What did the famous Gautama Buddha really eat? My 13-year-old daughter asked me a few months ago while scrolling through Instagram — a social platform that today keyboards more food trends than trend makers did. It was a question that got me thinking of all that has been told to us about the founder of Buddhism. It is true that Gautama Buddha was not keen on meat, at least slaughtering of animals for his eating pleasure, and would ask his followers to abstain from it. There’s proof to this in the numerous Ashoka Pillars that have his teachings inscribed on it 50 years after he first began a new faith that believed in the middle path and the concept of nirvana.
The fact that Buddha was vegetarian was further cemented with monasteries, especially those in Tibet and Vietnam that practice a plant-based diet. In fact, in the meat-loving kingdom of Tibet, it is considered one of the ultimate sacrifices that a monk makes on his/her journey into nirvana. Instead, for most monks there, rearing of yaks and other animals is an act of compassion, which is an important teaching of Buddhism that equates animal sacrifice to that of someone’s near and dear. But does that mean Buddha didn’t have meat as part of his diet? It was a dilemma that was cleared in 2017 when the Dalai Lama was asked whether Buddhist monks were plant or meat-eaters. He replied, “But it is all right to have the meat of dead animals, not those slaughtered or purposefully killed for meat.” In a way, the holiness was recounting what the great founder had preached all his life. Says Buddhist expert Sunil Patnaik, “Buddha lived in a time when alms were the only way that monks or bikshuk would survive.”
Patnaik adds that the rule of alms is that you can neither ask nor refuse anything that was willingly and happily placed in your bowl. This also went on when these monks were invited for a meal at someone’s house. They had to eat whatever was cooked for them as a sign of respect and honour for the host. There is a good chance that Buddha ate whatever was given out as alms — now that could be grains, plants, meat, honey, or simple barley that was turned into food and had. Given that Buddha and his disciple lived a nomadic life, the chances of cooking food would be less than consuming whatever was given. Patnaik adds that the initial meals of Buddha were simple — and almost mirrored around the time, which according to researcher John Steven’s What Kind Of Food Did Buddha Eat? was divided into five formats of bhojana: Odana, essentially boiled rice prepared with ghee, meat, fruit, etc; Sattu, baked grain like barley, gram flour, wheat, or millet-taken in the form of small balls or as a porridge; Kummasa, kind of gruel of
a boiled mixture of barley (or rice) and pulse; macho (fish) and mamsa (meat). But what the prince-turned-monk really valued more according to Vinaya Pitaka, the Buddhist scripture, was the yagu — which was a healthy porridge made of barley or rice and salt; or with sour-milk, curd, fruits, and leaves and on some occasion served along with some form of meat or fish, whenever they appeared as part of the alms.
The role of yagu, which usually was one of the two big meals that they had during the day, was not only to nourish the soul but also served as a means to checking hunger, quenching thirst, regulating the wind, and cleansing the bladder and of course, helping in digestion. And for good reasons too. Back in the day, Buddhism was a thought process of achieving nirvana through a process of self-control and meditation and this included hunger as well. It was Buddha’s firm belief that the body needs nourishment and not just indulgence, says Patnaik, who believes that much like the rishis those days, Buddha too practised intermittent fasting that allowed him to spend as much time meditating, walking distances or interacting with people. Each of which needed him to follow food habits that were common at that time, which if a nutritional anthropologist were to be believed, was a diet that was high on produce rather than meat, which was kept for a special occasion or when there was a windfall — enough to be given out as alms as well. So most likely, says nutritional therapist Sveta Bhassin, “Buddha’s bowl of food would be a balanced diet, one that satiated and had a mix of quick digesting food along with those that are complex proteins, fats and low glycemic index food which would continue to give energy to the brain to keep one calm and focused. And given that most people ate to suit their level of physical activity and privilege, the meal that monks had would be moderate and would often have dishes that enabled them to keep a calm mind like kheer and panna.”
In fact, according to Steven’s research, Buddha had permitted his followers to have meat and fish provided they didn’t see it getting caught/butchered or if they were not the reason for the animal to be killed. He allowed a free reign when it came to vegetables (especially leafy and roots), fruits and sweet drinks that instantly refreshed.
Among his favourite dishes was Sadavana, a kind of fruit pudding, which could be shared with all and ensured no food wastage; and panna sweetened with honey. It was much later when Buddha began spending a long period of time in a place like Udaygiri in Odisha that the concept of the Buddha bowl developed — not as much as a bowl but as an idea where food became the means to wellness too. It was in these made-of-stone monasteries that food was cooked with vegetable oil, and in case of illness with Sappi or ghee as it was believed to aid in recuperation.
Roots of turmeric, ginger and hemp were experimented on to devise a system of medicine that enabled monks to heal from sickness and other ailments; kabalika was a paste made of grains to treat wounds and abrasions; and gula, a ball made of molasses was to treat fatigue from walking.
The two meals that were had before sunset, however, continued to be what they could get from the village nearby and often began with yagu in the morning to a substantial midday meal of rice, vegetables, fruit and meat or fish curry whenever possible. The food, while balanced, followed the principle of moderation — and to do so effectively the monks preferred to eat in a bowl-shaped utensil that allowed for equal portioning — a practice that was followed by most commoners including soldiers who found it convenient as well. The result of having a meal like this kept Buddha lean and thin for most of his life.
It was this idea that in 2016 inspired Zen priest Dan Zigmond and wellness writer Tara Cottrell to write the book Buddha’s Diet, which recontoured what the Buddhism founder followed through his life and most mothers unknowingly do as well — eat everything but in moderation.