The Buddhistic Rule against Eating Meat

Exploring the relationship between food and spirituality: A literature review

“…Research suggests, however, that followers of Krishna were found the most explicit in their vegetarianism when compared to Buddhists and Adventists (Nath, 2010). Some Buddhists indulge in animal consumption and their food practices, just like beliefs, vary from place to place alongside local customs and traditions of the particular regions, which suggests that spiritual practices are as much influenced by culture and vice versa (Hopkins, 1906).…”

“…Every individual struggles with the fundamental questions of life-and-death (Feeley-Harnik, 1995) and we project these ideas and beliefs onto our foods. Many Buddhist traditions require their followers to follow a vegetarian way of eating to abstain from sin and killing (Hopkins, 1906;Sarao, 2008). Numerous subscribers to this philosophy report balance and improved quality of life (Nath, 2010).…”

“…However, everyone eats and as creatures who cannot use sun and water as nourishment, we seem eternally condemned with the dilemma of taking life to sustain our own, be it plant or animal. Many other Buddhist traditions agree that life cannot exist without death, or in other words that creation requires destruction (Hopkins, 1906). According to this notion plants and animals contain the same amount of value as living entities and being a Buddha requires to embrace this as the universal law of suffering in nature to attain enlightenment (Sarao, 2008).…”

“…According to this notion plants and animals contain the same amount of value as living entities and being a Buddha requires to embrace this as the universal law of suffering in nature to attain enlightenment (Sarao, 2008). This idea is predicated on Brahman thought, which suggests that plants are also sentient beings but simply exist on a different level of consciousness and sensory capacity (Hopkins, 1906). It seems that this understanding spurs from viewing life and death not as defining qualities of objective reality, but rather as a process of change and transformation.…”

“…Some religious denominations, like Adventists, were found to be significantly related to fruit, vegetable and fat intake (Tan et al, 2013). Buddhists are also widely known to practice vegetarianism as they perceive eating flesh, or killing of life in any form, as a sin against their teachings and traditions (Hopkins, 1906;Sarao, 2008;Nath, 2010). Research suggests, however, that followers of Krishna were found the most explicit in their vegetarianism when compared to Buddhists and Adventists (Nath, 2010).…”