between 11.30 am to 1 pm.
Note that for Mahāyāna (大乘) Eight Preceptees (八戒子) and Bodhisattva Preceptees (菩萨戒子), food and drink should be free from meat, alcohol, five pungent roots and animal ingredients, as detailed in https://TheDailyEnlightenment.com/veg. Bodhisattva Preceptees should consume as purely as possible every day out of compassion, not just on Eight Precept days.
Question: How did those in the Buddha’s time know when it is noon?
Answer: They probably simply look to see if the sun is overhead yet. Note that in the Buddha’s time, there is only ‘one meal for one day’ (一日一餐) for the Buddha and the monastics, which is with alms taken near but before noon, as the Eight Precepts, among other (Monastic and/or Bodhisattva) Precepts, are observed every day. Nowadays, many lay Eight Preceptees eat breakfast too, as they live non-monastic lives, that might require more energy for work. Retirees who do not need to work should consider having only one meal a day.
Related Articles:
八关斋戒仪轨 (受戒者用)
Eight Precepts Ceremony (For Precept Recipients)
https://purelanders.com/2018/06/29/eight-precepts-ceremony
六斋日，十斋日，三斋月
Six Purification Days, Ten Purification Days And Three Purification Months
https://purelanders.com/2021/10/12/6-the-sixth-principle
上求佛道者应当如何饮食？
How Should All Aspiring For Buddhahood Eat And Drink?
https://TheDailyEnlightenment.com/veg
