The medical profession and nutritionists strongly advocate the recipe of "vegetarian therapy to cure diseases, preserve health and live longer", so vegetarianism and health are almost equal; Vegetarianism has become a healthy lifestyle. From this point of view, the ruthless trend of modern people is getting stronger and stronger. Besides keeping healthy, vegetarianism is also of positive significance to ecological balance and environmental protection.
In fact, as early as more than 2,500 years ago, people in China loved vegetarian tea. In The Book of Songs and Lu Lan, it was recorded that "an old friend offered Qin" and "a stone ear in the Han Dynasty". Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, with the introduction of Buddhism into China, vegetarian tea has spread rapidly around temples.
In the early days, soup porridge was the main snack for the temple to entertain donors. Later, with the increase of social interaction, the types of dishes were constantly improved and enriched. After the Northern Wei Dynasty, a unique and meaningful cuisine was formed, with various names, including vegetarian dishes, vegetarian dishes and vegetarian dishes, which became more and more popular among the general public.
At present, most famous Buddhist temples all over the country have vegetarian restaurants, which attract countless Chinese and foreign diners because of their fine selection of materials, exquisite cooking, rich patterns, unique style, good color, fragrance, taste and shape. However, the real purpose of the establishment of the temple vegetarian restaurant is to advocate vegetarianism, encourage people to stop killing and release, and cultivate compassion for creatures, thus reducing social hostility and enhancing the harmony between man and everything.
From the perspective of Buddhism, the significance of releasing and protecting students lies in saving all beings, which is the most active ecological environment protection. Buddha said that "greed" is one of the three poisons; The concept of "greed" contains a wide range, and the greed for food is one of them. Therefore, people who study Buddhism should let go of greed, be compassionate, be wise and be ruthless.
In various Mahayana classics, such as Mahayana Nirvana Sutra, Shurangama Sutra and Shurangama Sutra, the Buddha has clearly revealed the significance, merits and influence of vegetarianism on Mahayana bodhisattva practitioners. It is very important for practitioners to keep their body and mind clean. Vegetarian food can make the body relaxed and comfortable. When the body is in a pure state, the mind is naturally easier to adjust.
As the saying goes, the heart is the source of creation of all things in the world. Only when the body and mind are clean can we bear the energy of the universe. Only when the mind is guided can the world be guided; Compassionate heart is the strongest energy and the greatest mindfulness. The seeds of our karma are hidden in the field of eight senses; Among them, the cause of killing is the most important cause, which has gathered a lot of resentment and hatred.
If you are a vegetarian, you can stop the opportunity to kill all beings (whether individually or indirectly), so vegetarianism can nourish our compassion; Compassion is the most important virtue of practitioners. When a person has compassion in his heart, his whole body will be very soft. Vegetarianism is a concrete manifestation of compassion. In this way, the seeds of bad karma will not be planted in the eight-knowledge field, and the seeds of good karma will naturally grow slowly, thus purifying the eight-knowledge field and improving practice. Therefore, not eating meat is of great help to the body, mind or the cleanliness of Batian.
As we all know, food is the source of human nutrition. Modern science has proved that vegetarian diet is rich in nutrition and has many benefits to human health. Has anticancer, cholesterol lowering, bile salt removing, blood lipid lowering, and blood purification effects. , but also can make hair black and shiny, skin smooth and tender, full of energy.
From ancient times to the present, the dietotherapy function of plant foods has been recorded in Huangdi Neijing, Shennong Herbal Classic, Physician's Heart Guide, Diet, Compendium of Materia Medica and other books. It can be seen that vegetarianism is the most natural and healthy diet.
The nutrition absorbed by vegetarian diet is helpful to improve various ills brought by modern people's bad diet; But the nutrition of food is of course important, and more importantly, the mind of diet often determines the absorption of food; With compassion and gratitude in the heart, the endocrine of the body will be harmonious and normal, and the enzymes in the body will be rich. Therefore, people who share the same food, are compassionate and grateful, and will get higher nutritional benefits than ordinary people.
Buddhism teaches us to work hard at six passes, to keep our thoughts, to keep mindfulness at all times, and not to be greedy, greedy and stupid when facing food, so as not to "make our own toxins", because our own toxins can hurt our body and mind more than foreign toxins; If you eat pure food, but your heart is still troubled, how can your body and mind be healthy?
Therefore, the mind of diet is more important and beneficial than the content of food. Therefore, if you can be honest with yourself without greed or ignorance, you will naturally achieve real physical and mental purity. Just like Hua Yan Jing. Bodhisattva Samantabhadra said: "If you eat, you should wish all beings to eat in Zen and be full of Dharma happiness. 」