(Photo : The Current abbot of the Shaolin Monastery Shi Yongxin)

Shi Yongxin is the current abbot of the Shaolin Monastery, which is a world-famous temple for its relationship with Chinese martial arts and traditional Kung Fu. Recently, in a small quadrangle beside the Shaolin Monastery, Shi Yongxin told our reporters that a Buddhist monk's understanding of eating.

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The diet that a monk pursues is simple and pure. Many Buddhists practice strict vegetarianism. Nowadays, there are some misunderstandings about the dietary habits of Shaolin monks. Some people think monks only eat two meals every day. However, this point of view isn't entirely correct. Thought there is indeed a prohibition against eating after noon for monks, because Buddhist monks believe eating is very detrimental to meditation practice, actually, the rule only applies to a small part of Buddhist monks. If there is another medical reason that one should eat more than once a day, allowances can be made for that.   

Take the warrior monks as an example. They need intense daily study from morning to night in order to practice their Kung Fu skills and techniques. Some monks need to take 7-day intensive training to obtain the best practice results. How can they stand for these if they don't eat after noon? Sometimes, if necessary, monks eat four meals per day.

The traditional Shaolin diet is very simple. The concept of nutriology is never taken into consideration. Vegetarianism has been the dietary habit of Shaolin monks since hundreds of years ago. In large monasteries of China, the everyday diet is more or less the same. There is no such thing that today's meals are delicious, but tomorrow's meals taste bad. In fact these meals taste the same. There are no monks who have complaints about the meals, as Buddhists believe having meal is also a kind of practicing.

Shi Yongxin believes the meal will taste good as long as you're in a good mood. "In Shaolin Temple, I eat the same with other monks. And the meals cost 8 yuan ($1.3 USD) per day for per person." Shi Yongxin said.

"Shaolin Monastery is opposed to waste, as every single grain is supported by the people." Shi Yongxin added.