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flesh

PietroPumokinPietroPumokin
edited April 2010 in Buddhism Basics
i know this topic, did buddha eat meat? for some reason i started thinking about this, buddha and animals. in the dhammapada, he is said to say

1. everyone trembles at the whip, everyone is afraid of death. considering others as yourself, do not kill or promote killing.
2.everyone trembles at the whip; everyone likes life. considering others as yourself, do not kill or promote killing.
3. whoever hurts living beings- who all want happiness- may be seeking personal happiness, but will not attain felicity after death.

i am wondering, what "everyone" means in stanzas 1 and 2, human only or animal and human? number three seems to imply human beings as well as animals, so i assume the first two are the same as the latter. i know that monks according to tradition accept in alms bowls anything whether meat or not, is this true in all traditions or is there difference between different schools and different cultures? is it ethical to grill polar bears on a barbecue if you're with an eskimo? global warming is making them extinct.

Comments

  • InmostLightInmostLight
    edited April 2010
    Interesting that you bring it up. Different traditions hold different views and certain types have a larger vegetarian audience than others, although I believe all (unless I'm missing one) respect people's choices.

    Re: Polar Bears, keep right intention in mind. Does the fact that global warming is making them extinct provide reason to kill? Everything is impermanent, including the human species. In my own views, I feel something should not be done if it is intentionally killing or directly (and often indirectly) supporting the killing of humans or animals.

    Peace & love, and keep perfuming those feet :D
  • PalzangPalzang Veteran
    edited April 2010
    The only thing the Buddha ever said about it (as far as we know) was don't eat meat that was killed specifically for you. Other than that, eat whatever is offered to you. If you're a monk gathering alms, anyway (or a minor living at home with your parents!).

    Palzang
  • sukhitasukhita
    edited April 2010
    This is what Gil Fronsdal (translator of the version of the Dhammapada I have) has to say about some of the verses, including verses 129-130:
    Many of these are not uniquely Buddhist teachings. In fact, scholars have suggested that some verses in the Dhammapada may have been adapted from poetry, songs, and teachings already current in ancient India before and during the Buddha's time.

    Sorry, Pietro, I don't know what to make of all this... and I know this dosen't help to answer your questions either.

    :)
  • patbbpatbb Veteran
    edited April 2010
    What about plants?

    Plants are alive to.

    So are the gazillion tiny little creatures that we cannot see entering our mouth whenever we eat anything...
  • PietroPumokinPietroPumokin
    edited April 2010
    yes, though a plant is not as alive (and as aware of aliveness) as a badger, just as a dunce is not as enlightened (and as aware of enlightenedness) as an arahat.... not saying we should eat dunces though he he
    sukhita wrote: »
    This is what Gil Fronsdal (translator of the version of the Dhammapada I have) has to say about some of the verses, including verses 129-130:



    Sorry, Pietro, I don't know what to make of all this... and I know this dosen't help to answer your questions either.

    :)
    hehe no but it was interesting
  • aMattaMatt Veteran
    edited April 2010
    It doesn't really seem useful to say "I do eat meat" or "I do not eat meat" because both imply a state that exists outside the moment. Better to wait until you are at the store or looking at the filled bowl to decide what to do. No need to generalize yourself or others.

    Some people, once looking deeply into the food they eat realize that a portion (ah! a pun!) has been put through tremendous amounts of suffering. What they do next depends on what feels right. Some do nothing, some turn toward more organic foods, some toward vegetation... though it might be most important simply to see what is there. Everything else will happen without effort.
  • PietroPumokinPietroPumokin
    edited April 2010
    that was an interesting zen sermon amatt, but it's only outside the moment if you forget the memory that most moments are locked inside of a china cabinet
  • aMattaMatt Veteran
    edited April 2010
    How interesting that it resonated Zen with you! And a sermon? I was just relating as best I could to the ideas you presented :)

    I'm unfamiliar with the metaphor that moments are locked inside a china cabinet. Are you saying that experiencing the moment is unavailable most of the time?
  • PietroPumokinPietroPumokin
    edited April 2010
    certainly not, it's the most available thing we have, and in this moment i can say i am a vegetarian, a jokernaut, and a mustard catcher of dreams, as well as a scapegoat and a firefighter
  • aMattaMatt Veteran
    edited April 2010
    A scapegoat! Fantastic, I've been looking for someone to blame all my problems on... do you mind?
  • jaohjaoh
    edited April 2010
    i had a vision of the buddha walking in the forest. a hovering piece of an inside out goat was presented to him. he ate it, was satisfied and continued on his way.
  • sukhitasukhita
    edited April 2010
    jaoh wrote: »
    i had a vision of the buddha walking in the forest. a hovering piece of an inside out goat was presented to him. he ate it, was satisfied and continued on his way.

    That's Ok.... as long as Sid doesn't touch pork again.... :lol:
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