Vegetarianism is common in other Dharmic faiths such as Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism, as well as East Asian religions like Taoism.

Buddhists believe that cooking is seen as a spiritual practice that produces the nourishment which the body needs to work hard and meditate.

In Japan, this culinary custom, recognized as shōjin ryōri (精進料理) or devotion cuisine, is commonly offered at numerous temples, notably in Kyoto.

[1] A more recent version, more Chinese in style, is prepared by the Ōbaku school of zen, and known as fucha ryōri (普茶料理); this is served at the head temple of Manpuku-ji, as well as various subtemples.

In modern times, commercial restaurants have also latched on to the style, catering both to practicing and non-practicing lay people.

The Pāli Scriptures also indicated that Lord Buddha refusing a proposal by his traitor disciple Devadatta to mandate vegetarianism in the monastic precepts.

Tibetan Buddhism has long accepted that the practical difficulties in obtaining vegetables and grains within most of Tibet make it impossible to insist upon vegetarianism; however, many leading Tibetan Buddhist teachers agree upon the great worth of practicing vegetarianism whenever and wherever possible,[6] such as Chatral Rinpoche, a lifelong advocate of vegetarianism who famously released large numbers of fish caught for food back into the ocean once a year, and who wrote about the practice of saving lives.

[4][3] In addition to the ban on garlic, practically all Mahayana monastics in China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan specifically avoid eating strong-smelling plants, traditionally asafoetida, shallot, mountain leek and Chinese onion, which together with garlic are referred to as wǔ hūn (五葷, or 'Five Acrid and Strong-smelling Vegetables') or wǔ xīn (五辛 or 'Five Spices') as they tend to excite senses.

Onions and garlic are usually avoided as consumption of these is thought to increase undesirable emotions such as anger or sexual desire.

Sweets and desserts are not often consumed, but are permitted in moderation and may be served at special occasions, such as in the context of a tea ceremony in the Zen tradition.

To cater to this type of customer, as well as full-time vegetarians, the menu of a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant usually shows no difference from a typical Chinese or East Asian restaurant, except that in recipes originally made to contain meat, a soy chicken substitute might be served instead.

According to cookbooks published in English, formal monastery meals in the Zen tradition generally follow a pattern of "three bowls" in descending size.