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Is eating eggs considered killing, and smoking is a violation of the abstinence......

Six points to learn Buddhism 2022-01-13 09:00

Referring to the eating habits of Buddhists,

People sometimes get confused.

For example, can Buddhists eat coriander?

Is eating eggs killing?

Is smoking considered a violation of the abstinence? What about chewing betel nut?

Today, I have selected Master Shengyan's lecture

To clear up your doubts, let's take a look:

■ Accept whatever you offer

When Buddhism appeared in India, Buddhists did not have special eating habits and regulations, because India is a country with universal religious beliefs, and all religious people must have similar eating concepts.

Therefore, Buddhists and even monks and nuns in primitive times lived a life of almsgiving, the so-called "one bowl of a thousand meals"; They do not choose the object of almsgiving, nor do they have any so-called clean or unclean, sacred or unholy food taboos, in order to be equal and make good connections.

To this day, Theravada Buddhist areas such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand still retain the ancient style of that time, that is, the donor accepts whatever offers, and there is no room for choice and pickiness.

■ Is spicy spice a meat dish?

Vegetarianism is emphasized and encouraged by Buddhism, and if it can be done, it is based on a compassionate position, not for modern reasons for health and economy. In fact, meat is both harmful to compassion and indeed harmful to health. Mahayana scriptures such as the "Sanskrit Sutra" and the "Rangam Sutra" emphasize vegetarianism and strictly prohibit meat consumption.

As for the meat smell, there should be a difference, the so-called "meat dishes" refer to vegetables with a foul smell, such as: garlic, green onions, Filipino vegetables, small garlic, etc.

The Sutra says: Meat and vegetables are raw and irritating, and cooked food helps to prosper. In the monk's precepts, it is stipulated that after eating meat food, one must live alone, or sit a few steps away from others, and sit downwind from others, or must rinse their mouths until there is no foul smell.

This is mainly to avoid disturbing the public, so meat is not allowed. And before chanting, in order not to make the ghosts and gods who listen to the scriptures angry and greedy, it is best not to eat meat dishes. The so-called "fishy" refers to meat. Chili peppers, pepper, five-spice, star anise, toon, fennel, cinnamon, etc. are all spices, not meat dishes, and are not limited by the precepts.

■ Correct view of "alcohol quitting"

As for not drinking alcohol, it is a characteristic of Buddhists in India, and other religions not only do not abstain from alcohol, but even believe that wine can communicate with the gods.

Originally, winemaking did not require killing, and it could be a kind of medicine, so it should not be listed as a religious taboo; However, because Buddhism attaches great importance to wisdom, if you drink a lot, it is easy to be disturbed, and there are not many people who can control themselves without becoming confused after drinking, so in order to stay sober and conducive to diligent practice, especially to achieve the purpose of meditation, it is necessary to abstain from drinking. As for the general public, if according to Confucius's saying, "drinking is not as good as chaos", it is harmless. Therefore, if you receive the five precepts and cannot quit drinking, you can also give up the wine precepts or not accept this one precept, and you will still be a disciple of the Three Jewels.

If wine is used as an accompaniment to dishes, if there is no wine flavor and loses its intoxicating power, it should not be within the limits of alcohol quits. When wine must be used, vinegar is used as a substitute, such as vinegar instead of cooking condiments, because vinegar is no longer alcoholic.

■ Can you eat "vegetable side meat"?

If you enter a meat restaurant or at home and have some family members who are vegetarian and some eat meat, it is ideal to be able to use two different cooking utensils and tableware. Because the smell of meat and vegetables is different, the feelings of eaters are also different, and it is necessary to keep clean for customary reasons.

However, Master Huineng, the sixth ancestor of Zen Buddhism, after enlightenment and transmission of the Dharma, when he was hidden in the hunter team, he only ate meat and vegetables, and avoided vegetables and meat. Not eating meat is to compassionate sentient beings, and eating vegetables is necessary to survive ，Therefore, it is not unacceptable to use meat cooking utensils to cook vegetarian food when living conditions do not allow it to be forced.

■ Should I quit smoking and chewing betel nuts?

For the concept of tobacco and narcotics, in the Buddhist precepts, it can be used by a doctor due to illness; Not only cigarettes, but even alcohol, when they have to be used, are not considered to be violating the precepts. Of course, you can't use tobacco, alcohol and narcotics under the pretext of medical treatment.

Smoking is to prevent miasma, and in areas where miasma occurs and spreads, monks can smoke in moderation; Otherwise, for the sake of dignity, it should be abstained. If you smoke for stimulation, hobbies, boredom, etc., it is not allowed by the Buddhist precepts. In the southern tropics, betel nut chewing is also to prevent respiratory infections; But without treatment, it becomes a bad habit that loses dignity and damages the image.

Tobacco and betel nut are not essential in the diet, and they are used less for the human body to cure diseases, and more are harmful and not beneficial. For example: poisoning of alcohol overdoses; nicotine in cigarettes damages the lungs and qi and is the cause of cancer; The juice of betel nut is harmful to the health of teeth and corrodes the enamel, so it is best for Buddhists to use it.

■ Is eating eggs considered killing?

As for eggs, they should be fishy, because they can hatch into chicks, and its taste is fishy, if you are a vegetarian and clean person, it is best not to eat it.

Although the eggs produced in chicken farms are sexless, those bought in the consumer market are inanimate; But it is obviously not a plant, and if you eat asexual eggs from the standpoint of killing, it is not a violation of the precepts, nor does it harm compassion, and it should be avoided in terms of vegetarian habits.

■ Are dairy products vegan?

Regarding dairy products, they are not meat or fishy food, because cattle and sheep eat grass and grains, and the milk produced does not have a fishy smell. Drinking milk does not kill, nor does it hinder the feeding of calves and lambs, and it is raised by people to control the production of milk, which will not affect the growth and development of chicks, so in the Buddha's time, milk was generally drunk, and dairy products were divided into five categories such as milk, cheese, raw pastry, cooked pastry, and daigo, which were daily food and necessary nutrition, and were not among the prohibitions.

At present, due to the large demand for milk, there is an intensive production of milk collection in animal husbandry, ignoring the physiological conditions of the animals themselves, and many animal protection groups protest against the consumption of dairy products, so based on the compassionate position of Buddhist nursing students, when purchasing dairy products, we should consider whether the source of dairy products and their animal husbandry methods are in line with natural animal husbandry.

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Is eating eggs considered killing, and smoking is a violation of the abstinence......

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