Can Buddhist monks eat meat? It depends on the sect. Chinese buddhists, for example, are expected not to eat meat. Tibetan buddhists eat meat, because Tibet is an arid land. This is, in fact, one reason why a monk eating meat provided by a lay person is considered an act of compassion, as it is also a way for the lay person to make good karma.
All Buddhists are vegetarians, right? Well, no. Some Buddhists are vegetarians, but some are not. Attitudes about vegetarianism vary from sect to sect as well as from individual to individual. If you are wondering whether you must commit to being a vegetarian to become a Buddhist, the answer is, maybe, but possibly not.
It is unlikely the historical Buddha was a vegetarian. In the earliest recording of his teachings, the Tripitaka, the Buddha did not categorically forbid his disciples to eat meat. In fact, if meat were put into a monk's alms bowl, the monk was supposed to eat it. Monks were to gratefully receive and consume all food they were given, including meat.
Exceptions
There was an exception to the meat for alms rule, however. If monks knew or suspected that an animal had been slaughtered specifically to feed monks, they were to refuse to take the meat. On the other hand, leftover meat from an animal slaughtered to feed a lay family was acceptable.
The Buddha also listed certain types of meat that were not to be eaten. This included horse, elephant, dog, snake, tiger, leopard, and bear. Because only some meat was specifically forbidden, we can infer that eating other meat was permissible.
Vegetarianism and the First Precept
The First Precept of Buddhism is do not kill. The Buddha told his followers not to kill, participate in killing, or cause to have any living thing killed. To eat meat, some argue, is taking part in killing by proxy.
In response, it is argued that if an animal were already dead and not slaughtered specifically to feed oneself, then it is not quite the same thing as killing the animal oneself. This seems to be how the historical Buddha understood eating meat.
However, the historical Buddha and the monks and nuns who followed him were homeless wanderers who lived on the alms they received. Buddhists did not begin to build monasteries and other permanent communities until some time after the Buddha died. Monastic Buddhists do not live on alms alone but also on food grown by, donated to, or purchased by monks. It is hard to argue that meat provided to an entire monastic community did not come from an animal specifically slaughtered on behalf of that community.
Thus, many sects of Mahayana Buddhism, in particular, began to emphasize vegetarianism. Some of the Mahayana Sutras, such as the Lankavatara, provide decidedly vegetarian teachings.
Buddhism and Vegetarianism Today
Today, attitudes toward vegetarianism vary from sect to sect and even within sects. On the whole, Theravada Buddhists do not kill animals themselves but consider vegetarianism to be a personal choice. The Vajrayana schools, which include Tibetan and Japanese Shingon Buddhism, encourage vegetarianism but do not consider it to be absolutely necessary to Buddhist practice.
Mahayana schools are more often vegetarian, but even within many Mahayana sects, there is a diversity of practice. In keeping with the original rules, some Buddhists might not purchase meat for themselves, or choose a live lobster out of the tank and have it boiled, but might eat a meat dish offered them at a friend's dinner party.
The Middle Way
Buddhism discourages fanatical perfectionism. The Buddha taught his followers to find a middle way between extreme practices and opinions. For this reason, Buddhists who do practice vegetarianism are discouraged from becoming fanatically attached to it.
A Buddhist practices metta, which is loving kindness to all beings without selfish attachment. Buddhist refrain from eating meat out of loving kindness for living animals, not because there is something unwholesome or corrupt about an animal's body. In other words, the meat itself is not the point, and under some circumstances, compassion might cause a Buddhist to break the rules.
For example, let's say you visit your elderly grandmother, whom you have not seen for a long time. You arrive at her home and find that she has cooked what had been your favorite dish when you were a child—stuffed pork chops. She doesn't do much cooking anymore because her elderly body doesn't move around the kitchen so well. But it is the dearest wish of her heart to give you something special and watch you dig into those stuffed pork chops the way you used to. She has been looking forward to this for weeks.
I say that if you hesitate to eat those pork chops for even a second, you are no Buddhist.
The Business of Suffering
When I was a girl growing up in rural Missouri, livestock grazed in open meadows and chickens wandered and scratched outside hen houses. That was a long time ago. You still see free-ranging livestock on small farms, but big 'factory farms' can be cruel places for animals.
Breeding sows live most of their lives in cages so small they cannot turn around. Egg-laying hens kept in 'battery cages' cannot spread their wings. These practices make the vegetarian question more critical.
As Buddhists, we should consider if products we purchase were made with suffering. This includes human suffering as well as animal suffering. If your 'vegan' faux-leather shoes were made by exploited laborers working under inhumane conditions, you might as well have bought leather.
Live Mindfully
The fact is, to live is to kill. It cannot be avoided. Fruits and vegetables come from living organisms, and farming them requires killing insects, rodents, and other animal life. The electricity and heat for our homes may come from facilities that harm the environment. Don't even think about the cars we drive. We are all entangled in a web of killing and destruction, and as long as we live we cannot be completely free of it. As Buddhists, our role is not to mindlessly follow rules written in books, but to be mindful of the harm we do and do as little of it as possible.
Simple plain tasting food like toast with butter, plainvegitables and a small tiney bit of meat
Can Christian monks get married?
What are the beliefs of medieval christian monks?
Christian medieval monks were Roman Catholic, of which the major orders were: The Benedictine Monks The Cistercian Monks The Carthusian Monks The Dominican Monks The Franciscan Monks The Augustine Monks, including the Gilbertines
Why did Christian monks and Muslim mystics like to eat or drink coffee before religious rituals?
It is not true at all the claim that that Muslim mystics like to eat or drink coffee before religious rituals. No information is available for the moment for what regarding Christian monks.
Are all monks Buddhist?
What would monks eat?
Historically, Christian monks were vegetarian and still are today. Christian monks imposed many rigorous restrictions upon themselves including fasting and the wearing of 'hair shirts' (animal skins with the rough animal hair against the skin) under their robes. Adobe acrobat professional 7.0. Monks of other religions may also be vegetarian eg. Buddhists.
Where do monks eat?
Contributions of Christian monks of society?
What do monks eat?
What Monks Eat Monks eat lamb and they also eat pigs feet. Its hard to believe but the monks think that eating animals will make their god very happy
How was much of the learning of the scient world preserved after the Western Roman Empire fell?
Much of the ancient learning was preserved by the Christian monks as the church leaders found nothing in them that was contrary to Christian doctrine.
Are monks allowed to eat meat at meal times?
What kind of monks? Catholic monks can eat meat on most days; Buddhist monks can not.
Do monks practice Buddhism?
Buddhist monks are well known for practicing Buddhism, Christian monks tend not to.
Who preserved Greek and roman writing?
The Greek and Roman writing was preserved by the monks, as the church leaders found nothing in them that was contrary to Christian teachings. The Greek and Roman writing was preserved by the monks, as the church leaders found nothing in them that was contrary to Christian teachings. The Greek and Roman writing was preserved by the monks, as the church leaders found nothing in them that was contrary to Christian teachings. The Greek and… Read More
Are monks Catholic?
Usually. There are monks of other faiths (i.e. Buddhist Monks). But most Western culture only has Catholic monks. I am not aware of any other Christian denomination that has monks or nuns. At least not in the traditional sense.
What is a monastrie?
A monastery is a place where Christian monks live.
What is Christian monks clothing called?
Are Monks the same as Buddhists?
Not necessarily. Many religions have monks. Monks are people who withdraw from ordinary life to pursue their religious beliefs on a daily basis. So you can have Christian monks, Buddhist monks, Hindu monks, etc. Islam does not have a similar tradition though.
Do monks wear white?
well,Buddhists wear saffron,but they're monks. Christian monks normally wear earthly colors. e.g:dark green,brown
What vows did monks and nuns take?
In the Christian faith monks and nuns took the vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.
Where did monks eat?
Do monks still exist today?
Yes, there are monks all over the world today. There are monasteries in most western countries, the middle east and the far east. They are both Christian monks and Buddhist monks.
How do Christians become monks?
If someone who was 'Christian' becomes a monk, they were probably not a real Christian in the first place.
Were christian monks the first monks?
In that the CHristian religion is only 2000 years old and many religions are much older there are many others that have monks. The term monks is pretty much undefined. If you take it that monks are a group of men living in a religious community under promises to meet several criteria (e.g. chastity, poverty, obedience) then you probably identify Hindu and Buddhists who met these criteria.
Did monks eat eels?
yes they did eat eels. When they were lucky that was.
Did monks eat lunch?
What do you call a buddist priest?
They are monks or bhikkus. In Thailand, Sri Lanka they largely function as priests - conducting ceremonies for the people. In the West and still to an extent in the East there are monks who have a serious meditation practise. They do not function like Western Christian priests but more like Christian monks.
What did monks eat?
monks ate what ever they were given, which was dry bread and a small bowl of stew.
Do you still have sacraments when your a monk?
If you are a Christian monk, yes. Christian monks do not give up their religion upon entering a monastery.
What is one possible explanation for the presence of Christian elements in Beowulf?
The people who first transcribed the work were probably Christian monks.
How do Christian monks behave?
They are expected to behave soberly and live according to their vows.
What did monks eat for lunch dinner and breakfast?
monks eat horrible food and nice food. i think sometimes they eat salmon but I'm not sure. other times they might eat a soup or something along those lines
Tasks of the monks inside the monastery?
The monks had two tasks. One of them was spreading the word of Christian faith, and the next was being holy to oneself as well as God.
What do the Shaolin Monks eat?
What language do monks sing?
a language from India or Chinese idk -------- Depends on the Monks. Christian Monks tend to sing in Latin (sometimes Greek) Buddist Monks tend to sing in Pali (a language from Nepal/India) Hindu Monks don't chant as far as I can find out but if they did it would probably be in Urdu. Islam doesn't really have monks but they have dervishes who whirl and dance instead of chanting. There aren't really Jewish Monks.
What type of food did monks and nuns eat?
Will I think they eat bread and wine And is from rayan
Who were the vikings feared by?
They were feared by many forms of christian like the monks and angle-saxons
In what ways were monks and missionaries similar?
What did monks eat for breakfast in the Middle Ages?
The vast majority of monks in the Middle Ages were Benedictines. Benedictines were forbidden by the Rule of St. Benedict to eat anything before mid-day.
How did monks and nuns live?
They lived apart from other people, the monks in monastaries and the nuns either in churches or other edifices for them alone. Both the monks and the nuns raised their own food. The nuns often taught in private Christian schools.
What rules do monks follow?
If you are speaking of Christian monks, virtually all of them are either Catholic or Orthodox. Most Catholic monks follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, though the Carthusians follow the a rule written by Saint Bruno. Orthodox monks follow the Rule of Saint Basil. Don't confuse monks with Friars (such as Franciscans or Dominicans) or Canons (such as Norbertines or Augustinians).
What vows did monks take during the middle ages?
Monks took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. There is a link below to the section on early Christianity of an article on Christian monasticism.
Are Christian monks and nuns allowed to drink alcohol or smoke?
Who lives in priory?
A priory is a christian religious dwelling (for monks or nuns) governed by a 'prior' or 'prioress'.
How can you be a Christian monk?
I do not think there are protestant monks. One has to be either a Catholic or Orthodox to become a monk.
When do Buddhists eat?
Lay people can eat whenever they want. Monks and Nuns must eat their last meal at noon.
Do monks live at missionaries?
No. Monks live at monasteries. Missionaries are not places but people who are on a mission and the term is usually used in Christian circles for those who are going to foreign lands and preaching the gospel.
How much do monks eat in 4 days?
What Can Monks Eat Meat
What do monks eat for dinner?
they eat food that people offer to them when they can get it and i am pretty sure they grow food and eat from the land the rest of the time.
What did monks and nuns eat?
They eat the same food what you and I eat. But they avoid junk food and food which might make them fat and lul.
Can Buddhists eat past noon?
Lay Buddhists can eat whenever they want. Buddhist Monks and Nuns typically do not eat after noon.
Don't Eat Meat
Why are Buddhist monks vegetarians?
In keeping with the fact that Buddhism makes suggestions for your life and does not control it, there is no 'order' not to eat meat. Buddhist monks are often but not always vegetarians. Some need to eat meat as no other food is available. In addition the monks are required to eat whatever food is given to them. the Buddha himself is said to have died after eating a meal of bad pork offered to… Read More