Why does Buddhism require a vegetarian diet?

Vegetarian refers to a diet that does not eat animal meat and pungent foods (five pungent foods: one green onion, two scallions, three leeks, four garlics, and five xingqu). Monks are vegetarians, which is a traditional Chinese Buddhist culture. One of the features. According to the current situation of Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism follows the laws of Theravada, and monks can eat meat (the same was true in the Buddha's time); monks in Tibetan Buddhism have never tabooed meat and spicy food; Japanese Buddhism is the spread area of ??Chinese Han Buddhist culture, and early Japanese monks Vegetarians are also practiced. Due to the evolution of the situation, meat eating has been fully liberalized in modern times. There are no strict requirements for Buddhists at home in various places to eat vegetarian food. If they have financial resources (the cost of living in Western vegetarianism is higher than that of carnivores) and those who are determined to become vegetarians, they can do so of their own free will.

According to the early precepts of Buddhism, monks can eat "three pure meats", that is, if they cannot see the scene when the animal is being slaughtered, and cannot hear the cry of the animal when it is killed, there is no doubt that it is slaughtered for me. of meat. Later, Buddhism came up with the theory of five kinds of pure meat. This is based on the three kinds of pure meat, including the meat of dead animals and the remains of birds. There are also nine kinds of purification of the flesh in Volume 4 of the Nirvana Sutra, which I will not describe here. However, Mahayana Buddhism believes that eating meat is against the nature of compassion and the conduct of Bodhisattvas. For example, among the forty-eight light precepts in the Brahma Net Sutra, there is a precept against eating meat, which states that eating meat will cut off the seeds of great compassion, so all Bodhisattvas are not allowed to eat the flesh of all living beings. The only person who is seriously ill is Xi.

In the history of Chinese Buddhism, the earliest advocate of vegetarianism was Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, Xiao Yan. As an emperor, he advocated abstinence from killing and vegetarianism. He issued three edicts prohibiting alcohol and meat, and forced the monks to practice vegetarianism. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, monastic monks accepted the Bodhisattva precepts in the Brahma Net Sutra, among which the meat-eating precepts further strengthened the idea of ??becoming a vegetarian. Therefore, vegetarian culture has become one of the main characteristics of Han Buddhist monks since the Tang and Song Dynasties.

Vegetarianism is one of the compassionate methods advocated by Mahayana Buddhism, which extends from the precept not to kill to universal respect and care for life. Based on great compassion and bodhicitta, it is the practice of Bodhisattva's self-interest and altruism. OK, abstain from eating the flesh of all living beings (smell) and the five pungent (meat) substances such as onions, garlic, leeks, scallions, and Xingqu that are harmful to the body. Since most Buddhists live in all walks of life, vegetarianism also has different forms, such as total abstinence from meat and fish, and vegetarianism every Christmas of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. From the perspective of nutrition and hygiene, fasting or eating less meat and fish is very beneficial to health. Especially the meat products produced in modern times contain a large amount of hormones, residual pesticides and various toxic substances, which are always harmful to our bodies. The Buddhist trend of vegetarianism is consistent with scientific opinions on hygiene, nutrition, environmental protection and health care, and has gradually attracted people's attention. Some avant-garde people and the nouveau riche have taken the lead in becoming vegetarians, and their influence has been far-reaching. Vegetarianism is one aspect of Chinese Buddhism's pursuit of the Buddha's teachings of compassion and altruism. In recent years, vegetarianism has emerged in the West. They are based on science and adopt vegetarianism from the perspectives of physiology, environmental hygiene, health care and moral ethics. They are different from the Buddhist spirit of the Bodhisattva who lives the world with compassion, but it is also worthy of praise.

In recent years, due to various reasons, some Buddhists have misunderstood the original meaning of vegetarians who are kind and loving and caring for living beings, misunderstood the connotation and denotation of practicing Buddhism, and simply equated vegetarianism with When it comes to studying Buddhism, they negatively believe that practicing Buddhism means being a vegetarian, and being a vegetarian means practicing Buddhism. They use whether or not they are vegetarians as a criterion for studying Buddhism, and they even accuse others, causing bad effects that are detrimental to themselves and others. This is because people have many misunderstandings about Buddhism. Some people even think that to learn Buddhism one must shave one’s head, to learn Buddhism one must be a vegetarian, to learn Buddhism is to be superstitious and to do nothing, and so on. In fact, this is not the case. It is not necessary to be a vegetarian to practice Buddhism. There are also vegetarians who do not practice Buddhism. This is just a living and eating habit. If you blindly forcefully change people's eating habits, it will inevitably lead to a large number of people staying away from Buddhism. This is an act that destroys people's good roots. For lay people, since the lay precepts are purely personal psychological or life issues, the requirement to be vegetarian is only that they can do so within a certain period of time. However, Han monks who become monks must be vegetarian, which is determined by the Buddhist precepts tradition. Today, Buddhist believers spread across all social fields, and some are even social elites, political figures, and business celebrities. It is obviously difficult to require them to become vegetarians. Weighing the pros and cons of both sides, advocating a scientific diet in the new era is a necessity for Buddhism’s worldwide missionary activities today.

For believers who have just learned Buddhism, they should first observe the precept not to kill (including not committing suicide, not asking others to kill, not providing causes and conditions for killing, etc.), and extensively participate in Buddhist environmental protection, life protection and life care, etc. Activities, those who meet the conditions can eat vegetarian food at Buddha and Bodhisattva Christmas. If you decide to become a vegetarian, it can only be an elegant way of living by practicing Buddhism. Try not to cause trouble to your family, do not force others to follow suit, and do not discriminate against those who are not vegetarians.

The fundamental spirit of Buddhism lies in the universal sentiment of self-interest and altruism, that is, using one's own limited power to devote one's body and mind to activities to promote Buddhism. This is a good disciple of the Buddha. A smile may change a person's life; perhaps a word of care and advice can save a person's soul; feed and clothe the hungry and cold; provide spiritual support for the lost, etc. All your actions will be carried out in the name of Buddhist disciples, making this world a better place because of you. Specifically, you can work hard to learn Buddhist knowledge, get close to good teachers, improve your Buddhist cultivation, and establish sound knowledge and views of Buddhism.