Aren't Buddhists Vegetarian?

Kangaroo

zombiegirl said:

The other day my girlfriend and I were having dinner at a restaurant when she noticed a man wearing a t-shirt that said, "MEAT IS MURDER".

Chances are the guy was just a fan of The Smiths.
Sorry for the old 80s reference...

vinlyn

MaryAnne said:

Maybe NewBuddhist.com needs a "FAQs" page?

(I'm just teasing!! Don't anyone get their robes in a knot).

Actually, my family and I met an abbot in Issan in Thailand once. His robe was not in a knot and unfortunately his dong dong was hanging out. I think he was senile (really). But what I learned was that your robe should be in knot.

Bunks

TheBeejAbides said:

jazzman said:

Nothing self-righteous about being vegetarian. I love it!

How can one intentionally give money to a slaughterhouse who abuses and kills animals, without having any karmic consequence from that?

I believe in instant karma. The animals know they're going to die brutally.
Imagine the poisonous hormones that gush througout the animal's body at the moment of death from their extreme fear. That's what you eat.

Yes but do you use vegetarianism as an identity? In the Zen world that's just another hat that one need not wear as it can sometimes get pulled over our eyes and obscure the light, so to speak. Eat a vegitarian diet. Don't "be" a vegetarian. It's simpler that way. And that makes it a lot easier in case you get a hankering for pepperoni.





Good call - it's merely a label that stands in the way of you and enlightenment...like father, brother, son, buddhist, Australian etc.

person

I've cut back on the amount of meat I eat a great deal. I usually only eat it 2 or 3 times a week and only a very small amount then. When I do eat meat I say a mealtime prayer (I do every meal) and purposefully give my gratitude to the animal and remember some of the conditions farm animals face today.

I understand and appreciate the arguments put forward by animal rights people, even "Meat is Murder", personally I'm not put off or upset about them in the slightest.

vinlyn

Just remember, some of you are offended by Christians who proselytize.
Some of us are offended by vegetarians who proselytize.

Arthurbodhi

vinlyn said:

Just remember, some of you are offended by Christians who proselytize.
Some of us are offended by vegetarians who proselytize.

But, why feeling offended in first way? That is not other thing that try to protect our ego.

Kangaroo

Why don't we just say we should all "eat mindfully" and end it at that?

Sabre

vinlyn said:

Just remember, some of you are offended by Christians who proselytize.
Some of us are offended by vegetarians who proselytize.

And some are offended by the meat industry

I don't see any offending statements made in this topic by any 'vegetarian'. Someone comes here with what seems to me a sincere question and people immediately jump on how inconsiderate the question is and all. Blergh. That's not the thing. The obvious underlying question is the link between eating meat, the violence involved and whether it is wholesome or not. And why certain Buddhist choose to eat meat. So let's talk about that now.

So to summarize the (imo very good) essay I posted before: A lot, but certainly not all Buddhist are vegetarian, the Buddha also wasn't. So we can say eating meat is not nescessarily unwholesome karma. Which to me is also quite logical for eating itself is not done with any bad intentions. But the Buddha just ate what he was given, usually the leftovers - not because he liked meat so much. He also didn't eat meat especially killed for him. So he wanted to avoid people using violence by killing animals. But he also said refraining from meat is not a purifying practice per se.

And now we are in a new time with more opportunities for healthy non-meat food and animals in the industry are worse of than in the time of the Buddha. And let's not forget the climate issues. Does all of this add new considerations to the matter? I'd say it's a personal choice and there is no should or shouldn't, but of course there is no harm done in refraining from eating meat. Especially us as lay people in the richer countries often have all the freedom to change our eating habit.

RebeccaS

I think you make a valid point @arthurbodhi - if we get offended its our own issue. That doesn't excuse or legitimize anyone else's behavior, but I do agree with you.

How we react to what anyone else does is on us.

Mountains

jazzman said:

Imagine the poisonous hormones that gush througout the animal's body at the moment of death from their extreme fear.

There's no such thing as a poisonous hormone. Hormones are a chemical messaging system that is an intrinsic part of the body...

Mountains

For heaven's sake, the Dalai Lama eats meat! Let's get over this and move on...

Beej

Bunks said:

TheBeejAbides said:

jazzman said:

Nothing self-righteous about being vegetarian. I love it!

How can one intentionally give money to a slaughterhouse who abuses and kills animals, without having any karmic consequence from that?

I believe in instant karma. The animals know they're going to die brutally.
Imagine the poisonous hormones that gush througout the animal's body at the moment of death from their extreme fear. That's what you eat.

Yes but do you use vegetarianism as an identity? In the Zen world that's just another hat that one need not wear as it can sometimes get pulled over our eyes and obscure the light, so to speak. Eat a vegitarian diet. Don't "be" a vegetarian. It's simpler that way. And that makes it a lot easier in case you get a hankering for pepperoni.

Good call - it's merely a label that stands in the way of you and enlightenment...like father, brother, son, buddhist, Australian etc.



Nothing to do, no one to be. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. :thumbsup:

Arthurbodhi

Mountains said:

For heaven's sake, the Dalai Lama eats meat! Let's get over this and move on...

Yeah, but he is a Tibetan Monk, not a meat eater.
http://www.shabkar.org/teachers/tibetanbuddhism/dalai_lama.htm

poptart

Some wise words from a Buddhist monk.

PrairieGhost

I wouldn't advise anyone to give up meat; I'd just ask whether we blot out our natural compassion in order to do so, thus causing suffering for us.

federica

Listen guys, it looks like the OP has absented himself from the discussion, so we'll call it a day for now...
Will re-open if the OP feels they'd like to chat more.

Thanks to all....