What does "animal" mean in Buddhism?

The so-called "meat" in Buddhism refers to five kinds of meat, which refers to vegetables with fishy smell and peculiar smell: onions, garlic, leeks, green onions, apricot koji (roots are like radishes and tastes like garlic) and other vegetables with special smells.

Fishy refers to everything, whether it is the meat of marine animals or the meat of land animals.

Most monks in Southeast Asian countries believe in Hinayana Buddhism, or beg, or go to nearby families for food, so they can't be picky about food. So whether you are a vegetarian or eat meat, you can only eat what you have.

However, there are provisions against meat-eating in Mahayana Buddhist classics in China.

In the past, due to climatic and geographical reasons, Mongolia and Tibet lacked vegetables and could not do without meat. At present, many Tibetan monks and great virtues also explicitly prohibit eating meat, based on the equality of all beings and the growth of compassion.

But whether or not they eat meat, Mahayana, Mahayana and other sects are forbidden to eat meat, and both northern and southern Buddhism must abide by it.

Extended data:

The reason why Buddhism can't eat meat in Han Dynasty.

1. For a long time, there has been a tradition in Han culture, that is, "vegetarianism" is associated with "purity". In many Confucian classics and etiquette norms, it is necessary to abstain from meat before holding sacred ceremonies to show purity, which has influenced Buddhism in Han areas to some extent.

2. Most of the Buddhist temples in Han Dynasty are jungles with farming traditions. Monks don't need to beg for food, but go out to farm and grow their own crops. In this case, it is impossible to choose to kill animals and eat meat.

3. The most important point is that the diet concept of Buddhism in Han Dynasty is not based on the Five Theravada Classics, but mainly based on the Mahayana Classics.

In many Mahayana classics that emphasize the spirit of compassion, such as Nirvana Sutra, Shurangama Sutra, Shurangama Sutra and so on. It is recorded that meat should not be eaten yet.

These Mahayana classics advocate the importance of abstinence from meat from the perspectives of compassion, cause and effect, practice, life and death, and become the theoretical basis of vegetarian tradition in Han Dynasty.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia _ five meats