Thank you for the advice. Just to clarify, while veganism is important to me, I‘d rather be in a place that does not put huge emphasis on social justice.
So you are willing to make concessions. The OP seems unwilling to make any such concessions. If you were wandering in Thailand and a householder offered you meat, would you accept it? I realise many Theravadin monasteries do effectively eat a vegan or vegetarian diet, because that’s what the supporting lay community provide.
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Ah…apologies for the assumption!
No need to apologize.
I realize I‘m in a difficult position here. Veganism doesn‘t fit in with the usually conservative Theravadin culture. Places that are vegan are usually also connected with social justice. As a PoliSci major and activist, I‘ve engaged with social justice theory and practice, and while I don‘t reject them outright, I have substantial criticisms of both.
Well why do you want a Theravadin monastery? If you find you can’t accept at least some of what Mahayana teaches why not go for that? Then you won’t have any issues. If you completely reject Mahayana though then I can see your dilemma.
Another option, relent on the veganism. After all, purity doesn’t come via dietary beliefs and practices.
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I wouldn’t have to. Don’t know about OP. He mainly talked about not wanting to eat meat. Dairy can be present in very small quantities in many dishes, as you know. But it’s not like I go eat eggs and drink cartons of milk. Anyway, even this is rarely a problem in my experience. If I do eat such things it is out of politeness to the donor who is usually aware of me being vegan but unaware of what veganism means.
I’m not wandering in Thailand nor does the OP seem intent on doing so, so this is somewhat irrelevant. Regardless, monks having done so and have refused meat. Since there is no Vinaya rule against us doing so. For OP, I explained a bit further here.
Not in many places I’ve been. But it’s often possible to be vegan anyway, if you’re not too picky or need many different choices.
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On this forum, there is a learned Bhikkhuni who just posted the following Sutta from another topic, which I am reading for the 1st time. As a renowned Leader of sutta studies., do you have any view about its relevance to this topic? 
Mendicants, this relying on alms is an extreme lifestyle. The world curses you: ‘You beggar, walking bowl in hand!’ Yet earnest gentlemen take it up for a good reason. Not because they’ve been forced to by kings or bandits, or because they’re in debt or threatened, or to earn a living. But because they’re swamped by …birth, old age, and death; by sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. They’re swamped by suffering, mired in suffering. And they think, ‘Hopefully I can find an end to this entire mass of suffering.’ That’s how this gentleman has gone forth.
SN 22.80
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I‘ve been practicing Theravada Buddhism for quite some time now because, as far as I can judge, it‘s a path that potentially leads to a good goal. In a monastic setting, I‘d probably need a teacher who also practices this path.
However, my trust in the traditional interpretations of the Vinaya as applied to today‘s circumstances doesn‘t go so far that I would disregard my strong sense that consuming animal products is essentially inciting others to kill.
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Did the Buddha teach the above? Did the Buddha regard the generosity of others in this same way?
I don’t believe there is any vinaya rule that stipulates that one must eat what is offered, regardless of what might have been implied by some in this thread.
I’m also sorry that you stating your preferences has caused you to defend yourself, and from a lot of whataboutism.
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Thank you very much for your insights! The extent to which you compromise on alms food seems very reasonable.
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What I see in SN 22.80 is an attitude of someone who has thoroughly considered the meaning of leaving the lay setting, and also a degree of urgency that has the mind inclined towards developing the gain of liberation.
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Well, that argument could also apply to veganism. I’ve noticed that many vegan Buddhists seem to forget that many millions of animals, such as insects, will be intentionally killed in order to supply them with their preferred diet. Insects matter as much as pigs do in Buddhadhamma. Still, you said you didn’t want your beliefs to be debated so I’ll leave this here.
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Livestock must be fed grown crops, often raised in worse condition than human vegetables with lots of pesticides because it’s for animals, which kills the insects to feed the animals and slaughters the animals too. Something to reflect on.
Mettā
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Dear All,
The thread is temporarily set in slow mode, to allow for further time before posts are added. Please note that editing in slow mode is only possible after the pause time has passed. So, please put extra care before writing something publicly.
The topic of veganism has been addressed in multiple threads, already. Instead, the OP is about vegan-friendly monasteries in the Theravada tradition, preferably in Europe.
Please let’s keep on the topic. If needed, feel free to discuss other aspects in a different thread.
With Metta,
Ric
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Hi Jonas,
I haven’t actually stayed there (Corona 
) but had planned to - muttodaya.org (in Germany). They seemed at least vegetarian friendly when I asked. From memory, they told me that mostly there is a variety of vegetarian food there, worst case there is just rice.
All the best!
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I haven’t been to Plum Village, but I have been to Deer Park in San Diego, California which is a TNH affiliated monastery. Nice place, nice monks and nuns, but they do a lot of singing and some light dancing. Not my cup of tea to see that, but some might like that style as a skillful means, I guess.
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Have you visited much of these monasteries?
Usually if there’s enough monks there, the food arrangements is buffet. Even if the monks goes out for alms around, the food they bring back are arranged to become buffet selection.
When it’s buffet, it’s easy to become vegan. Well, unless it’s alms food from a region which has no vegans at all. That almost everyone eats meat in that locality.
For not having other monks convert you to become meat eaters, just don’t convert them, they don’t convert you, have some negative peace. Or don’t need to bring it up. Most important is just how your teacher sees it. Doesn’t matter if your teacher is vegan or not (actually it is very rare to find a vegan teacher), most important is that he is ok with you being vegan and wouldn’t convert you. The other monks attitude etc is secondary and can be worked on.
One way is that if they come to you again and again to say Buddha ate meat etc, sometimes, all it takes for them to back off is to do the standard vegan reasonings with them. For example, the Buddha didn’t live in this era of human induced climate change and industrial farming. Loving kindness extends to animals in cage due to being slaughtered. I don’t have any appetite for meat reflecting on that.
Not everyone is exposed to these kinds of reasonings because the older monks may had ordained before the internet and some monks from Myanmar and Sri Lanka may have been a novice since they are a kid.
So their exposure to the internet maybe that the vegan reasonings has not reached to them yet. But it’s more important to do it in a manner which is not defensive. So non violent communication course is a good way to do it.
A lot of the ones who wishes to change your diet may just opt for negative peace of you don’t remind them that they are making their stomach a graveyard for animal corpses, they don’t try to convert you away from veganism.
I only speak of why I am a vegan when people asked me. I don’t do overt active conversion, just encouragement, in the right circumstances. Again if the situation is above, there’s a balance achieved, don’t rock the boat.
For smaller monasteries, where there is only 2 or 3 monks, just make known to them that you’re a vegan. The current monastery I am staying in, Brahmavihara, I told them I am vegan, the supporters who donate food are very happy to cater to me, to have majority of the food selection offered on the table to be vegan. We’re all Chinese here so, the offerings are on a round table with a turntable. The monastery kapiya buy the food for us, or our regular volunteer cook cook for us.
Whenever we got invited outside for lunch Dana, the kapiya would inform them that at least one monk is vegan and explain the difference between vegan and vegetarian. No eggs, no milk. Just 4 simple words.
Worse case, if the donor has every dish mixed with meat, just take some of the vegetables from the dishes. Or eat plain rice. The donors would be concerned, ask why and they know next time what to do.
As for alms rounds, since I am still under dependence and living with other monks who are not vegan, I am ok with accepting meat, but just don’t eat them. Accept the meat, come back to monastery, let them arrange into buffet form, take only vegan food.
I am still gauging if it’s socially acceptable for me to put a sticker “Vegan” on my bowl. Anyway, if you’re going for alms round on your own, can just take note of few vegan restaurants, go rotate between them, today here, the next day there etc. I haven’t actually done this before.
If there’s some unavoidable meat to be taken, like Sunday market pindacara with Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary, I take a combination of the soup and noodles. Some put the meat with the noodle plastic bag, some put the meat with the soup. Not both. So I mix and match. The meat I had to take from the buffet, can just thrown into the forest and let the wild boar or cats to eat. Or throw into the pond for the fishes.
The more tricky part is for some monastery where they have the culture of offering extra food for monks who are in the middle of eating after we take our food.
Because of a vinaya rule that says if one rejects a staple food (meat falls into this), one cannot accept other food offerings.
So if you wish to have the delicious vegan ice cream which you know is coming, can just remember to accept the meat coming first, and put it aside, don’t need to eat them. Then can get the vegan food which is offered later.
The part I am still getting used to is to help take meat for other monastics who are on pindacara break. Some may just say whatever, but have an extra condition, but cannot be vegan food. So I had him specify what meat he wishes for when I help him to take, or else anything for me means I give him the same that I have. Healthy vegan selection.
I would prefer to just take total vegan food for them, but since they do cater for me, by bringing me only vegan food, I think I do owe them at least they curtosy
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OP, you need to keep in mind that it’s unusual to only ever live in one monastery for ones entire monastic life. So finding a monastery to ordain at that is vegan is one issue. Living ones entire monastic life in such places is another.
As well, keep in mind that monasteries change. Abbots change. So a monastery that is vegan one year may not be the next.
Finding a good place to live is very, very difficult. Adding diet requirements is going to drastically limit options.
That said, if you are willing to eat things as long as you don’t see chunks of meat or obvious dairy, then most places will probably be ok. Living in Asia would actually be easier than living in Europe.
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In many locations in Asia you would have to add three more words: “No fish sauce.” That’s a tricky one. A dish seemingly containing only plant matter could be seasoned with fish sauce which is almost a staple in many Southeast Asian cuisines. To someone who is accustomed to thinking of vegetarianism and veganism in the context of “meat,” “eggs,” or “dairy” it might not even cross their minds that a liquid substance seemingly bearing no resemblance to any of the aforementioned would be incompatible with a vegetarian or vegan diet.
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