Why Does Diet Affect Buddhist Practice

Answer: Our food and drink all contain the four great seeds of earth, water, fire, and wind. The proportions of the four great seeds differ in each kind of food and drink, and so their nutritional value also differs, as do their utilization and effects on the body. As the body absorbs these different elements of the four great seeds, various physiological reactions arise. The components of the five pungent spices, whether raw or cooked, differ in the proportions of their four great elements; because the elements and nutrients differ, their effects on the body also differ. Among those material components, some have the effect of causing sentient beings to develop sexual desire and anger. For example, with the five pungent spices, eating them raw stimulates sexual desire, while eating them cooked increases anger; both are foods that obstruct cultivation, preventing one's mental disposition from being subdued and tamed.

From the moment these foods enter the mouth through chewing, swallowing, digestion, absorption, and excretion, all of this is related to the tathāgatagarbha. All the various reactions of the body are related to the tathāgatagarbha; they are all phenomena that the tathāgatagarbha, in accordance with the various conditions and causes, has no choice but to cooperate in manifesting. It is not only the five pungent spices that produce special, harmful effects on the body and physiology—smoking, drinking alcohol, taking drugs, and so on all have harmful effects on the body and physiology. These substances all contain components that stimulate the body; their composition of the four great elements differs from that of other substances. When the body absorbs these four great elements, the mind will produce abnormal emotions that are not easy to regulate, and thus one's mental state will undergo negative changes. It may even obstruct the birth of wisdom, resulting in the retribution of ignorance and delusion.