What purpose do fasting and avoidance of alcohol serve in eastern religions?
The spirituality of eastern religions such as Buddhism emphasizes a connection between the mind, body and spirit. Fasting and avoidance of alcohol serves to purify the body, and allow for easier spiritual meditation and elevation. There is also the principle that the body is itself a temple, and therefore no drugs should be introduced into the temple that could alter the consciousness and make it more difficult to self purify. Fasting is common in many religions, including Islam and Judaism, and is usually all to the same purpose, as a purification ritual that removes the sugar, fat and junk we put into our bodies just in the course of eating and drinking on a daily basis, again allowing people to, as they believe, more closely commune with God (or gods). In Islam, alcohol at all is strictly forbidden for just this reason.
