We know that for monks, there are many taboos, such as not eating meat, not drinking alcohol, and so on. However, we have a question. For modern people, with the development and progress of human beings, material life is extremely rich. For ordinary people, milk, eggs and honey have become our daily nutritional necessities. Can monks eat milk?
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In the Central Plains Buddhism, monks abstain from meat and fish. Meaty: refers to grass genus, five spices, onion, garlic, leeks, onions, garlic. Fishy taste: Meat refers to the meat and eggs of all animals.
Some people think that milk is milked from animals and is part of animals. There is no difference between drinking milk and eating animal meat. Therefore, families cannot drink milk. However, this is not the case. Monks can drink milk.
The Vimalaya Sutra records a story of Shakyamuni Buddha practicing under a Bodhi tree under extremely difficult conditions. On a hungry and thirsty night, a shepherd passed by and fed Shakyamuni some milk and goat milk porridge. It was this milk and goat milk that kept Shakyamuni going.
But milk is not fishy, so as not to harm its life. But there is resentment, the resentment of the cow mother and child taking food. Therefore, bhikkhus who take the great vows do not drink. To drink milk in today's situation of extreme abundance of food is to forcibly deprive calves of food that belongs to calves, and it is the same as depriving a born baby of breast milk, and it is unmerciful.
So monks can drink milk, but it is best not to drink it!
Of course, in Buddhism today, food taboos are not so strict. Taking eating meat as an example, there is also a saying that "three pure meats" can be eaten. Buddhism emphasizes a state of mind and pursuit. If a person can always have a good mind, a compassionate heart, and understand everything, will he reach the state that Buddhism pursues? And what can and cannot be eaten, entangled with these rigid dogmas, is far better than trying to pursue a heart that leads to Buddhist truth.