Wenda20201016 00:54
(Master Jun Hong Lu’s call-in radio program)
IS IT APPROPRIATE FOR BUDDHIST PRACTITIONERS TO CONSUME ENZYMES?
Caller: How are you, Master? Nowadays, many Buddhist practitioners produce their homemade enzymes for consumption. They will put some vegetables and fruits into a container with some water. These ingredients will be left to ferment into beverage-like enzymes that have a mix of sweet and sour tastes.
Some Buddhist practitioners feel that it tastes like red wine and also smells like alcohol. I’d like to ask Master whether it is appropriate for Buddhist practitioners who are vegetarians to consume such enzymes?
Master Jun Hong Lu: First and foremost, it depends on its composition. If the taste of alcohol can be detected, you must not consume it at all. As long as the taste of alcohol can be determined, it is not suitable to be consumed.
Caller: I see.
Master Jun Hong Lu: For example, fermented glutinous rice or sweet rice wines that absolutely taste like alcohol, should not be consumed at all. If you just add a little alcohol into the glutinous rice balls and its taste is hardly detectable, only then it is alright to consume them.
If you solely consume the fermented glutinous rice wine, which has a high alcohol content, let me ask you, would it not cause you to feel tipsy? Many children become drunk after eating fermented glutinous rice wine. Wines may be made from rice, but the fundamental nature is altered when the rice is fermented.
You can’t say, “What I am drinking is rice wine”. It may be made from rice, but it does not change the fact that it is still wine. Here you are saying “I am having a glass of wine”. Isn’t it made from rice? Aren’t they all the same?
Caller: I understand now.
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