The Incredibly Strict Diet Of Jain Monks

Jain monks have historically been prevented by their faith from leaving India, however, some Jain monks have been selected and given permission to come to the United States. Jain Monks have been prohibited from making this journey to the United States due to their strict diet and lifestyle. A Jain follower’s diet is a strict vegetarian or even vegan diet. Jains who are vegan, exclude various types of green vegetables during certain periods of the month. Most Jains, cannot eat any vegetables with roots or that are pulled out of the ground. They believe in non-violence, so they believe that pulling a root out of the ground is an act of violence (The Incredibly Strict Diet of a Jain Monk, 2015) . To Jains, violence can be verbal, physical, or mental.

Physical violence could be committing an act of violence to someone else. Mental violence could be thinking about violence (Literal Meaning of Ahimsa, 2011). A Jain follower explains the reason why their diet is very strict: “We as Jains believe in reincarnation and we believe that all living things contain a soul. We therefore aim to cause as little harm as possible to these living things so [we] restrict what we eat accordingly ” (atmadharma.com). This remark from a Jain follower, explains why they eat a strict diet. It is to cause less harm in the universe and in return, they are hoping for reincarnation after