Andrea Yamamoto

Patricia Sparks
NSC 255
23 December 2015
Assignment 1: Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion that originated in India. It doesnt center around a god and has many
sects. Currently, the largest percentage of a Buddhist majority is in Cambodia at approximately 97% of
the population as of 2010, however the largest numbers are in China (The Global Religious Landscape).
Since there are so many sects, not all Buddhists adhere to the same rules they differ in every
way from food traditions to dress to who and how the religion is practiced. Some sects such as the
Mahayana prescribe vegetarianism as they consider the consumption of meat an act of killing the seed of
compassion (A Basic Buddhism Guide: Vegetarianism). This tradition exists in spite of the fact that it is
widely believed that Gautama Buddha died from eating meat offered to him by a man who had been
saving it for so long that it had rotted (ibid). Monks and nuns of the Theravadan sect sometimes accept
alms in the form of food and will sometimes eat meat as long as any food they accept is leftovers and is
not the meat of an animal they knew (ibid). Another focus of Buddhist food is the avoidance of killing
the plant entirely, based on the first precept of ahimsa or avoiding the taking of life (The Essential Ten
Precepts). Root vegetables such as potatoes or carrots are often omitted from Buddhist foods as it
requires the complete killing of the plant rather than simply harvesting a part of it (A Basic Buddhism
Guide: Vegetarianism). Some strong-smelling spices are disallowed from Buddhist food, following the
Taoist tradition of asceticism (ibid).
There are many festivals and special days on which people will take food as offerings to temples
and the monks (Buddhist Festivals and Special Days). There is also a tradition of leaving fruits or rice by
the statue of the Buddha as offerings (ibid). Fasting is not a common practice in Buddhism. In fact,
during the Buddhas life, he tried asceticism as a means of attaining enlightenment before coming to the
realization that that was not the right path for him (ibid). However, monks of some sects will only eat

between dawn and noon, consuming just plain water the rest of the day and night (The Buddhist World:
Lay Buddhist's Guide to the Monk's Rules). Any other food or drink must be formally presented and
handed directly to the monk and he may not cook or cure food (ibid).
Overall, the Buddhist diet (focusing on the monk diet) is a healthy one. There are varying
opinions on the benefits of fasting, but the foods that are eaten are grain, an abundance of vegetables, and
healthy proteins (whether including meat or not) (Buddhist Diet). Some claim that the diet can lower
blood pressure and cholesterol, prevent heart disease, and even lower stress (ibid). The focus on plain
water is very healthy as well (ibid).

Works Cited
A Basic Buddhism Guide: Vegetarianism. (n.d.). Retrieved December 22, 2015, from
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/qanda08.htm
Buddhist Diet. (n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2015, from http://diettools.com/diet-review/buddhist-diet337/
Buddhist Festivals and Special Days. (n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2015, from
http://www.buddhanet.net/festival.htm
The Buddhist World: Lay Buddhist's Guide to the Monk's Rules. (n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2015,
from http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/layguide.htm
The Ten Essential Precepts | San Francisco Zen Center. (n.d.). Retrieved December 22, 2015,
from http://www.sfzc.org/about-zen-center/principles-governance/ethics/ethical-principles/theten-essential-precepts
The Global Religious Landscape. (2012, December 17). Retrieved December 22, 2015, from
http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/