Buddhist cuisine

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Buddhist vegetarian cuisine
A vegetarian restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan serving Buddhist cuisine in buffet style
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	齋菜
Simplified Chinese	斋菜
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin zhāi cài Wu Romanization [tsa tsɛ] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping zaai1coi3 Southern Min Hokkien POJ che-chhài
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	đồ chay
Chữ Nôm	塗齋
Korean name
Hangul	사찰음식
Hanja	寺刹飮食
Transcriptions Revised Romanization sachal eumsik McCune–Reischauer sach'al ŭmsik
Japanese name
Kanji	精進料理
Kana	しょうじんりょうり
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn shōjin ryōri Kunrei-shiki syôzin ryôri
Filipino name
Tagalog	Lutuing Budista
Khmer name
Khmer	ម្ហូបព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនា

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Buddhist cuisine is an Asian cuisine that is followed by monks and many believers from areas historically influenced by Mahayana Buddhism. It is vegetarian or vegan, and it is based on the Dharmic concept of ahimsa (non-violence). Vegetarianism is common in other Dharmic faiths such as Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism, as well as East Asian religions like Taoism. While monks, nuns and a minority of believers are vegetarian year-round, many believers follow the Buddhist vegetarian diet for celebrations.

Buddhists believe that cooking is seen as a spiritual practice that produces the nourishment which the body needs to work hard and meditate.^[1] The origin of "Buddhist food" as a distinct sub-style of cuisine is tied to monasteries, where one member of the community would have the duty of being the head cook and supplying meals that paid respect to the strictures of Buddhist precepts. Temples that were open to visitors from the general public might also serve meals to them and a few temples effectively run functioning restaurants on the premises. In Japan, this culinary custom, recognized as shōjin ryōri (精進料理) or devotion cuisine, is commonly offered at numerous temples, notably in Kyoto. This centuries-old culinary tradition, primarily associated with religious contexts, is seldom encountered beyond places like temples, religious festivals, and funerals.^[1] A more recent version, more Chinese in style, is prepared by the Ōbaku school of zen, and known as fucha ryōri (普茶料理); this is served at the head temple of Manpuku-ji, as well as various subtemples. In modern times, commercial restaurants have also latched on to the style, catering both to practicing and non-practicing lay people.