Instead of going vegetarian, some Buddhists will opt to prioritize preventing food waste over vegetarianism. While alive, the Buddha merely restricted his intake of meat but did not fully ban it. In fact, the Buddha's last meal was tainted pork which led to the Buddha contracting food poisoning and death.
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. Even vegetarian food that has been touched by meat should be washed before being eaten.
In general, Buddhism prohibits the eating of any and all meat, because (1) the killing of animals violates the First Moral Precept and (2) meat is considered an intoxicant to the body, which violates the Fifth Moral Precept.
In contrast to the view of Hindu vegetarians, for Buddhists meat is not impure in itself. In principle, Buddhists would find nothing wrong with eating the flesh of an animal that had died from natural causes.
Food is prepared as a spiritual exercise with attention to balance, harmony, and delicacy. Conscious eating is followed among all Buddhists. Buddha advised monks to avoid eating 10 kinds of meat for self-respect and protection: humans, elephants, horses, dogs, snakes, lions, tigers, boars and hyenas.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama eats meat once a week for his health. He gives a perfect explanation. He says you should not eat meat, but if you must, you can eat a little, not tons. Anyway, he says it's best not to eat meat.
For the high tradition, defined by Brahmins, Shiva became a vegetarian god. The sects offering meat to Shiva as a prayer ritual, such as the Kaula Kapalikas and the Kalamukhas, were declared heretical according to the Skanda Purana.
It was Buddhism that made vegetarianism popular in Japan, and its influence remains today. In many Buddhist temples, you can eat vegetarian: shogun ryori.
All of India's most widely practiced religions have dietary laws and traditions. For example, Hindu texts often praise vegetarianism, and Hindus may also avoid eating beef because cows are traditionally viewed as sacred. Muslim teachings, meanwhile, prohibit pork.
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.
Plant-based eating is deeply rooted in three of the prominent religions practiced in India – Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. All these religions believe in the concept of Ahimsa, which means kindness and non-violence towards all living things.
The food that a strict Buddhist takes, if not a vegetarian, is also specific. For many Chinese Buddhists, beef and the consumption of large animals and exotic species is avoided.
The Dalai Lama even did his best to be a vegetarian though he comes from Tibet originally where for many generations the people have eaten large quantities of meat, as is natural for a people used to living in a very cold climate with little agriculture. So he used to be a big meat eater like most Tibetan Buddhists.
Instead of going vegetarian, some Buddhists will opt to prioritize preventing food waste over vegetarianism. While alive, the Buddha merely restricted his intake of meat but did not fully ban it. In fact, the Buddha's last meal was tainted pork which led to the Buddha contracting food poisoning and death.
The Buddha did not require vegetarianism from any of the Sangha, and likely ate blameless meat himself throughout his life (Stewart 2010). What is considered blameless? Any meat given to him as alms and any animal meat that died of natural causes.
Buddhism, the Thai state religion, teaches that use of intoxicants should be avoided.
Dietary avoidance out of politeness. Sikhs also generally avoid eating beef because the cow, the buffalo and the ox are an integral part of rural Sikh livelihoods. Similarly, they avoid eating pork when they are in the company of Muslims. However, there is no religious prohibition about eating beef and pork.
Cattle hold a traditional place as objects of reverence in countries such as India. Some Hindus, particularly Brahmins, are vegetarian and strictly abstain from eating meat. All of those who do eat meat abstain from the consumption of beef, as the cow holds a sacred place in Hinduism.
The majority of Hindus are lacto-vegetarian (avoiding meat and eggs), although some may eat lamb, chicken or fish. Beef is always avoided because the cow is considered a holy animal, but dairy products are eaten. Animal-derived fats such as lard and dripping are not permitted.
It is also true that there are some Hindu deities who are offered meat. Most famously, goats are regularly offered to the Hindu goddess Kali. Meat offerings are also not uncommon in Nepal, a majority Hindu nation. But the vast majority of food offerings to Hindu deities today are vegetarian in nature.
'Rama, Krishna & Valmiki were non-vegetarians'
On the one hand, the vinaya (the rules of monks) explicitly allows monks to eat meat. On the other hand, Tibetan Buddhism idealizes the practice of compassion, and expects practitioners to focus their efforts on relieving the suffering of all sentient beings—a category that explicitly includes animals.
Many Tibetans also refuse to eat poultry and pork, as the tenets of Buddhism tell that all life is sacred, and for them it is better to take the life of a larger animal, for the meat to last longer, than several small animals and build up more bad karma.
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. Although mass-produced eggs are now sterilized and do not contain life, they are obviously not of plant origin.