Can a Buddhist eat meat? It's complicated

  • Written by: Anya Daly, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Ethics, University of Tasmania
Can a Buddhist eat meat? It's complicatedBuddhist monks eating breakfast in Cambodia.Shutterstock

Some Buddhists are strictly vegetarian, and others eat meat. Both justify their positions on the basis of Buddhist texts and teachings.

In the Mahayana Buddhist traditions of China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea, meat-eating is prohibited. In others, such as in some Theravadin traditions and...

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