Temple Dining
Dining experience
"When you eat in silence, you can learn something from the food."
Food is included in the price of training. The food offered is traditional Chinese food with local flavours from Sichuan Province.
We offer three meals per day, seven days a week. Meals will occur at set times each day: 7 am, 12.00 am, and 6 pm. During free time, breakfast is at 8 am.
All meals will be served in the dining hall. You will be expected to follow the eating habits and etiquette of the monks. The monks do not talk during meal times, and students will be expected to follow the same observations.
All meals are vegetarian and can be adapted to different dietary needs (within reasonable limits). Please, discuss nutrition restrictions and requirements during your application.
Eating in the dining hall is a time for mindfulness and internal observation-as such, talking/chatter is not allowed. We understand that this is a very different experience for most people. We encourage you to embrace this as part of your training to increase your mindfulness and appreciate the discipline of the monks.
We are in a unique situation to be allowed to eat with the practising monks at the Temple. We must also honour their dining manners, rules and practices, including vegetarian eating.
Buddhist vegetarianism is the belief that following a vegetarian diet is implied in the Buddha’s teaching. The Mahayana schools generally recommend a vegetarian diet; according to some sutras, the Buddha himself insisted that his followers should not eat the flesh of any sentient being. Monks of the Mahayana traditions that follow the Brahma Net Sutra are forbidden by their vows from eating the flesh of any kind. Our Temple follows the Mahayana traditions. In addition to vegetarian-based food, all our meals are dairy free and mostly vegan. Those who would like to eat meat-based products are welcome to do so outside of the temple grounds.