There are no universally agreed-upon rules for permitted and not-permitted foods in Buddhism. In some regions, it is common for monks to eat no meat and drink no alcohol, but for the laity to, or for the laity to abstain only when they visit a monastery. In some regions, even some Buddhist monks will eat meat or drink alcohol. In other regions, it is also common for Buddhists to believe that vegetarianism is better for their karma than eating meat, but to eat meat anyway and consider it something of a bad habit; and, in some areas, such as Japan, avoidance of wu hun foods is not a large part of Buddhism. Many Buddhist traditions state the Buddha himself taught that meat offered as charity to monks and nuns should not be refused, unless the killing was done specifically for the monks and nuns. However, other traditions state this to be inaccurate, and that the Buddha was strictly vegetarian.
While many debate Buddhist teachings, it is widely believed that the Buddha's final words were, "Be a light unto thyself," which might imply that he wanted each individual to choose their own path to Enlightenment; however, many Buddhists would ask what the sense of calling oneself a Buddhist is, if one is not trying to discern and follow the Buddha's teachings on foods and all other issues. Conflicting aspects of Gautama Buddha's teachings -- compassion, The Five Precepts, and karma, versus the humility to accept meat and other things offered as charity -- are not likely to be easily resolved, given the vagueness of written history.
