Traditionally, Buddhist monastics follow the prātimokṣa rules outlined in the various Vinayas (texts outlining the monastic discipline) all which specify that one must not eat after the noon meal. Instead, Buddhist texts mention that this is a period which should be used for meditation or sutta chanting.
According to the Vinaya, monastics can eat food only between dawn and noon. Although this diet was intended to meet the specific needs of the Buddhist community in 5th-century India, some lay people have chosen to take on a version of the practice. There's even a book advocating “the Buddha's diet.”
Buddhist monks fast completely on the days of the new moon and full moon each lunar month; they also avoid eating any solid food after noon. Monks are expected to show moderation in all things, including eating.
The monastic community in Chinese Buddhism, Vietnamese Buddhism and most of Korean Buddhism strictly adhere to vegetarianism. Theravada Buddhist monks and nuns consume food by gathering alms themselves, and generally must eat whatever foods are offered to them, including meat.
Monks are forbidden to eat after midday, so to keep their energy up, many rely on highly sweetened beverages, including energy drinks. Thai Buddhist devotees believe that offering alms secures them good karma in this life and the next. Sometimes, they also hope to bestow good luck on deceased family members.
Traditionally, those alms are calorie-rich foods, either processed or homemade – with the Buddhist faithful wanting to offer something of high value and taste. 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.
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.
Buddhism, the Thai state religion, teaches that use of intoxicants should be avoided. Nonetheless, many Thai people drink alcohol, and a proportion are alcohol-dependent or hazardous or harmful drinkers.
Zen Buddhist monks strive for minimalism in their meals as well as in all areas of life. 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.
While the jury is still out on coffee consumption, most Buddhists believe coffee in moderation is perfectly fine, as long as it does not interfere with the fifth precept, a guideline of morals for practicing Buddhists.
The precepts are commitments to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Within the Buddhist doctrine, they are meant to develop mind and character to make progress on the path to enlightenment.
4.00 am - The monks wake up and meditate for one hour, followed by one hour of chanting. 6.00 am - The monks walk barefoot around the neighbourhood while the local people make merit by offering them food. 8.00 am - Returning to the temple, the monks sit together to eat breakfast, then make a blessing for world peace.
Some Buddhists who follow a strict diet not eat the five pungent vegetables: onions, garlic, chives, green onions and leeks. The Buddha said that these adversely affect those who are in the early stages of cultivation. If eaten cooked, they produce hormones.
Those who remain present the deceased with food to show them – as they linger on Earth in consciousness – that they are loved in death as they were loved in life. “It's their last meal, so to speak." Food offerings are usually made of grains, fruits and vegetables and must not be meat or fish.
In line, most Buddhist monks also eat only once a day, sometimes twice (including a breakfast but never dinner unless sick). Lay Buddhists also sometimes eat only once a day when they are keeping the eight precepts that include not eating at the wrong times.
TATTOOS AND BUDDHISM
Buddhism much like Hinduism is not particularly restrictive when it comes to tattoos. Buddhists believe that the body is impermanent and so are tattoos. Because they are viewed as temporary, getting tattoos doesn't violate any Buddhist doctrines or beliefs.
And in many Theravada countries with large Buddhist populations who practise the most orthodox school of Buddhism, even monks smoke. So, becoming a Buddhist certainly doesn't mean you have to give up smoking or other tobacco products. Having said that, Buddhism does discourage consumption of any kind of intoxicants.
In Buddhism, smoking is not explicitly prohibited and Buddhist communities have generally tolerated the practice. A definite Buddhist view towards smoking is ambiguous, and attitudes towards it vary from positive to negative; which vary by institution, teaching, and personal views.
Atheism in Buddhism, Jainism
While Buddhism is a tradition focused on spiritual liberation, it is not a theistic religion. The Buddha himself rejected the idea of a creator god, and Buddhist philosophers have even argued that belief in an eternal god is nothing but a distraction for humans seeking enlightenment.
Though the specifics of diet vary based from person to person and region to region, many Buddhists consume a variety of plant-based foods, as well as dairy.
And then there is black food. This food must be avoided by those who are meditating or engaged in purification practices. Black food includes meat, but also a number of ingredients that you might not expect: garlic, onions and eggs among them.
They averaged approximately five hours sleep between evening prayers and the 2am church service, and then snatched another half an hour before being up at 4am for more prayer. They were allowed to rest again after their midday meal but many spent that time in private reflection and reading.
In the olden days, they were forbidden amongst the Buddhist community because these vegetables can cause irritation and intestinal gas, which lessen one's ability to concentrate or meditate.
The Buddhist vegetarian who does not observe Buddhist ethics is not seen as a true Buddhist vegetarian. According to the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, a Mahayana sutra giving Gautama Buddha's final teachings, the Buddha insisted that his followers should not eat any kind of meat or fish.