Did you know? Every day, YOU can be a hero. Just by leaving animals out of your diet, you will help inspire compassion and spread loving kindness.
All beings deserve respect and don’t want suffering. Don’t be part of the chain of cruelty — don't eat our friends. Go meatless and kindle the kindness in you… it will spread!

Harmonize your diet. Harmonize your mind and body connection. Eat mindfully by going vegetarian or vegan!

We have to change. We want to get liberated, but we don’t want to change – but if you don’t want to change, there’s no chance that you can get liberated.

Plus, especially relevant given the coronavirus epidemic, we know that the majority of pandemics in the world are zoonotic - that is, occur from animal to human transmission, and that hunting animals for meat and industrial animal farming are two of the most common ways in which diseases spread!

It’s indisputable. A vegetarian or vegan diet is better for the earth, better for your health, better for the environment, better for our resources, better for our air, better for our water, and of course, better for the animals.

Cherishing All Forms of Life: Buddhists practice non-harming in order to cultivate a heart of compassion and empathy for others. In Buddhism, all life forms are interconnected, and all creatures are considered “family.”

There are many reasons people are vegetarian/vegan: compassion for animals, protecting the environment, sustaining personal health and well-being, and creating wholesome karma. We try to minimize the amount of suffering we create through our lifestyles and eating habits. Buddhism also teaches that food has a profound connection with our thoughts and desires, and being vegetarian helps us have clearer minds and more compassionate hearts.

“The great compassionate mind is the Buddha’s Mind. The spirit of Buddhism is compassion and equality. If we wish to attain a mind of compassion and equality, first, we must not kill; second, we must save and protect lives; third, we must practice vegetarianism. If we can accomplish all three, our compassionate mind will manifest.”

More about Buddhism and Not Eating Animals: http://sunnyvale.ctzen.org/wiki/buddhism-and-vegetarianism-by-grand-master-weichueh/

Mindful eating… sit down and recite the five contemplations every time before you eat:

How to eat mindfully?

Eating is a spiritual practice. Two steps: First, think before you eat: I contemplate my mind, cautiously guarding it from wrongdoing, greed, and other defilements. I contemplate this food, treating it as wondrous medicine to nourish my body. Don’t let our eating overcome us with greed and attachment. Then, actually taste the food. It’s easy and simple: taste the food you’re eating. That is, visualize it, smell it, and sense it with your tongue and taste buds.

Vegetarian Recipes

http://www.ctbuddhamind.org/go-veggies/recipes/?lang=en

https://chungtai.org.au/vegetarian-cuisine/vegetarian-recipes/

http://buddhagate.org/bgm_recipes/Vegetarian/recipes/English.html

蔬食護生，防疫造福--我要響應!

Take the pledge to go vegetarian!

Asian Vegetarian Restaurants around the Bay Area —

for more (there’s lots more, such as Indian food, vegan pizza places, Flying Falafel, Veggie Grill, and local chains, and American and Black-owned veg cafes, which we haven’t kept up with here), or other cities, we recommend searching on HappyCow.net (click the Vegan and Vegetarian restaurant filter buttons to select only plant based dining options!)

Our top picks: Best Asian Vegetarian Food in the Bay Area (Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, Malaysian, pan-Asian fusion, and more)
Top 5 Chinese food inspired places: Jyun Kang Restaurant (Ukiah), Nature Vegetarian (Oakland Chinatown), Enjoy Vegetarian (2 locations in San Francisco city), Veggie Garden (Mountain View), Joyheart Cafe (San Jose)
Top 5 Vietnamese food inspired places: Hoa Dang Vegetarian (San Jose), Green Lotus (San Jose 2 locations), Di Lac Cuisine (San Jose), Golden Bamboo (San Jose), Happy Flower Eatery (Sunnyvale)

San Francisco:

Enjoy Vegetarian (multiple locations including Financial District and Chinatown), Lucky Creation Vegetarian, Golden Era, Thai Idea, Shizen, Cha Ya
(and lots more options for non-Asian food such as the veritable Greens Restaurant, which is part of the San Francisco Zen Center!)

Oakland / Berkeley:

Nature Vegetarian (our recommendation for Chinese/Taiwanese food!) ; Lion Dance Cafe (brand new Singaporean pop-up restaurant); Cha Ya, Golden Lotus
(and lots of cool options for non-Asian food such as Shangri-La Vegan, Flacos tacos, the swanky Millenium, the hip The Butcher’s Son, Two Mommas Kitchen, etc)

East Bay:

Veggie Lee (Hayward), Blossom Vegan Restaurant (Pleasanton)

South Bay:

Vietnamese places predominate here!
San Jose & Cupertino: Green Lotus (2 locations), Tofoo Com Chay, Vegetarian House, Dong Phuong tofu, Hoa Dang Vegetarian, Di Lac Cuisine, Golden Bamboo, Joyheart Cafe (Taiwanese grocery store Heartland attached), Happiness Cafe, Sogo Tofu, Tzu Chi Jing Si Tea House
Other South Bay: Merit Vegetarian (Sunnyvale), Garden Fresh (Mountain View), Veggie Garden (Mountain View), Happy Flower Boba & Eatery (Sunnyvale)

Plus, check out VeggieFarm USA retail stores in San Francisco and San Jose, they are open to the public for a large selection of soy-based, gluten, or mushroom based faux meat, tofu products, and vegan seafood!

North Bay / Napa:

Jyun Kang Restaurant is the vegetarian restaurant inside the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Ukiah (cash only, closed temporarily due to Covid as of March 2021) and it serves healthy Buddhist monastery style food (temple cuisine!) that is made without onion, garlic, or leeks. http://cttbusa.org/jyunkang/jk.asp.html

On your drive up, you can check out Amy’s Drive- Thru, vegan fast food!

:( Asian vegetarian restaurants closed permanently: Mint & Basil (San Jose & Milpitas), Garden Fresh (Palo Alto location), Green Barn (Milpitas)