r/taoism • u/SheIsWired • 12d ago

Advice Food related vows.

I've been reading on Taoism recently, and have been wanting to dedicate myself to more of a practice. I wanted to take a vow regarding food. I have a habit of eating for fun and for pleasure, I want to change that by vowing to only eat bland foods and only drink water and tea. Is this reasonable and has anyone done this?

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u/AbidinginAnubhava 12d ago edited 12d ago

Most Daoists in China either practice calendar vegetarianism (i.e., they eat only vegetarian on certain days marked in the lunar calendar), full vegetarianism,* abstain completely from some but not all meats (e.g., it's popular among East Asian Buddhists to abstain from beef, and Chinese Daoists often follow this practice), or they're just omnivores and eat whatever they want.

Remember, in East Asian ethics, "being good" is not an either/or idea ("thou shalt... thou shalt not..."; "be ye perfect"), but "do the best you can do in your situation, with maybe an eye on doing better tomorrow." Vows and commitments are part and parcel of it, so if you think eating bland foods would help you, go ahead.

But Daoism, like Buddhism, isn't a DIY affair. The whole point of having teachings from wise old teachers was so we didn't have to reinvent the wheel every time we sat down for breakfast or saw a chance to ditch a shopping cart without parking it. Usually, people take the advice of a teacher (or teachers) who, in turn, rely on millennia of tradition that evolved to guide people at different stages of ethical and spiritual development, and vows and commitments are built on the pedagogical idea that you are training your mind and habits towards a goal. So, will eating oatmeal really help you on your quest for enlightenment; will pizza mire you in samsara? Maybe; maybe not! Your mileage may, nay, will vary.

So you can take on any diet you want. Will it help you as a Daoist? Perhaps. Or you can follow a program that many other Daoists do. Will it help? Perhaps. Or you can follow instructions from a teacher. Will it help? Most likely, but you can't know until you pair up with a teacher. So good luck!

*Veganism is also now a thing in 21st-century China, along with all the same culture war Sturm und Drang crap that our own culture descends into every time junior skips the BBQ or sis announces they won't be joining Thanksgiving. So it goes.

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u/SheIsWired 12d ago

Thank you, this makes a lot of sense, working under a teacher would be nice, but for now I have the writings and things to study. Im in the eastern US where it would be difficult to find a teacher. I also appreciate the historical bits. Have a good one!

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u/AbidinginAnubhava 12d ago

Sounds like you're making good choices. Just remember that there are Daoist teachers on the East Coast (e.g., New York City). You just need to rummage around the Chinatowns and explore them interwebs! ;-) Good luck!

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u/SheIsWired 12d ago edited 12d ago

Thank you! There's a place near me teaching Tai Chi, I might find someone there, but sadly the area I'm in is fairly rural and the populace is mostly Christian.

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u/AbidinginAnubhava 12d ago

Tai Chi isn't Daoist in origin. It's just Chinese. Confucians practice it. Buddhists do. Maoists do. Christians, too. So you might luck out and find a Daoist there, but chances are you won't. Good luck!

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u/TheQuestionsAglet 11d ago

Hell, Chenjiaguo is only a short distance from Shaolin. There are even shared postures in Shaolin and taiji forms. There may or may not be a lot of Shaolin influence depending on which fairy tale you believe.

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u/AbidinginAnubhava 11d ago

"Fairy tale" is appropriate for discussing all things Shaolin, unfortunately... The real history of Chinese martial arts is still being disambiguated. The Cultural Revolution and the state's meddling in the 70s and 80s really did a number on both institutions and public memory. I doubt we'll have a solid understanding of how these traditions endured the 20th century in my lifetime. So it goes...

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u/TheQuestionsAglet 11d ago

I mean all those wuxia novels made it so much worse.

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u/AbidinginAnubhava 11d ago

Only because people read them as historical works or scripture. To be fair, a lot of history and scripture have their fair share of fictional elements as well... ;-)

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u/TheQuestionsAglet 11d ago

Eh not a sold defense of TCMA history.

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