Jaina diet

[Robert Zydenbos]

Am 31 Oct 2000, um 20:49 schrieb Phillip Ernest:

> Are the Jainas Vegans, or do they drink milk like the Hindus?  And was
> the eschewing of milk and honey a part of early Buddhist practice?

Milk products are used most widely by Jainas, although there are
some who consider themselves stricter and eschew also milk (but I
have seen that Digambara monks, who are generally considered
the most strict of all Jainas, take milk products freely).

Honey is a different matter. Traditionally, it is rejected because of
the manner in which it was collected in olden times (which involved
the mass killing of bees); lately, with the introduction of modern
methods of bee-keeping, "ahimsaka" honey is produced, and the
number of Jainas who consider this just as harmless, and thereby
acceptable, as milk products is growing.

RZ