Meatless Meals

[plaingrain]

Dear EDMW,

Usually I don't like to complain, but right now I just had a late lunch and I'm still feeling very hungry!

I am a self-employed, I work for my family business. Every year, my family embarks on a vegetarian lifestyle for more than one month whenever the Lunar Seventh Month approaches, so what I'm experiencing right now are meatless meals for the day. It's not stressful to go vegetarian, but I feel very hungry leh!

I just had a fantastic bowl of sweet potato porridge with bitter gourd, it's delicious! Yet, I just wish to eat some meat. I'm not sure how much longer I can last without going for my favourite McDonalds' McSpicy meal, but I'll try to stay meatless for as long as it takes. I started this thread because it's meaningless going vegetarian for myself, so I chose to share my meatless meals with you guys so that at least I attach some purpose to what I'm doing i.e. not eating meat.

Hope you guys have a good dinner, I'll have leftover porridge and bitter gourd from my lunch so my dinner will be the same as my lunch. My grandmother used to tell me about how they survived on sweet potato leaves fried with chilli and plain porridge during the World War II Japanese Occupation, I feel a strong sense of nostalgia whenever I eat minimal meat and recall the histories that my grandparents taught me.

In my Buddhist tradition, Om Mani Padme Hum.

 

[starlust]

salted duck eggs not approved i suppose..

 

[saltydog]

ts trying to convert us to vegans…

 

[ask_yip]

will be eating mcspicy later

 

[Spectre007]

No thank you, chiu eat alone can liao no need jio us.

 

[cet87]

TS very rich liao.

 

[WaterNinja]

Why 7th month need to be vegetarian? Can share the rationale?

 

[galmongie]

Can eat eggs?

 

[Laguna123]

TS very rich liao.

This one steam and eat with porridge very nice.

 

[nyvrem]

meatless meal i was thinking about



yours is like.. uhh

 

[plaingrain]

Why 7th month need to be vegetarian? Can share the rationale?

It's a family thing, my family believes that during Lunar 7th month, the hungry ghosts roam the world and firstly when they see us eating good food, they feel hungry but because of their evil karma as hungry ghosts, they cannot swallow the food even if we offer it to them. So it's a compassion thing, by cutting down on eating things that the ghosts themselves cannot swallow, we extend our empathies towards them.

Secondly, because my entire family are Buddhists, in order for us to perform religious rites for the hungry ghosts and hell beings, we need to do our best to keep our breaths clean and free from meat and other provocative spices such as onion and garlic. So when we chant scriptures for suffering beings when we are on a meatless diet, it respects ourselves, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as well as the deities and ghosts and hell beings too.

Like I say, it's a family thing, because my family believes, so I follow lor. No scientific proof one, it's just a belief.

Can eat eggs?

By right cannot, but by left I'm not a monk so I got eat eggs.

 

[cet87]

This one steam and eat with porridge very nice.

strange thing is they said eat too much will tio cancer.
my grandma ate this weekly and lived to a long age of 80.

 

[5adisticD3vil]

if you want, you can try jiak more vege.
not this porridge with prickle vege

been to one salad bar resturant in the states before
like a salad buffet
make until one big bowl and i was full
never tot i jiak grass can full de

 

[cet87]

It's a family thing, my family believes that during Lunar 7th month, the hungry ghosts roam the world and firstly when they see us eating good food, they feel hungry but because of their evil karma as hungry ghosts, they cannot swallow the food even if we offer it to them. So it's a compassion thing, by cutting down on eating things that the ghosts themselves cannot swallow, we extend our empathies towards them.

Secondly, because my entire family are Buddhists, in order for us to perform religious rites for the hungry ghosts and hell beings, we need to do our best to keep our breaths clean and free from meat and other provocative spices such as onion and garlic. So when we chant scriptures for suffering beings when we are on a meatless diet, it respects ourselves, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as well as the deities and ghosts and hell beings too.

Like I say, it's a family thing, because my family believes, so I follow lor. No scientific proof one, it's just a belief.


By right cannot, but by left I'm not a monk so I got eat eggs.

i always wondered why by default, chinese ghost only will come out once a year.
what happens to those that goes heaven?

 

[Sforthought]

TS really plain grain sia

 

[plaingrain]

i always wondered why by default, chinese ghost only will come out once a year.
what happens to those that goes heaven?

By now our Singaporean beliefs are a bit rojak la, we mix Buddhism with Taoism and Confucianism, so there's no hard and fast rule on who goes to hell or ghost realm and who goes to heaven. However, in Buddhism specifically, there are clear guidelines on how to practise Buddhist teachings so that we can dedicate merits to our departed loved ones so that they avoid the lower realms of suffering and seek rebirth in either heavens or Buddha Purelands. The documentation is there, but I'm so hungry I can hardly think. Maybe if you are curious you can ask AI such as ChatGPT or Gemini about it, they will be able to advise you pretty decently given the advancements of technology these days.

 

[magnus]

 

[cet87]

i see where this is going.

beat that, bro.

 

[cet87]

TS really plain grain sia

how did showing poor rice trigger a banner?

 

[Hello_Kitty]

vegetarian food can be very delicious too.

My favourite is Vegan Burg:
https://www.veganburg.com/menu