한국국제교류재단

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The More You Know, The More You See Buddhist Temples in ASEAN
By _Choe Jae-hui, Ph.D. student in Oriental Studies, University of Yangon

When special guests come to Korea, we often see on the news that they visit Buddhist temples for a temple stay and try out temple food. Korean people often ask me, as I have studied in Myanmar, about temple food in Myanmar. In Korea, osinchae(five forbidden pungent roots) and meat are not used in temple food. However, in Myanmar, temple food is no different from or daily food. The difference between Korea and Myanmar’s temple food is in mendicity, or the practice of begging for alms. In Myanmar, the livelihood of monks still depends entirely on almsgiving. The monks have breakfast at 6 AM, lunch at 11 AM, and strictly maintain their fast in between. After lunch, they only drink water.

In Korea, there is a widespread belief that monks should not eat meat. But in fact, Buddha never forbade people from eating meat. In Myanmar, the ritual of mendicity established since the time of Buddha is considered very important. The most sacred precept is the one that forbids monks from choosing between or refusing foods donated by believers. If followers only gave them meat, the monks had to eat it because they were unable to refuse it. So if you go to Myanmar, don’t be surprised to see the monks eating meat, as they shouldn't refuse the dedicated heart of the follower who gave the meat to them. In fact, Buddha’s teachings also state that five pure meats can be eaten. These include meats that were slaughtered without being seen or heard meats not purposely slaughtered for the eater, meats of animals that died naturally, and meat from birds.

In other words, monks don’t necessarily eat differently from the general public. They eat what the followers themselves eat, and live with gratitude in their hearts for the offerings. In my early 20s, when I went on a backpacking trip to Myanmar, I was so hungry that I asked for food at a temple. I still remember how a monk, who sympathized that a girl from abroad was starving, gave me a piece of fried fish that he had received from the alms bowl. How grateful must they be for the followers, as they live their entire lives eating the food that is offered to them? Perhaps the temple food in Myanmar gives us food for thought as well, in this age of greed.