There are not set dietary laws in Buddhism, customs vary with region. Vegetarian is common due to the principle of nonviolence and the avoidance of suffering.
The monks are also forbidden from eating anything after 12 p.m., having only one or two meals a day between the hours of 6 a.m. and noon. This means it's hard for monks to change their diet.
The first meal is breakfast, which is shoshoku. It usually consists of rice and pickles. Lunch, called tenshin, is also rice or soup, also with pickled vegetables.
You can eat vegetables and dairy products in this diet plan or can avoid dairy products if you want to. Foods to eat in Buddhist Diet: Dairy: Yoghurt, cottage cheese, milk. Grains: Bread, oatmeal, rice.
Food is prepared as a spiritual exercise with attention to balance, harmony, and delicacy. Conscious eating is followed among all Buddhists. Buddha advised monks to avoid eating 10 kinds of meat for self-respect and protection: humans, elephants, horses, dogs, snakes, lions, tigers, boars and hyenas.
Following its dominant status in most parts of East Asia where Buddhism is most practiced, rice features heavily as a staple in the Buddhist meal, especially in the form of rice porridge or congee as the usual morning meal. Noodles and other grains may often be served as well.
Traditional Buddhist cuisine is simple and features a staple (rice, congee or noodles) with vegetables that are stir-fried, braised or cooked in broth. The Buddhist diet that originated in monasteries keeps food light in its original flavor and avoids pungent ingredients like garlic, leeks and onions.
4.00am – The monks wake up and meditate for one hour, followed by one hour of chanting. 6.00am – The monks walk barefoot around the neighbourhood while the local people make merit by offering them food. Monks receiving offerings of food. 8.00am – Returning to the temple, the monks sit together to eat breakfast.
Buddhism tradition
Buddhism deems that tea helps with cultivating the body and mind. Therefore, drinking tea has become a common practice of monks. As recorded in the Song Dynasty, monks “get up, wash their face and hands, and drink tea in the morning. Then, they sit during meditation and then take a nap.
In Theravada Buddhism, you can eat (dark) chocolate while fasting because it's historically categorized as medicine.
Buddhism. Observant Buddhists typically avoid consuming alcohol (surāmerayamajja, referring to types of intoxicating fermented beverages), as it violates the 5th of the Five Precepts, the basic Buddhist code of ethics and can disrupt mindfulness and impede one's progress in the Noble Eightfold Path.
According to legend, Buddha fed daily on a hemp seed on his way to enlightenment. Therefore, according to Indian myth, hemp seeds are the only food to have attained perfection. This story was the reason for our founder Fabian to eat only hemp seeds for weeks.
The Buddha Diet is characterized by time-restricted eating, also known as intermittent fasting. The diet emphasizes people focusing on when they eat versus what they eat. At first, people restrict their window of calorie intake by 13 hours a day for two weeks.
In general, Buddhism prohibits the eating of any and all meat, because (1) the killing of animals violates the First Moral Precept and (2) meat is considered an intoxicant to the body, which violates the Fifth Moral Precept.
Some traditions even go so far as to protect the seed of life in plants and vegetation. These very strict dietary rules prevent Buddhists from consuming root vegetables like potatoes, onions, carrots, ginger and garlic.
Thus we can see the Buddha was busy the whole day. In fact he only slept one hour each day during this 45 years of teaching. During the early hours of the day he saw the whole universe, blessed it with his boundless love and brought happiness to millions.
The monks go on alms round in the morning and the only other activities of the day are morning chores, breakfast, and the main meal. At 7:00 pm, the community gathers for pūjā, meditation, the taking of the precepts by the laity and a Dhamma talk.
Bedtime – the monks went to bed at 8pm in the winter and 9pm in the summer. They had to sleep in dormitories of 10 or 20. They slept fully clothed except that they had to remove their knives in case they cut themselves when they were asleep.
In fact, Vinayapitaka that details Gautam Buddha's food habits post nirvana talks about his fondness for not just madhuka (honey) and mantha (a kind of porridge made with parched barely, honey and curd) but also of panna (sherbet) made from seasonal fruits, especially Panasa (jackfruit), Tadgola (ice apple), breadfruit ...
All Buddhists are not vegetarians, and Buddhist texts do not unanimously condemn the consumption of meat. Certain sutras of the Great Vehicle, the Mahayana, however, do so unequivocally.
This is not considered a kind of fasting, but a simple and moderate way of eating which is said to aid one's meditation and health. Devout lay Buddhists will also follow this rule as one of the Eight precepts during important days of religious observance (uposatha).
Most modern Buddhists are less strict concerning intoxicants, and although coffee has a mild effect on the brain, social and daily consumption is generally accepted.
With regard to eggs, they are in the fleshy smell category because they can become chicks, and they also contain animal scent. Therefore, one who has taken a strict vegetarian vow should not consume eggs. Although mass-produced eggs are now sterilized and do not contain life, they are obviously not of plant origin.
There are several chants that are done before and after meals to express gratitude. Gokan-no-ge, the "Five Reflections" or "Five Remembrances," is from the Zen tradition. First, let us reflect on our own work and the effort of those who brought us this food.