本研究主要以佛教傳播、文化習俗，及特定社會脈絡下的信仰，作為研究方向之依據。就現今的社會概念來說，北傳佛教是提倡「素食主義」，南傳佛教則是「托缽食」。然而，佛教本身對「食」所持基本態度是認可「三種清淨肉」，其背景的形成關鍵，主要是受印度文化或漢文化的影響。宗教理念和物質實踐存在複雜的關係，實踐佛陀教義的出家弟子在某一地域的宗教實踐中，如何轉換本身飲食觀亦是值得探討的問題之一。針對出家僧團弟子最初期是「肉食」、「素食」或「蔬食」等問題，雖有著正反兩論的看法，但北傳佛教的出家僧團似乎是為因應，或者可說是顧及當時的社會層面，由「托缽食」轉變成「僧尼煮食」，因而形成「禁止」肉食。由此論之，此問題的決斷並非只是還原慈悲的「不殺生」之單純性的倫理動機而可下結論的；佛教出家生活方式與戒律（僧團生活規定）、社會文化因素互動的過程等，都是本文討論的議題。全文的理論架構聚焦在「原因」、「動機」，及「尊重個體」的意向，此三大因素為佛教的基本立場，本文即以此三大觀點，探討「初期佛教食文化之變貌」，更依據「律學」的領域，作為本論的考察重點核心。

The paper aims to explore the link between spreading of Buddhism and its related cuisine culture. Today, as we see, north-bound Buddhism advocates vegetarianism, and south-bound Buddhism, on the other hand, favors food given by the general public. For Buddhists, food can consist of three kinds of clean meat. In any event, religion and culture are interdependent and mutually influential. Food related to Buddhism has been influenced by cultures in India and Han Chinese society. Religion and its practitioner have complicated relations. The present paper will also discuss how the practitioner may be qualified by the local culture where he/she lives. There has been dispute as to whether Buddhists should be strict vegetarians or not in the initial stages of the history of Buddhism. The north-bound Buddhists later cooked their own food instead of waiting for the general public to donate food. They then developed the custom of vegetarianism. From the development, we are certain that vegetarianism came not just from respect to all living things but also from an interaction between Buddhists and society and culture where they lived. This interaction becomes one of the subjects of the present paper. The paper is centered on the following issues: causes, motivation and respect of the individual, which are also the elements constituting the bases of vegetarianism of Buddhism. The three are the core values of Buddhism. Based on the above-mentioned, the paper is written to explore changes of cuisine culture in the early stages of Buddhism.