Last Updated on November 9, 2023 by Fasting Planet
The Buddhist religion has more than 500 million followers, which is over seven percent of the population on this planet. If you’re a Buddhist yourself or you’re thinking of converting to Buddhism, you may wonder where if anywhere the vegan diet fits into your lifestyle. Are Buddhists vegan?
Buddhists are not vegan, as their diet allows for the consumption of dairy. However, like vegans, they usually eschew all poultry, eggs, fish, and meat. There’s a whole vegetarian practice called Buddhist vegetarianism that more Buddhists subscribe to instead.
In this article, we’ll explain Buddhism in full and more closely examine what the Buddhist diet may look like. We’ll even talk about Buddha himself–who developed the Buddhist religion–and whether he prescribed to veganism, vegetarianism, or neither.
What Is Buddhism?
We’ll begin by talking about Buddhism. According to the World Population Review, in 2021, Buddhism is the fourth most popular religion on the globe. It’s been that way since at least 2001. Buddhists in 2021 amount to 507 million people. The religions with more followers than Buddhism are Hinduism with 1.16 billion followers, Islam with 1.91 billion followers, and Christianity with 2.38 billion followers.
The man known as Buddha taught philosophies that inspired the religion; keep reading to learn more about him and his diet. Buddhism started in ancient India around the fourth or sixth centuries BCE. It wasn’t long before more followers throughout Asia began practicing Buddhism.
Buddhism has two main branches, Mahayana, which means “the great vehicle” in Sanskrit, and Theravada, which means “the school of the elders” in Pali. Mahayana is a mix of early Buddhism teachings and the Mahayana Sutras as well as other texts and doctrines. Theravada follows Buddha Dhamma, an older school of Buddhism in a collection of scriptures known as the Pali Canon.
Buddha had Four Noble Truths: dukkha or suffering, samudaya or arising, nirodha or ending, and magga or path. The religion requires you to release your suffering from cravings and desires of the static self. If you can transcend your individual self, then you may be able to achieve the divine state known as Nirvana.
Are Buddhists Vegan?
Buddhists often follow a specific diet that avoids the flesh of any and all sentient beings per Buddha’s teachings. Here are the foods that Buddhists will eat:
- Canola oil, flaxseed oil, olive oil, and other oils
- Pistachios, pecans, walnuts, almonds, and other nuts
- Legumes, including lentils, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas
- Starchy vegetables such as cassava, peas, corn, and potatoes
- Most non-starchy vegetables, including peppers, asparagus, zucchini, cucumber, green beans, tomatoes, and broccoli
- Fruits such as peaches, oranges, grapes, berries, bananas, and apples
- Grains, including rice, quinoa, oatmeal, and bread
- Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt
That last food category–dairy–is why most Buddhists are not vegans. However, they are practicing vegetarians. Just take a look at what Buddhists won’t consume:
- All spirits, wine, beer, and alcohol
- Pungent spices and vegetables, among them leeks, chives, scallions, garlic, and onions
- Poultry and eggs, including pheasant, quail, duck, turkey, and chicken
- Fish such as tuna, trout, tilapia, cod, and herring
- Meats, including lamb, pork, veal, and beef
The practice of Buddhist vegetarianism is one that those who are Buddhists or part of related sects follow, including Buddhist nuns, laypersons, and monks. Depending on which school of thought a Buddhist ascribes to, their level of vegetarianism can differ. For example, the Theravada view believes in the Vinaya monastic code, which says that vegetarianism should be a part of the monks’ diet.
However, there are exceptions. The Anguttara Nikaya 3.38 Sukhamala Sutta mentions Buddha’s family, who had the money to make meat and other non-vegetarian foods for themselves and others. After Buddha became enlightened, he would eat food that was served “with good intention,” aka meat not obtained through slaughter.
That means, at least according to Theravada Buddhists, that meat may be allowed in some situations.
This is further elaborated upon in the Jivaka Sutta MN 55, which says this: “…meat should not be eaten under three circumstances: when it is seen or heard or suspected (that a living being has been purposely slaughtered for the eater); these, Jivaka, are the three circumstances in which meat should not be eaten, Jivaka! I declare there are three circumstances in which meat can be eaten: when it is not seen or heard or suspected (that a living being has been purposely slaughtered for the eater); Jivaka, I say these are the three circumstances in which meat can be eaten.”
The Mahayana view as part of Buddhist ethics believes in vegetarianism for compassion. This branch of Buddhism says that if you don’t follow Buddhist ethics in your diet that you’re not really a Buddhist vegetarian. In the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Buddha discourages his followers from ingesting fish or meat, including any type of these foods. He also mentions that if a vegetarian-appropriate food has made contact with meat that you should wash it first and then eat it.
Here is a direct quote from Buddha according to the Angulimaliya Sutra: “There are no beings who have not been one’s mother, who have not been one’s sister through generations of wandering in beginningless and endless samsara. Even one who is a dog has been one’s father, for the world of living beings is like a dancer. Therefore, one’s own flesh and the flesh of another are a single flesh, so Buddhas do not eat meat.”
Buddhists certainly believe in many of the principles that vegans follow. Veganism also avoids animal products and byproducts for the compassion and love of animals. As we’ve discussed many times on this blog, many animals are cooped up and treated cruelly before being slaughtered. That includes chickens, cows, and other species. You’d have a kindred spirit in Buddhists as a vegan!
Is the Dalai Lama Vegan or Vegetarian?
The Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, also known as Yellow Hat Buddhism. There have been 13 prior Dalai Lamas as of this writing; the 14th is Tenzin Gyatso. His spiritual name in full is Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso. He lives in India as a refugee.
The current Dalai Lama teaches Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism as well as Vajrayana Buddhism, a part of Secret Mantra and tantra Buddhism. Those who follow this religion may consume meat and drink alcohol, which is not the case with the other branches of Buddhism.
That has you wondering, is the Dalai Lama a vegan? No, he isn’t, and by some definitions, he isn’t even a vegetarian. He believes in the Theravada Buddhism principles about consuming meat. As mentioned in this Hindustan Times article from 2017, the Dali Lama proclaimed that if an animal is dead, you can consume its meat, but not if the animal was slaughtered.
Strict vegetarians will never eat meat whether the animal was slaughtered or died of natural causes or for any other reason. As consumers, we often don’t get the benefit of knowing how an animal died before it arrived packaged on grocery store shelves. Considering the aforementioned animal cruelty that many creatures undergo beforehand, maybe this isn’t such a bad thing after all.
Those vegetarians who do eat meat on occasion are known as flexitarians. We’d say then that the Dali Lama is more flexitarian than anything else. He certainly is not a vegan.
Was Buddha Vegan or Vegetarian?
Let’s wrap up by talking about the man himself, Gautama Buddha, who goes by names such as Buddha Shakyamuni, Siddhartha Gautama, and Siddhartha Gotama. Buddha was born sometime between 563 and 480 BCE and died around 483 or 400 BCE at age 80. He’s known as Shakyamuni, which means “Sage of the Shakyas,” as well as the Enlightened One.
Buddha lived most of his life in the Shakya clan as part of a well-to-do family, as we mentioned before. He then set upon a different path, meditating often and following the principles of asceticism and mendicancy. Asceticism means focusing more on one’s spiritual purpose and living without sensual pleasures. Mendicancy is a lifestyle of begging. Essentially, Buddha gave up his cushy life for spiritual enlightenment.
We could write several articles about the many, many teachings of Buddha, so we’ll focus more on his diet. Since he was a mendicant, Buddha believed in owning just a couple of robes and one bowl used to beg for food. He said the lay community could provide lodging, clothing, food, and other basic necessities.
Buddha discouraged using currency or valuables for buying food, and he also didn’t believe in storing food. When you obtained food, you were supposed to eat what you had when you had it.
Although it seems to depend more on which Buddhism school of thought you belong to, as Buddha did allow for meat consumption as part of Theravada practices, Buddha was regarded as a vegetarian. His compassion for animals has inspired millions and millions of people for generations to think twice about eating meat.
Even those who may indulge in meat on occasion as a Buddhist don’t believe in the cruel slaughter of animals. As more people rally against how animals are treated and murdered for food, the need for this kind of cruel containment and killing can stop. This is something that Buddhist vegetarians and vegans can perhaps do together someday.
Conclusion
Buddhism is a religious practice that follows the principles as taught by Buddha himself. Buddhism is staunchly against animal slaughter. Depending on which branch of Buddhism you follow, consuming meat is either allowed sometimes or never. Dairy though is permissible in Buddhism.
While Buddhists are typically not vegan, their vegetarian beliefs align very closely with that of vegans. If you’re a Buddhism who wants to go vegan, amending your diet is very simple, as all you have to do is cut out the dairy. The rest of what you eat–provided that you don’t consume meat, fish, and eggs–is already vegan-friendly!