The influence of Theravada Buddhism on nutrition and health

Theravada Buddhism is the main religion in Thailand; it is also strong in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and Burma. Theravada means the doctrine of the elders; elders referring to the senior monks. Theravada Buddhists believe that their teachings have stayed closest to the original teachings. They do not over-emphasize these teachings; they are used as aids to help people understand the truth (BBC, 2002).   

Theravada beliefs include the supernatural; however they are not seen as very important and they do not cure human problems. It is most important that meditation is used to help solve ones problems, not some outside force. According to the Sutra’s, Buddha didn’t answer the question about the existence of God. He didn’t ask for any belief and invited his followers to investigate their mind and experience to find out the truth.  He offers an insight in reality and ways to live in accordance with this insight that are helpful to lead a good life. Siddhartha Gautama was a man who became Buddha, the Enlightened One, or the Awakened One. Only through his teachings can there be contact with him, his teachings show the way to the awakened state. However the journey is up to them to make, on their own (BBC, 2002).

In Theravada Buddhism there are five basic principles or rules for everyone. Monks have different and more rules to follow than lay people. The rules for monks and nuns are collected in the Vinaya.  Interesting and unusual are that monks may not handle money and they may not eat after midday. The rules which all followers of Buddhism should try to adhere to are as follows:

• Refrain from harming living beings

• Refrain from taking that which is not freely given

• Refrain from sexual misconduct

• Refrain from wrong speech; such as lying, idle chatter, malicious gossip or harsh speech

• Refrain from intoxicating drink and drugs which lead to carelessness (BBC, 2002)

Despite there being an emphasis on monastic life, the lay followers have a significant role and place. They give the monks food, without which they could not survive. Monks spend a great deal of time meditating and helping other to gather all that is good around them and to achieve liberation.

In turn the monks give the lay followers spiritual support and guidance. However a monk may not demand anything from a lay follower and a lay follower also may not demand anything from a monk. It is not exactly an exchange but more of an open hearted giving. Without this well established system this form of Buddhism would not be able to exist (BBC, 2002).

There are a lot of ceremonies and commemoration days which lay followers honour and celebrate, for example Wesak which marks the birth and parinibbana which means the passing away of the Buddha, and for these events everyone meets at the local temples.

Buddhism has very special dietary rules, especially for monks. They must not eat food which they have not received from someone else’s hands. If a monk does eat food which he has not received from someone else’s hands, he commits an offence in the Pacittiya category (Vin IV 90; cf. nuns’pacittiya 122). The Vinaya also describes for a monk  how to act if a rule is broken.  Breaking a rule can have different consequences. The term Pacittiya refers to subsets of rules that can be expiated in some way within the lifetime of a monk.

 Lay followers can invite the monks to give them food; the monk will eat of this what he needs to eat to stay alive (Wijayaratna, 1990) .There are certain things that monks from the book of the Vinaya are not allowed to eat. Those things are: human meats, elephant meats, Horse meats, tiger meats, snake meats, dog meats, bear meats and lion meats. The monks are allowed to eat meat from other animals. It’s their own choice if they want to eat meat or not, it’s not forbidden by Buddha.  The gift of food to others is an expression of generosity.  The generosity of people towards others has a very good effect on their mind and is recommended on the path of awakening. Monks are not supposed to spoil this gesture by being critical about what food is offered to them.  That is why they tend to look away when food is dropped in their bowl.   Another thing Vinaya forbids is the consuming of alcohol; this is seen as a sin (Utthayaphong, 2014).The monks only eat in the morning from 06:00 a.m. till 12:00 p.m. in the afternoon. After 12:00 p.m. they don’t eat any more and help most of the time other people with all kinds of stuff. Other Thai people don’t have a general time for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They eat whenever they want and whatever they want. In the morning this is most of the time boiled rice or bread. In the afternoon and in the evening they eat a warm meal which most of the time contains; rice or noodles, chicken or beef and some vegetables (Utthayaphong, 2014).