Popular Diets - The Buddhist Diet

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The Buddhist Diet is mostly vegetarian, conforming to the general Buddhist precept of ahimsa (non-violence). Buddhism and the East Indian religion of Jainism recognize that even eating vegetables could contribute to the indirect killing of living beings because animal life is destroyed by tilling the soil or employing pesticides. Some Buddhist currents do not reject eating meat. Even if a believer takes a vow to be a vegetarian he or she is freed from fulfilling the vow when doing so is clearly impossible.

Unlike most Western vegetarians, the East Asian Buddhist Diet tries to avoid killing plant life. This means that root vegetables (such as potatoes, carrots or onion) should not be eaten because gathering them would involve the death of vegetables. Strictly speaking only fruits or vegetables such as beans should be consumed. Some Buddhists, particularly in China and Vietnam, will not eat strong-smelling plants including garlic, shallots, and mountain leeks known as Five Acrid And Strong Smelling Vegetables or “Five Spices” because these plants tend to excite the senses. Many believers extend this rule to exclude other members of the onion family and coriander.

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