Chinese Buddhism is distinguished with its view on a meat diet. Since the Emperor Wu issued a royal edict called ‘Dan ju yuk mun’ 1,500 years ago, which forbade people to drink alcohols and eat meat, a vegetable diet has provided those who had left the mundane world and entered priesthood with an opportunity to become aware of their duties. This study compares and examines different views on a meat diet of Indian Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism based on historical documents and traditional Chinese ideas. A view on meat eating of Indian Buddhism manifests the traditional ideas of respecting life and the purity of Buddha’s teachings. A view on meat eating of Chinese Buddhism shows that traditional Chinese ideas such as filial piety, care of health and the idea of evolution of nature and mankind have permeated into Sakyamuni’s doctrines. Since the Emperor Wu period in China, a special practicing method of repentance called ‘Samme jabi suchambup’ had developed to wash away the sin. This practicing method had prevailed through Chih li and Zun Shi, leading figures of the Ti’en tai school in the Song Dynasty, to the Tang Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and to the early Qing Dynasty. The analysis of the view on meat eating contained in the Chinese ‘Samme jabi suchambup’ shows that ‘Samme jabi suchambup’ clearly manifests the Emperor Wu’s thought about meat eating. He flatly objected to killing. It shows the significance of one of the most critical rules of Buddhism: do not kill life. His opinion was based on the idea that all living things are equal. An objection to killing is an objection to cruel behaviors towards living creatures. More important is that the tradition of not eating meat established in the Emperor Wu period had been maintained in the next generations. Since it was established during the Emperor Wu period, the rule of a vegetable diet for Chinese Buddhists had been developed into a self practice method, ‘Sucham’, which means practicing repentance. The idea of Emperor Wu and ‘Sucham’, which objects to human’s desire to please their palates by eating meat, suggests the objectives of world peace as well as the equilibrium in ecosystems. The insistence on controlling desires and not killing lives is worthy of notice because it is still vital in modern society.

Chinese Buddhism is distinguished with its view on a meat diet. Since the Emperor Wu issued a royal edict called ‘Dan ju yuk mun’ 1,500 years ago, which forbade people to drink alcohols and eat meat, a vegetable diet has provided those who had left the mundane world and entered priesthood with an opportunity to become aware of their duties. This study compares and examines different views on a meat diet of Indian Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism based on historical documents and traditional Chinese ideas. A view on meat eating of Indian Buddhism manifests the traditional ideas of respecting life and the purity of Buddha’s teachings. A view on meat eating of Chinese Buddhism shows that traditional Chinese ideas such as filial piety, care of health and the idea of evolution of nature and mankind have permeated into Sakyamuni’s doctrines. Since the Emperor Wu period in China, a special practicing method of repentance called ‘Samme jabi suchambup’ had developed to wash away the sin. This practicing method had prevailed through Chih li and Zun Shi, leading figures of the Ti’en tai school in the Song Dynasty, to the Tang Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and to the early Qing Dynasty. The analysis of the view on meat eating contained in the Chinese ‘Samme jabi suchambup’ shows that ‘Samme jabi suchambup’ clearly manifests the Emperor Wu’s thought about meat eating. He flatly objected to killing. It shows the significance of one of the most critical rules of Buddhism: do not kill life. His opinion was based on the idea that all living things are equal. An objection to killing is an objection to cruel behaviors towards living creatures. More important is that the tradition of not eating meat established in the Emperor Wu period had been maintained in the next generations. Since it was established during the Emperor Wu period, the rule of a vegetable diet for Chinese Buddhists had been developed into a self practice method, ‘Sucham’, which means practicing repentance. The idea of Emperor Wu and ‘Sucham’, which objects to human’s desire to please their palates by eating meat, suggests the objectives of world peace as well as the equilibrium in ecosystems. The insistence on controlling desires and not killing lives is worthy of notice because it is still vital in modern society.

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