Buddhism stresses practice,
In fact, we eat very simply. We once went out with a monk in Guangzhou, and our lunch time was delayed because we had to take a ferry. After landing, we all had lunch, but the monks strictly observed the rule of "no eating in the afternoon" and stopped eating lunch, which showed their simplicity.
When you eat vegetarian food with monks in Guangxiao Temple and Liu Rong Temple, you will find that the vegetarian food there is much lighter than that in vegetarian restaurants. The so-called Lohan Zhai and Tathagata Zhai are mostly vegetarian restaurants' interpretations of vegetarian dishes. Guangzhou's most famous vegetarian dish "Dinghu Luohanzhai" was first introduced by Guangzhou Meat Restaurant.
Compared with Luohanzhai all over the country, Luohanzhai in Guangzhou is famous for its rich and exquisite materials, but this dish is rare now and too luxurious, which is neither the spirit of Buddhism nor the principle for vegetarian restaurants to compete with other restaurants in the market economy environment.
The practice of ordinary Luohanzhai is roughly the same in several vegetarian restaurants in Guangzhou, and there is little difference among the major cuisines in the country, but among the people, each has its own practice, which is far from the same. Rich people are naturally "Liu Er Dai San Mushrooms", and everything is complete, while ordinary people, with three or five kinds of materials, are also an arhat Zhai. This spirit comes from Buddhism.
As for how to eat Luohanzhai, ordinary families in Guangzhou must cook a dish at noon on New Year's Day, which not only shows respect for the Buddha, but also wishes the next year to be rich and not vegetarian. Such cunning comes from ordinary citizens.
Luo Hanzhai is the representative of vegetarian dishes. Vegetarian dishes are mainly vegetarian dishes. From vegetarian dishes to vegetarian dishes, the form has not changed much, but the meaning has quietly changed.
Vegetarian food in Guangzhou is also different from the old vegetarian food. The new vegetarian diet is the symbol of "healthy food" and "green food". Compared with the old vegetarian diet, there are differences in cooking techniques and connotations.
Old-school vegetarian restaurants, such as vegetable root incense, Buddha predestined relationship and Buddha world, will certainly make some compromises to promote fashion and some healthy foods, but in their bones, it is still the spirit of Buddha.
For example, when the old vegetarian restaurant "Caigenxiang" first heard the name, ordinary people might understand that the name of the restaurant was taken from the sentence "Chewing vegetable roots and doing great things". This statement is simple, but it is still in the spirit of joining the WTO, which is different from the Buddhist tradition. I will be a little surprised in my heart. Later, I learned that the word "vegetable root fragrance" originally came from another source. There is a saying in the Buddhist scriptures that "a safe hut is stable."
The spirit of Buddhism permeates the secular world, and sometimes it has this touching power.
The spirit of "following fate" in previous life's Luohanzhai
According to some sources, Luohanzhai originated in the Tang Dynasty, when the worship of Buddhism prevailed, which has not been confirmed.
"Luohanzhai" is a representative dish of "temple garden dishes" and is not unique to Guangzhou. It is said that there are "Lohan Zhai" in Huaiyang cuisine, "Lohan Banquet" in Beijing cuisine and "Lohan Quanzhai" in hubei cuisine. According to the master of the vegetarian restaurant, Luohanzhai in all places uses "Liu Er with three mushrooms" as raw materials, and there should be little difference.
Luohanzhai generally uses about ten kinds of materials. If there are as many as eighteen kinds, it is called "Eighteen Arhats Zhai". Guangzhou is famous for its "Eighteen Arhats Zhai", which means eighteen Arhats, with more than one person to show its grandeur. People in past dynasties prepared this dish when they set up vegetarian seats in Buddhism.
However, we learned in the interview that today's Luohanzhai has become a very common vegetarian dish. It is technically not difficult to make "Lohan Quanzhai", but the cost is high. Generally, vegetarian restaurants don't make "Luohan Quanzhai", and there are no more than ten kinds of ordinary Luohan Zhai materials.
Lohan is a respectful name for monks. In the eyes of ordinary citizens, "Luohanzhai" has no certain rules and has become a general term for vegetarian dishes that express respect for the Buddha.
Ordinary families cook mushrooms and mushroom vegetarian dishes together. There must be no ten kinds of raw materials, also known as Luohanzhai. Some meat restaurants also cook "Luohanzhai", and the ingredients are different.
Zhou Ping Ketan in the Southern Song Dynasty recorded: "The rice monk in Guangzhou repented and was named Luohanzhai." I don't know if this is the earliest record of "Luohanzhai" in Guangzhou, but at least it can be said that Luohanzhai should not refer to a specific dish, such as the famous Guangdong vegetarian dish "Dinghu Shangsu", also known as "Dinghu Luohanzhai". It can be seen that "Luohanzhai" should be the general name of dishes mixed with mushrooms and fungi. Therefore, people's understanding of this dish is relatively accurate, and this attitude of "following fate" also has something in common with the spirit of Buddhism.