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During the Buddha’s time, there was a rich landlord who was a devout Buddhist. He grew many types of vegetables on his land and had a big garlic garden. He instructed his farm workers that should any monastic pass by asking for alms, they were to be given whatever vegetables they wanted, and as much of the vegetables as they wished.
Among the Buddha’s disciples was a group of Buddhist nuns who loved garlic. Every day without fail, they would ask for some garlic from the landlord, and he would give them as much as they wished. One day, a nun turned up at the landowner’s doorstep with a few of her fellow nuns and requested for some garlic. As luck would have it, every other type of vegetable was available in the landlord’s home that day, except garlic.
The landlord told them, “I would have given you whatever vegetables you wished to have, but I do not have any garlic today. Since you need some, you may proceed to my garlic garden and pick as much as you wish. I have already informed my workers about the arrangement.”
Upon arriving at the vegetable garden, the nuns felt that since it was so troublesome to set off every day to get the garlic they wanted, and especially since the landlord had said that they could have as much as they wished, they would just help themselves now that they were already there. After seeking permission from the farm worker, they began work, selecting and picking the biggest garlic stalks, and in the process, trampling upon the garlic seedlings in the garden, ruining them.
Seeing this, the worker went to report the state of affairs to the landlord. After hearing what had happened, the landlord said resignedly, “They are disciples of the Buddha, but why do they behave in this manner?”
One day, the landlord went to the Buddha and mentioned the incident to him. After that, the Buddha summoned the nuns and admonished them, saying, “You have become addicted to garlic. Eating Garlic fans the flames of desire, you will not be able to live in peace as a result; it is the bane of all spiritual practitioners.” He then spoke in detail about the psychological and physiological effects of consuming stimulant foods, such as garlic.
Keeping a Pure and Peaceful Mind Free of Desires
The Buddha said that consumption of the “five pungent spices” (i.e. onion, garlic, scallion, Chinese chives and leek) will excite the senses and increase people’s desires and cravings, making it difficult for them to live peaceful lives. So from then on, the Buddha forbade his disciples from consuming such foods. Although these are also classified as vegetables, Buddhist vegetarians do not consume them.
With advancements in the medical field, scientific research and analysis have revealed that garlic does indeed have stimulant properties. There is even a type of multi-vitamin pill available on the market which contains an extract of garlic, claiming to be able to energize one and dispel fatigue.
The Buddha had his disciples’ best interests at heart when he disallowed them to consume stimulant foods. He hoped that they could keep a clean and pure mind and go about their daily lives peacefully without being affected by unruly desires. This was how the Buddha painstakingly guided his disciples.
As Buddhist practitioners, it is of utmost importance to extinguish our desires and cravings so that our hearts can be calm and peaceful. Only then can we live in peace and ease. Therefore, we must carefully take in what the Buddha has taught us and be grateful to him for guiding us with his wisdom.
To show our gratitude to the Buddha, we must start by practising mindfulness. So in our daily lives, we must be more mindful of what we do.
Excerpted from Master Cheng Yen’s speech on 26 January, 1995
Translated by the Tzu Chi Singapore translation team
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