Amitabha

The so-called Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, lifted the "precept of eating and drinking" in Shaolin Temple is just a legend and has no reliable historical basis. The plot in the movie "Shaolin Temple" in which the "law of eating and drinking" is lifted is just the result of imagination, interpretation and fabrication by the movie screenwriter or director based only on the "Emperor Songyue Shaolin Temple Monument".

Did Li Shimin really lift the "food and drink commandment" in Shaolin Temple?

Please take a look at the seventh of the ten precepts of Songshan Shaolin today:

Drinking alcohol and eating meat are the great precepts of Buddhism, which should be observed with respect and must not be violated. Drinking wine can take away your ambition, but eating meat can make you faint.

This commandment clearly states: "The commandment of alcohol and meat" has not been "lifted".

In front of the bell tower of Shaolin Temple Stele Forest, the stele erected in the 16th year of Emperor Xuanzong's founding of the Tang Dynasty (728 AD) is inscribed as "Emperor Songyue Shaolin Temple Stele" (commonly known as "Li Shimin Stele"). On the front is Li Shimin. It is a text that informs the masters of the Shaolin Temple and others, commending the Shaolin monks for their military exploits in helping the Tang Dynasty pacify Wang Shichong. The fifth line from the right has the word "Shimin" initialed by Li Shimin himself, and the stele is inscribed with the seven-character series "Emperor Taizong Wen's Royal Letter" Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, wrote the imperial letter. On the back is Li Shimin's "Inscription of the Royal Book of the Shaolin Temple Baiguzhuang", which records the story of the thirteen stick monks who rescued the King of Qin. It is also the historical basis for the filming of the film "Shaolin Temple".

In this inscription, there is no written record that Li Shimin lifted the "eat and drink commandment" in Shaolin Temple.

In fact, Buddhism is the only country in the world that advocates vegetarianism. Today, the real Shaolin Temple monks still do not eat meat, do not touch fishy meat, and strictly abide by this fundamental precept of Chinese monks.

It can be seen that the so-called Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, lifted the "precept of eating and drinking" in Shaolin Temple is just a legend and has no reliable historical basis. The plot in the movie "Shaolin Temple" in which the "law of eating and drinking" is lifted is just the result of imagination, interpretation and fabrication by the movie screenwriter or director based only on the "Emperor Songyue Shaolin Temple Monument". If the master of the Shaolin Temple really lifted the "precept of eating and drinking" in front of Li Shimin, but his words and deeds contradicted each other, and he still included this "commandment" in the ten precepts, wouldn't he have committed the crime of deceiving the emperor? I'm afraid he would have been punished long ago. Beheaded.