GOOD QUESTION
GOOD ANSWER
Ven. S.
Dhammika
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[08]
Vegetarianism
Buddhists should be
vegetarians, shouldn’t they?
Not necessarily. The
Buddha was not a vegetarian. He did not teach his disciples to be
vegetarians and even today, there are many good Buddhists who are not
vegetarians.
If you eat meat you are
indirectly responsible the death of a creature. Isn’t that breaking the
first precept?
It is true that when you
eat meat, you are indirectly and partially responsible for killing a
creature but the same is true when you eat vegetables. The farmer has to
spray his crop with insecticides and poisons so that the vegetables arrive
on your dinner plates without holes in them. And once again, animals have
been used to provide the leather for your belt or handbag, oil for the
soap you use and a thousand other products as well. It is impossible to
live without, in some way, being indirectly responsible for the death of
some other beings. This is just another example of the First Noble Truth,
ordinary existence is suffering and unsatisfactory. When you take the
First Precept, you try to avoid being directly responsible for killing
beings.
Mahayana Buddhists don’t
eat meat
That is not correct.
Mahayana Buddhism in China laid great stress on being vegetarian but both
the monks, laymen and women of the Mahayana tradition in Japan and Tibet
usually eat meat.
But I still think that a
Buddhist should be vegetarian.
If there was a man who was
a very strict vegetarian but who was selfish, dishonest and mean, and
another man who was not a vegetarian but who was thoughtful of others,
honest, generous and kind, which of these two people would be the better
Buddhist?
The person who was honest
and kind.
Why?
Because such a person
obviously has a good heart.
Exactly. One who eats meat
can have a pure heart just as one who does not eat meat can have an impure
heart. In the Buddha’s teachings, the important thing is the quality of
your heart, not the contents of your diet. Many Buddhists take great care
never to eat meat buy they are not concerned about being selfish,
dishonest, cruel or jealous. They change their diet which is easy to do,
while neglecting to change their hearts, which is a difficult thing to do.
So whether you are a vegetarian or not, remember that the purification of
the mind is the most important thing in Buddhism.
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Update : 01-03-2002
