I know you urge us to have fun with this, but it doesn't help our cause to identify false Buddhists. People end up disappointed. The Buddha believed in taking whatever he was offered. He died of pork poisoning.

Your site is a godsend, but please consider listing only confirmed veggies. I cringe when I hear the untruth that Hitler was a vegetarian. By the same token, I am disappointed to believe some of the people I admire are vegetarians, only to find they never were or haven't been for a long time.

i made an error earlier...sorry. i meant to say unless a dairy farm is free-range, i won't consume any dairy products.

one of my friends who is a vegetarian takes this view latter view when dining at friends' houses. she eats what they offer in order to be a good guest. thus, if they serve beef, pork, chicken, turkey, or fish, she will consume it. i can imagine this is what the Buddha did as well. i wish i could do the same, but whenever i look at any meat products, i see the terrible slaughter. it's getting to the point i won't even consume dairy from free-range animals because of their poor living conditions.

i wonder, too, if the nature of slaughter has drastically changed. in the past, did people recognize the valued life of the animal they slaughtered? you know, as many native american tribes did? this honor would influence the the way one kills animals how often.

there is a good deal of information about buddha and his dietary preferences online. in summary, he ate what fell into his alms bowl but did not advocate causing harm to animals if it could be avoided. he did not die from eating pork but rather "pig's treat" which means truffles.

I am sorry to break anyones heart but it is unclear if Buddha was a vegetarian. Most sources site he died of spiced pork. Although many skeptics say he died of bad water or mushroom. We do know however that the movement of vegetarian buddhist did not exist until after buddhas death. Many buddhist denominations still eat meat now. So although Buddha more than likely ate meat, no one knows. As with all religious figures, the myths blur any facts.

Read this and you will understand why Buddha had to eat meat. www.urbandharma.org/udharma3/meat.html

I always knew that Buddha didn\'t eat meat. but I\'ve just finished reading a book, that Buddha passed away because he ate pork.

Can someone tell me about this? I admire Buddha so much and...

Buddhism has had major influence on many Asian cultures for a very long time, and in more recently in Western cultures - probably beginning in the latter half of the 20th century. In Taiwan, a mostly pagan society, there are monasteries devoted to Buddism, and the monks and nuns are mostly lacto-vegetarians. Also some followers (common folk) do observe eating vegetarian-only for at least some days during the month. The buddhist influence makes Taiwan a very easy place to find vegetarian restaurants.