Guest guest Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 I'm not sure about what Nat wrote in terms of Hinduism--it sounds about right to me. I do know that Chinese Buddhists avoid onions, garlic and chives (though not mushrooms) as well as meat and eggs (but not dairy) and alcohol. There is no one agreed upon reason for this practice, but many people believe it is either because these foods are " stimulating " as Nat said, or because Chinese Buddhists wanted to avoid halitosis as part of their life of compassion towards otehrs. Whatever the reason, most Chinese vegetarian restaurants either here or abroad will cook without these ingredients and indeed, the Chinese word for 'vegetarian' is usually thought to encompass alcohol, onions, garlic and chives as well as meat and dairy. A friend and I once bemusedly ordered " vegetarian beer " at a restaurant in Taiwan only to discover that meant it was non-alcoholic! Quite a disappointment! > Kristy, > > Onion, garlic and mushrooms are believed to be > stimulating the mind. > Its a general practice of people who are practicing > spiritual path > avoid stimulating foods. Onion can be substituted > with ginger and > garlic with asafoetida. I am not an expert in this > area, but I know > its a practice followed in Hinduism. > > Nat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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