Introduction
Throughout this course, we have read many articles and papers about China’s complex food culture and related customs. From these articles, we have seen the influences that major religions in China have on this culture. For instance, Daoism plays a big part in TCM as you achieve balance within your body from the food you eat. Confucianism influenced the rituals and etiquette associated with food like seating arrangements and communal dining. The religion I would like to focus my research on is Buddhism. I believe that Buddhism profoundly shaped China’s food culture by promoting vegetarianism, influencing cooking methods, and inspiring the development of unique plant-based dishes, all rooted in the religion’s emphasis on compassion, nonviolence, and spiritual discipline.
Overview of Buddhism in China
Buddhism is the oldest “foreign” religion in China and was introduced to the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) by traveling monks from India and Central Asia. Over the next several centuries, it became a distinctly Chinese form of spirituality by integrating with pre-existing philosophical systems such as Daoism and Confucianism.
In the beginning, Chinese people were forbidden to build or join monasteries as Buddha was seen as a foreign deity. It wasn’t until the late Han Dynasty that Buddhism started to gain traction and develop into Han Buddhism by incorporating concepts and practices from Chinese traditions. After the Han Dynasty China entered a period known as Six Dynasties which was a chaotic time for China. Buddhism offered solace and spiritual guidance, and it also served as an alternative to the rigid social hierarchies of Confucianism and the mystical naturalism of Daoism.
The translators of Buddhist texts into Chinese also played a huge part since they incorporated ideas from Chinese cultural norms. For example, nirvana was replaced with 道 dao and 无为 wuwei was associated with Buddhist non-attachment. This assimilation of existing Chinese philosophies made it very accessible to Chinese natives and is a major factor in its popularity. Han Buddhism grew rapidly during the Tang Dynasty 618 – 907 since Chinese emperors started to endorse Buddhist institutions which led to the construction of monasteries and temples.
Chinese Buddhist Schools
Sanlun
Founded in the 3rd century CE, this was one of the earliest Chinese Buddhist schools, and played a significant role in the spread of Mahayana Buddhism in China, influencing later schools such as Tiantai, Huayan, and Chan. It is based on the Madhyamaka (Middle Way) philosophy and emphasizes the importance of emptiness (shunyata). According to this school, enlightenment comes from reaching the middle way between the extremes of existence and non-existence.
Pure Land Buddhism
Founded in the 4th century CE, this school focused on devotion to Amitabha Buddha and a desire to be reborn in the Western Pure land (Sukhavati. This became one of the most popular forms of Buddhism in China. It offered a simple and accessible path to enlightenment through faith and chanting 念佛. This school appealed to the general population and provided comfort during difficult times.
Vinaya school
Founded in the 4th century CE. This is also known as the Lü school. Focuses on the study and practice of the Vinaya (monastic code), and prioritizes strict following of the monastic discipline. This school was crucial in shaping the monastic tradition in China and laid the groundwork for a stable Buddhist community. In the future the Vinaya school eventually declined as a distinct school, however its teachings were incorporated into other major traditions.
Tiantai School
Founded in the 6th century CE. It provides a systematic approach to Buddhist doctrine. It advocated for a balance of meditation, ethical conduct, and intellectual study and considered Lotus Sutra the highest teaching of Buddha. This school is notable for the doctrine of Three Truths 三谛 sandi: emptiness, conventional existence, and the middle way,
Chan Buddhism
Founded in the 6th century CE. Chan Buddhism, also known as Zen in Japan, Became one of the most influential schools of Chinese Buddhism. It emphasizes on direct experience and meditation over the intellectual study of scriptures. They highlight “sudden enlightenment 悟 wu and the use of paradoxical anecdotes (koan) to transcend rational thinking”. Chan Buddhism is heavily influenced by Daoist principles, for instance, the idea of natural spontaneity (ziran) and the attainment of Dao are central ideas within this school. The simple and familiar terms caused this school to resonate deeply with the Chinese population, leading to its widespread popularity.
Huayan school
Founded in the 7th century CE. The central ideas within this school are based on the Avatamsaka Sutra (华严经 huayanjing) which promoted a focus on interdependence and mutual casualty. It presents the idea that all phenomena are interconnected and the Huayan school’s doctrine of “Indra’s Net” represents this idea as it describes the universe as a net of jewels. This holistic worldview had a significant influence on Chinese philosophy, art, and later Buddhist schools
Faxiang school
Founded in the 7th century CE. The Faxiang (Dharma characteristics) school is also known as the Yogācāra or Consciousness-Only school. This school Focuses on the nature of consciousness, and how our perceived reality is created by a projection of the mind. They developed detailed classifications of mental functions and philosophical arguments about perception and reality and made massive contributions to Buddhist epistemology in China
Zhenyan school
Founded in the 8th century CE. Zhenyan (true world) school is a form of Esoteric or Tantric Buddhism, introduced during the Tang dynasty. This school emphasizes the importance of ritual practices like mantra recitation, mudras (hand gestures), and mandalas. Which all aim to achieve spiritual transformation and enlightenment. This school’s popularity was not high within China and was more popular in Japan as Shingon, however it still had lasting influences on Chinese Buddhist rituals and iconography.
Now with a quick overview of the types of Buddhism prevalent within China, I will now focus on the effects stemming from Chan Buddhism as this is arguably the most popular school within contemporary China and contributed to many advancements within China’s Dietary customs. I will delve deeper into the specific practices and beliefs of Chan Buddhism to determine the lasting effects this school has had.
Chan Buddhism
Chan Buddhism is a school of Mahayana Buddhism with strong Daoist influence. Many believe that it was started by the Indian monk Bodhidharma who traveled to China sometime during the 6th century and began spreading his teachings. Chan Buddhism represents the intersection between Indian Mahayana Buddhism and Daoism philosophy. The name, Chan 禅, is a sinicization of the word dhyāna in Sanskrit as 禅那 channa, which means meditative state. Chan Buddhism has spread to other locations in East Asia such as Vietnam (called Thien Buddhism), Korea (Seon Buddhism), and most famously Japan (Zen Buddhism). The Japanese form, Zen, is the most recognized in the West but there are also notable Chan communities in the United States and Europe.
The defining characteristic of Chan Buddhism is the importance of meditation and direct experience rather than the intellectual study of scriptures. They believe that meditation is the key to enlightenment and the awareness of the Four Noble Truths.
Direct Experience/Transmission
“An important aspect of Chan Buddhism is the concept of special transmission outside the scriptures (教外别传); not established upon words and letters (不立文字); directly pointing to the human heart-mind (直指人心); seeing nature and becoming a Buddha (见性成佛)”
“The students were expected to experience sudden enlightenment 顿悟 dunwu where insights into one’s true nature occurs instantaneously, transcending gradual, step-by-step approaches. The first patriarch, or teacher, of Chan Buddhism Bodhidharma employed “wall gazing” as a way to awaken one’s Buddha-nature (佛性 foxing).”
Both these quotes come from the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy in an entry about Chan Buddhism.
This overall practice of innate understanding was described as 无念 wunian emphasizing that enlightenment isn’t achieved through the accumulation of thoughts or practices, but through realizing the inherent Buddha-nature within. In Chan Buddhism, it is believed that everyone once was in a state of enlightenment that was lost as we grew up. Therefore their goal is to regain this previous enlightenment through meditation. One common practice is one sits facing a wall and aims to restore the mind to its proper function that is unmoved by habitual thought patterns stemmed three poisons 三毒 sandu of greed 贪 tan, hatred 嗔 chen, and ignorance 痴 chi. The production of these three poisons come from 住着心 translated as clinging mind or attachment. The goal of Buddhist practitioners is to achieve non-attachment 无住心. The thought patterns associated with attachment 住着心 encompass examples such as 烦恼心，纠结心，挂碍心，忆想信，分别心，得失心，过度心等. Which respectively translates to: a troubled mind, a tangled mind, a burdened mind, a mind dwelling on thoughts, a discriminating mind, a mind obsessed with gain and loss, an excessive mind, etc. It is important to note, however, that wunian does not mean making the mind blank and getting rid of all thoughts.
As 学山禅院 xueshanchanyuan，a website devoted to spreading the practices and customs associated with Chan Buddhism, states, “想吃些美食，看漂亮的风景，听动听的音乐，这并不是贪，因这些喜爱而生烦恼，是名贪心”. This translates to, “Wanting to eat delicious food, see beautiful scenery, or listen to pleasant music, is not greed. But when these desires breed distress, that is greed.
“因某人某事而生气，发脾气，甚至痛恨，这不是嗔。内心久久不能释怀，心里郁闷，念念不忘，心生怨恨，是名为嗔。“Getting angry or even despising someone over an incident, this is not hatred. But when resentment lingers, when the mind cannot let go, that is hatred
“对这个世界的一切都不懂，一切都不会，愚笨无知，这不是痴。以为自己知道什么，处处轻视他人，评价他人，指责他人，见他人之过失，是名愚痴。”Not understanding the ways of the world, being unskilled or foolish, this is not ignorance. But believing you know better, looking down on others, judging others, fixating on their faults – that is ignorance.
These all display that sandu is not about outward appearances, outsiders cannot perceive them. It is only about your inner nature and your own mind’s clinging nature that determines if your thoughts are poisoned by sandu.
Chan Buddhist Dietary Customs
Now that we have analyzed the philosophical viewpoints of Chan Buddhism we can begin learning about their dietary practices and how their beliefs influenced these practices.
Chan Buddhism’s dietary customs align closely with Mahayana Buddhist vegetarianism since it’s derived from Mahayana school. Mahayana Buddhism has many texts like Surangama Sutra and Brahma Net Sutra which specify a strict vegetarian diet.
The Surangama Sutra states that “Being who seek Samadhi should refrain from eating five kinds of pungent root; if eaten cooked, they are aphrodisiac and if raw, they cause irritability”. It also states “those practisers who wish to enter the state of Samadhi should observe strictly the rules of pure living to cut lust from the mind by abstaining from meat and wine and by taking cooked, instead of raw food.”
These pungent roots in Chinese are referred to as 五辛 wuxin or 五荤 wuhun and they are garlic, ferula resin, scallion, leek, and shallot scallion (Allium bakeri). The second rule about eating is to abstain from meat and wine. Not all schools deriving from Mahayana Buddhism are strictly vegetarian and for many schools in China monks were allowed to eat meat if they were donated as alms. However, the meat had to be part of three pure meats 三净肉 sanjingrou. The rules for this meat were that: the slaughter must not have been seen or heard by the monk, and not have been slaughtered specifically for the monk. This is a common practice among other Mahayana schools, but Chan Buddhism supports a strictly vegetarian diet and adheres closely to the Surangama Sutra.
Some other rules outside of the diet were noon fasting and ritualized meals. For noon fasting it was believed that “早晨为天人食时，中午为法食时，下午为畜生食时，夜晚为鬼神食时“. This means that Buddha believed that morning is the time for the gods to eat, noon is the time for the Dharma to eat, afternoon is the time for the animals to eat, and night is the time for the ghosts and gods to eat. The 百丈清规 Baizhang Monastic Code detailed table manner such as no noise with bowls or chopsticks, and no picking teeth with hands. After partaking in a monastic meal, some neo-Confucianists praised these meals as “三代礼乐，尽在其中“ (The rites of three dynasties reside here).
Chan Buddhism’s Impact on Chinese Dietary Culture
The areas of Chinese food culture that I feel Chan Buddhism impacted the most are vegetarianism and tea.
Vegetarianism
As explained above Chan Buddhism emphasized a strict vegetarian diet. During Song dynasty, Emperor Wu of Liang who was a devout believer of Buddhism, prevented monks from eating any meat. From this point onwards thousands of Buddhist temples nationwide adopted vegetarianism, leading to a societal trend of vegetarianism. Even the imperial palace established a “vegetarian bureau” to provide for the emperor and empress during fasting days.
This became even more prevalent after the Song dynasty because many temples at the time were capable of preparing renowned vegetarian dishes that were visually and gastronomically appealing. This is when the first imitation meat dishes were created. Called 仿荤菜 fanghuncai or imitation meat dishes, monasteries became the center for developing these plant-based dishes that mimicked the taste and texture of meat. They used ingredients like tofu, wheat gluten, mushrooms, and seaweed. These innovations enriched monastic meals but also laid the foundation for the distinctive Chinese vegetarian cuisine that continues to thrive today. It also became the foundation for the fake meats from Western cultures like the “impossible burger” that are being made in response to the resurgence in popularity of vegetarianism in the West.
A notable example of temple cuisine 斋菜 zhaicai is Buddha’s Delight
Buddha’s Delight consists of various vegetables and other vegetarian ingredients which are cooked in a soy-based liquid with seasonings until tender. It is traditionally served on the first day of the Chinese New Year in Chinese households from the Buddhist practice that the first five days of the new year should be a vegetarian diet.
Now I will explore some regions with deep Buddhist influence and how this affected their culinary dishes.
Regional Examples: Zhejiang 浙江 and Sichuan 四川
Within Zhejiang, the city of Hangzhou has been greatly influenced by Chan Buddhism and vegetarian cuisine. The Lingyin temple, which is one of China’s largest and wealthiest Buddhist monasteries, has always attracted many visitors. To accommodate these visitors the monastic chefs developed elaborate vegetarian dishes that mimicked the meat-based dishes the visitors were used to, which helped strengthen the appeal of Buddhist dietary practices. One such dish is 素鸭 suya or vegetarian duck whose origins come from Hangzhou’s Lingyin temple. This dish is tofu skin marinated in soy sauce, sugar, and spices, then rolled and steamed to mimic the texture and flavor of duck.
Sichuan
Sichuan also has a strong Buddhist presence, it is said that the first Buddhist temple in China was built here around Mount Emei. This region is known for its bold and spicy flavors, and Chan Buddhist monasteries adapted local culinary techniques to create vegetarian dishes that satisfied both spiritual and sensory desires. Wenshu monastery in Chengdu offers some SIchuanese staples like maocai and boboji skewers, which are all prepared without meat or the five pungent spices. Chengdu’s Baoguang temple provides 素回锅肉 vegetarian twice-cooked pork using wheat gluten and mushrooms to replicate pork’s texture.
These examples show that Buddhist chefs are very flexible and innovative as the monasteries constantly adapt their dishes to fit the local population’s taste and mimic local favorites. This displayed a mastery over vegetarian dishes that has been a leader in shaping the vegetarian traditions in modern China, as well as influencing global plant-based movements.
Tea
This came as a surprise to me since tea is not the first thing you think of when discussing Buddhist culinary traditions. However, Buddhism was crucial for the popularity of tea throughout China. Tea appeared in China as early as the Zhou Dynasty, but before the Jin Dynasty, it was constrained to just medicinal use or boiled with rice porridge. After the Wei and Jin periods, some Buddhist masters discovered the restorative effect of tea, which helped address the lack of energy and drowsiness experienced during the afternoon fasting and nighttime meditation. Therefore they began cultivating tea extensively and consumed a large quantity of it, which led to the societal trend of tea drinking. Especially during the Tang dynasty after the establishment of Chan Buddhism, many Chan temples emphasized both agriculture and meditation through their philosophy of self-sufficiency, which led to the cultivation of high-quality teas that eventually became famous like longjin in Zhejiang. Buddhist monks were pioneers in the development of tea cultivation methods. For example, they invented a method of shade cultivation, where they planted tea with bamboo. The bamboo provided shade of the tea trees allowing it to absorb the fragrance of the bamboo. They also invented frying green tea, because monks liked the way this method filled the room with its aroma. One of the first connections between Buddhist philosophy and tea drinking appeared during the Tang Dynasty in a poem written by the monk Jiaoran. It is believed that drinking tea caused the author to reach enlightenment and led to the creation of 茶道.
Due to the prohibition of alcohol, tea became the most important beverage in Buddhist temples. The promotion, cultivation, and demand for tea in temples naturally influenced lay followers and people around China. During the Song Dynasty, a tradition for monks was to drink three cups of tea after each meal. Later on, in the Ming Dynasty, lay Buddhist’s second most important activity was making tea, right after incense meditation 焚香 fenxiang. After a long time of tea consumption, people discovered that tea can prevent or treat many illnesses, quench thirst, alleviate the effects of alcohol, and reduce greasiness. It was shown to have many benefits and is suitable for all ages. To summarize, tea first became popular in temples, then it became a daily ritual for monks and lay Buddhists, and finally, it became an inseparable aspect of Chinese life. According to the Chinese proverb 天门七件事，柴米油盐酱醋茶 tea became one of the seven daily necessities which further displays the importance of tea. As a result, tea became widely consumed, leading to the creation of the rich and diverse tea culture of China today.
It is also worth mentioning the 茶马互市 tea-horse market that was between Tibet, China, Southeast Asia, and India which was formalized as a state enterprise under the Song dynasty. Through this tea-horse trade and international exchanges, tea spread to many ethnic minority regions and countries worldwide, which caused tea to become one of the world’s three major beverages.
Conclusion
Buddhism is an inseparable part of China’s history and the impact it had on China culture is immense. This paper aimed to discuss the emergence of Buddhism within China, the central beliefs of Chan Buddhism, and finally touched on some of the impact Chan Buddhism has on Chinese Food culture. Since Chan Buddhism is still a very popular school of Buddhism in China today, it still plays a crucial role in determining what foods Chinese people eat. As a new Western wave of vegetarianism is developing today, understanding Eastern vegetarianism which stems from much older beliefs, can serve as a foundation for the new modern dishes today. Instead of using trial and error to try and create desirable meat substitutes in the West, companies could learn from these older vegetarian practices to create mock-meat dishes that could cause vegetarianism to become more popular in the West and not be seen as inferior products like they are today.
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