Reflections on Onions

  While reading the chapter, "Three Gradual Steps" in Surangama Sutra, I had some puzzles about why Buddhists are discouraging eating onions. Some of this puzzle was resolved as I read the chapter. According to this chapter, onions and other strong-smelling plants of the leek family have a tendency to repel Dharma protectors and attract hungry ghosts and demons, thus leading a practitioner away from her or his practice and path. In a sense, the ingestion of onions represents some kind of energy that is unwanted, such as desire, and can tempt someone away from the true teachings. Perhaps a more 'modern' explanation for this phenomena is that people tend to be distracted by foods that have a strong taste or odor, and thus become unseated from awareness and mindfulness. In this sense, the 'demon' would be generated by a craving mind or a mind that is overstimulated. I suppose that the same can also be said for any food that is intoxicating in some way.
     The puzzle I have is that if one takes the words in this sutra literally, it would mean that the power of a single vegetable (and its properties) has the ability to repel a compassionate being from protecting practitioners. It seems a bit strange to me, considering that the path of Buddhism stresses equanimity and treating all beings with the same measure of compassion. From this perspective, it perhaps makes little sense to say that a bodhisattva would reject or fail to protect a practitioner simply due to onion breath!  But on the other hand, if I take this principle not as the rejection by a compassionate being but as a principle, it starts to make more sense. Food that stimulates or might be harder to digest tends to become overwhelming to the body and mind. For this reason, Buddhist lifestyles tend to advocate plain and simple food that is not encumbered with too many flavors or spices. In a sense, one might say that it's the mind that creates the distraction by choosing strong flavors or odors in food.
      I think another important aspect of this chapter is how it stresses that we are deeply steeped in dependent origination. There are certainly conditions which favor practice and those which simply don't. To try to pretend that such conditions don't exist is almost like courting disaster. It's not that one shouldn't tolerate diverse conditions, but one needs to be aware that some conditions can be more difficult to practice than others, depending on level of practice. I wonder if this is because even though all sentient beings have Buddha nature, they are still embodied beings. Embodiment itself has many risks, including the temptations of the senses, being 'tricked' by appearances, and being simply overstimulated. What I am getting from this chapter is that if I just put anything into my body without discerning what it is and what effect it has, even Dharma protectors won't be able to help me. This is because I have lost awareness of the conditions which would make it more difficult for me to practice with sincerity.