Jiahui Zhang

Jiahui Zhang

June 10, 2025

Chinese Buddhism, Vegetarian culture, Non-killing, Ethical values, Environmental protection, Cultural heritage.

The global food culture is rapidly moving towards vegetarianism and environmental protection, and vegetarian culture has gradually become a new trend in the development of global food culture. The vegetarian culture of Chinese Buddhism is an important part of traditional Chinese culture, with a long history and rich connotations, which has had a profound impact on China's religion, ethics, and dietary customs. This study aims to systematically explore the historical origins, religious ethics, and practices of Chinese Buddhist vegetarian culture, and analyze its impact and application in modern environmental issues. The formation of Buddhist vegetarian culture is closely related to Buddhist precepts. After Buddhism was introduced to China during the Eastern Han Dynasty, it gradually integrated with local culture, emphasizing the doctrines of "non killing" and "compassion", and promoting the popularization and development of vegetarian customs. During the Tang and Song dynasties, with the flourishing of Zen Buddhism, the vegetarian culture further deepened and formed a unique dietary system, including classic vegetarian dishes, vegetarian dining standards, and vegetarian cooking techniques. Chinese Buddhist monks completely cut off meat consumption starting from Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan (464-549 AD). Since Emperor Wu stipulated that monks should eat vegetarian food, Buddhism has been the strongest advocate of vegetarianism. Many Mahayana Buddhist scriptures explicitly prohibit eating all the flesh of sentient beings and argue for the sin of eating meat based on the principles of karma and reincarnation. Therefore, vegetarianism has established a long-standing Buddhist tradition. In addition, Buddhist vegetarian culture also holds significant ethical and ecological importance. The emphasis on life equality and environmental protection coincides with today's global sustainable development issues. This study will explore the ideological origins of Buddhist vegetarian culture from religious scriptures and historical documents, analyze the enlightenment of Buddhist vegetarian culture on modern dietary ethics, and explore its application value in healthy eating, environmental protection, and cultural inheritance. Combined with archaeological and folk materials, it will explore the important nodes and influencing factors in its development process. With the rise of modern vegetarianism, how can Chinese Buddhist vegetarian culture serve as a bridge to promote exchanges between different cultures and religions? This study aims to comprehensively present the rich connotations and contemporary values of Chinese Buddhist vegetarian culture, provide reference for academic research in related fields, and promote the modern transformation and international dissemination of traditional culture.

© 2025, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

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