Our Vegan Commitment
“Life is life – whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man’s own advantage.”
“There is no fundamental difference between humans and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery.”
For reasons of health, sustainability, and compassion, Dharmalaya Institute is an ecological, organic & vegan institution.
‘Vegan’ means we provide food based on a purely plant-based diet (we don’t use any animal-derived ingredients in our food) and we don’t buy or use products that contain animal products or that have been tested on animals.
This includes:
No meat (including chicken, fish, etc.)
No eggs
No milk, curd, cheese, whey, or other dairy products
No honey or silk, or anything else from insects or any other animal source
No soaps, shampoos, or other products that contain animal-derived ingredients or that are tested on animals
Why Vegan?
The mission of the Dharmalaya Institute is to promote sustainable, healthy, and compassionate living. Research has demonstrated that a plant-based (vegan) diet centered around organic whole foods is the most supportive diet for health and longevity (see the China Study, for example). A plant-based diet also has the benefits of preventing the suffering and ecological destruction caused by the consumption of animal products. Because human consumption of animal products causes harm to oneself, to the animals and their families, and to the environment, it follows that if Dharmalaya were to contribute to the consumption of animal products, doing so would undermine our charitable mission on all three counts (promoting healthy, compassionate, and sustainable living). For all of these reasons and more, Dharmalaya was founded as a vegan institution, out of our sense of responsibility to care for all living things (including our human guests!) as well as we can.
Benefits of a Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet
For the maximum benefit of our guests, our animal friends, and our planet, Dharmalaya Institute offers a balanced, natural, 100% plant-based diet, using organic and local ingredients as much as possible. The food we serve is healhty, more sustainable, more compassionate — and delicious!
We encourage all of our guests to take full advantage of the opportunity to experience the many benefits of a healthy vegan diet while you are here. Most people who keep this diet faithfully for an extended period find that they feel much better (e.g. more energetic, less heavy and sluggish, and with a clearer mind), and many of our guests also tell us that they benefit greatly from using the opportunity to practice letting go of cravings for unhealthy foods. Of course we do respect individual choices, however, and if you wish to include animal products or junk foods in your diet, you are welcome to take meals at a local restaurant.
We thank you for not bringing animal products, junk food, plastic-packaged food, or drinks in plastic bottles to Dharmalaya.