In Buddhism, the views on vegetarianism vary from school to school. In the schools of the Theravada and Vajrayana, the act of eating meat is not always prohibited; the Mahayana school generally recommends a vegetarian diet. This is based on the firm insistence by the Buddha in certain Mahayana sutras, that his followers should not eat meat or fish. Interestingly, the accepted legend of the Buddha’s death says that he died after accepting tainted meat (pork infected with Trichinosis) from his hosts while travelling.

The enlightenment at which Zen aims comes by itself. Like consciousness, one moment it does not exist – the next it does. Man goes through life as

ZEN is the pathless path! A contradiction in terms it may well seem at first, but the true seeker soon realizes that there is no other way to describe a system that defies definition. Zen is new and distinct from every other religion. The root of Zen is in Buddhism, but I say that Buddhism has flowered in Zen. In the lifetime of the Buddha, his work brought about a revolutionary change in society, but once he was gone, his charisma too started waning. In his lifetime, the hindu priests, pundits and scholars could do nothing to stop his mission. Buddha was an extraordinarily intelligent man.

After winning several archery contests, a young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master renowned for his skill in archery

The man responded just as the master had advised. “You are such a wise ghost,” the man said, “You know that I can hide nothing from you. If you can answer one question, I will break off the engagement and remain single for the rest of my life.” “Ask your question,” the ghost replied. The man scooped up a handful of beans from a large bag on the floor and said, “Tell me exactly how many beans there are in my hand.”