A Buddhist Glossary
Vegetarianism: A diet that includes no meat. In the
Buddhist religion, eating a vegetarian diet is a natural and
logical ramification of the moral precept against the taking
of life.
Veganism: A philosophy of life that should be thought
of as entirely separate from vegetarianism. It is concerned
with an entire lifestyle rather than just a dietary regime.
Veganism prohibits not only the eating of animals, animal products
and their derivatives-including milk, cheese and honey-but also
the use of animal furs, leathers, skins, etc. Vegans believe
these products-and even their by-products-must be avoided at
both the physical and mental levels to ensure true liberation
that facilitates the attaining of enlightenment.
Ahimsa: The act of not killing or harming. It refers
to the compassionate, non-violent treatment of living things
and the acknowledgment of all sentient creatures' right to live
and be reborn. Practicing ahimsa will keep the Buddhist on the
right spiritual path and enforces "a better life and better
health."
Karma: A sort of spiritual bank account that is accumu-lated
through one's actions in life. Good karma occurs for those who
follow Buddhism's moral precepts; it will lead to being reborn
as a higher being, such as a god or wealthy human. Bad karma,
which can result from forbidden acts such as killing living
things, can cause one to be reborn as a lesser being, such as
an animal, insect or demon. Once you pay off your karmic "debts,"
you can be reborn as human.
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Cultural Competence
Understanding Buddhist Patients' Dietary Needs
with Gihan ElGindy, RN, MSN
Gihan ElGindy, RN,
MSN |
Because immigrants from Asian countries with large Buddhist populations
are a rapidly growing minority group in the U.S., it's important for nurses
to understand Buddhist patients' beliefs about health, illness and food
The love of nature and maximum enjoyment of what nature provides us
is necessary in order to live a truly natural life. This is the main
belief in many Asian cultures, such as those of China, Japan, Taiwan,
Korea, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and the Philippines. While
Christianity is the dominant religion in many of these countries, there
are also significant numbers of Buddhists, along with Muslims, Hindus
and atheists.
In the Buddhist faith, life revolves around nature with its two opposing
energy systems, known in Chinese philosophy as yin and yang energy.
Examples of these opposing energy forces, which are cyclical, include
heat/cold, light/darkness, good/evil and sickness/health. Although a
simple illness, such as a cold or flu, may be considered an imbalance
of yin and yang energy, many Buddhists-though not all-believe that the
best way to live a healthy life is to be a vegetarian.
The Buddhist tradition of vegetarianism has gained a great deal of
popularity around the globe, as both a diet and a way of life. In the
United States alone, there are about 20 million vegetarians. At the
same time, in certain Asian cultures there has been a strong movement
away from the traditional strict vegetarian diet as a result of these
countries' exposure to Islam and Christianity.
Part of being a culturally competent health care professional is being
careful not to make blanket generalizations about patients from unfamiliar
cultures-such as assuming that if a patient is an immigrant from an
Asian country, he must be a Buddhist. Even if it is known for a fact
that the patient's religion is Buddhism, this does not necessarily mean
that he or she strictly follows all Buddhist religious practices to
the letter. It is vitally important for nurses to initiate dialogue
with patients and their families in order to determine what, if any,
cultural/religious needs and dietary restrictions must be accommodated
to ensure the best possible healing process for the patient.
Understanding Buddhist Beliefs
The Buddha was born in what is now Nepal and founded Buddhism in India
during the sixth century B.C. After Buddha's death, his followers considered
him a divine entity with the ability to lead them to Heaven.
This is a faith of supreme optimism that teaches self-control as a
means to search for true happiness. Buddhists practice yoga and meditation
as a means to reach spiritual emancipation or true liberation. Through
mastering self-control, a Buddhist can reach full potential toward a
journey of self-improvement during this life in order to achieve reincarnation,
or rebirth after life. The rebirth process requires a desirable state
of freedom or purity from primitive human desires and wishes.
The Buddhist code of morality is set forth in the Five Moral Precepts,
which are:
1. Do not kill or harm living things.
2. Do not steal.
3. Do not engage in sexual misconduct.
4. Do not lie.
5. Do not consume intoxicants such as alcohol, tobacco or mind-altering
drugs.
Buddhists believe that being careful in selecting the food one eats
correlates with the amount of light in one's body and the degree of
power necessary to climb up the spiritual ladder-i.e., to reach the
desirable state of relaxation and of being sincere to oneself and others.
By following this path, one's soul reaches harmony, the desirable spiritual
status and/or the power of virtue necessary to attain the reincarnation
process.
Buddhist Dietary Practices
In the teachings of Buddha, this concept of making the right food choices
for spiritual enlightenment is exemplified by the "Five Contemplations
While Eating." Essentially, this means that Buddhists are exercising
a special force related to "stopping and thinking" about the
food they are eating.
(Interestingly, it is believed that the Buddha himself actually died
from food poisoning.) A Buddhist asks himself these five basic but essential
questions:
1. What food is this? = The origin of the food and how it reached me.
2. Where does it come from? = The amount of work necessary to grow the
food, prepare it, cook it and bring it to the table.
3. Why am I eating it? = Do I deserve this food or not? Am I worthy
of it?
4. When should I eat and benefit from this food? = Food is a necessity
and a healing agent because I am subjected to illness without food.
5. How should I eat it? = Food is only received and eaten for the purpose
of realizing the proper way to reach enlightenment.
Buddhists who are strict adherents to their faith depend not only on
these Five Contemplations but also on the Five Moral Precepts to determine
which foods are appropriate to consume and which are considered forbidden.
In general, Buddhism prohibits the eating of any and all meat, because
(1) the killing of animals violates the First Moral Precept and (2)
meat is considered an intoxicant to the body, which violates the Fifth
Moral Precept.
According to the Fifth Precept, consuming any type of intoxicants will
reflect negatively on a Buddhist's life and afterlife in the following
ways:
o Effects on Self: It will distort and cloud one's samadhi-i.e, it
will hinder one's judgment and decrease proper concentration necessary
for meditation, which is the path to enlightenment.
o Effects on Others: It will increase one's susceptibility to commit
crimes and do wrong to others, which means loss of the desirable self-control.
o Religious/Spiritual Effects: It can cause bad karma (see Glossary)
that harms other sentient beings and later on will haunt the original
being.
Buddhists believe that whoever lives only for pleasure loses his soul's
harmony and the power of virtue. According to the "no killing"
precept, whoever kills animals or eats meat will lose the "purity
of both body and mind"-i.e., one gets all mixed up with the meat
one eats and loses purity, clarity and the power of self-control. Buddhists
also believe that causing the suffering of living creatures just to
satisfy our taste buds is not a justifiable reason to eat meat. In Buddhists'
eyes, hunger is the minimal expression of compassion that can be offered
and becoming a vegetarian is a choice-i.e., choosing not to kill animals
(out of kindness) and not to eat them (out of compassion).
In addition to the physical suffering of animals, Buddhists believe
that eating meat also causes another type of suffering: bad karma. Killing
a sentient being forces it to begin a painful process of rebirth. Since
Buddhists believe it is possible for animals to attain enlightenment,
killing them deprives them of that chance. Eating a vegetarian diet
helps ensure that the cycle of karmic retribution will be purified:
If you don't eat animals, they won't eat you. If you don't kill them,
they won't kill you.
Other foods that may fall into the "forbidden" category include
"the Five Pungent Spices." This refers to onions, scallions,
chives, garlic, etc. Traditionally, Buddhists have believed that a person
who eats these foods will suffer the following ill effects:
- His blood and flesh will be rejected by the gods, and the heavens
will distance themselves far from him.
- His breath is always foul; therefore, all gods and saints will reject
him.
- If eaten cooked, these foods will arouse lust and cause explosive
temper.
- If eaten raw, they will increase one's anger and cause bad body odor
that will not please the gods but will stimulate interested "hungry
ghosts" who will hover around and kiss one's lips. Being near ghosts
is believed to hinder one's enlightenment.
Today, however, many vegetarians around the world, including some Buddhists,
may eat the Five Pungent Spices without reservation. For Buddhists,
this depends on such factors as the person's degree of adherence to
their faith, whether they are practicing Buddhism along with other faiths,
and their geographic location.
Health Benefits of the Buddhist Diet
Examples of permitted foods that are staples of the traditional Buddhist
diet in many Asian cultures include:
1. Boiled or stir-fried noodles flavored with aromatic spices. Raw
or cooked vegetables, seaweed and home-prepared dried food items can
also be added.
2. Rice, which can be cooked and flavored in many different ways-e.g.,
salty, sweet, neutral, sticky, colored or mixed with vegetables.
3. Soy sauce is an essential tasty ingredient that is added to almost
every dish, in much the same way as Americans flavor many of their foods
with butter and/or salt.
4. Sesame oil is also used heavily in preparing food. Unlike soy sauce,
it contains no sodium.
5. Buddhists who are not strict vegetarians will eat fish on an almost
daily basis and/or will add it to many of their meals.
6. Herbal tea is a popular and healing drink that originates from various
types of tea plants.
For centuries Buddhists have believed that when meat is eaten it accumulates
in the body, turning into harmful toxins. Today, modern medicine seems
to be proving them right. A number of recent scientific studies have
discovered a high incidence of cancer within populations that consume
large amounts of meat. Other negative health consequences that have
been linked with eating meat include arterial sclerosis, heart disease,
high blood pressure, encephalitis, stroke, gallstones and cirrhosis
of the liver. All of these conditions are directly related to consuming
fat and cholesterol.
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, meat does in fact contain
wastes and toxins, such as uric acid, that have negative effects on
blood and body tissues. In contrast, vegetable proteins obtained from
nuts, beans and legumes are decidedly healthier and safer. Furthermore,
meat, meat products, poultry and seafood all spoil easily within a few
hours, but most vegetables stay fresh for several days. Although beans
may become rancid relatively quickly, the deterioration is much easier
to detect and recognize compared to spoilage in meat, which may not
always be detectable by smell or taste.
Cultural Competence Tips for Nurses
When caring for patients who are followers of the Buddhist religion,
nurses need to understand that the patient's main goal is to bring back
the body's yin/yang equilibrium that was disrupted because of illness.
It is helpful to first discuss the patient's illness and care plan in
relation to this concept before volunteering a medical or patho-physiological
explanation. Because of the supreme importance of nature in Buddhists'
lives, a culturally sensitive medical team will want to prescribe both
herbal medicine and pharmaceutical medications, if appropriate. Remember,
in these patients' eyes the goal is not curing but rather maintaining
peace of body and mind that will ensure the rebirth process after death.
In terms of dietary assessments, the first step is obviously to find
out whether the patient is a vegetarian, how strict or liberal he/she
is in following the traditional vegetarian diet and whether there are
any other dietary restrictions the patient must observe. The risk of
vitamin B12 deficiency among pure vegetarians can be managed by increasing
their daily intake of the different types of vegetable proteins.
Buddhist patients staying in a hospital that only serves American-style
food may appreciate being provided with a bottle of soy sauce that they
can keep in their room to flavor their meals in the way they are accustomed
to. The rule of thumb is: When in doubt, ask the patient what he or
she would prefer. Be sure to check the labels on different soy sauce
products for their sodium content, which can range from 300 grams to
as much as 1,080 grams.
Gihan ElGindy, MSN, RN, is an educator and independent consultant
on health, nursing, cultural competence, education and business entrepreneurship
issues. She is the executive director of the Transcultural Education
Center (TEC) in McLean, Virginia. For more information about TEC, visit
www.tecenter.org.
Editor's Note: Minority Nurse's cultural competence expert,
Gihan ElGindy, MSN, RN, is an internationally recognized authority on
cross-cultural issues in nursing. Her advice column is designed to answer
your questions about incorporating cultural competence into your nursing
practice and resolving cultural conflicts in today's diverse health
care workplace. Do you need expert advice on how to provide culturally
sensitive care to patients from a particular ethnic or religious background?
Are you looking for ways to increase understanding and acceptance of
cultural differences in your work environment? Our expert can help!
Send your Cultural Competence Q&A questions to pchwedyk@alloymarketing.com
or post them on the Cultural
Competence Q&A section of the Discussion Forum.
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