http://www.kmspks.org/articles/vege.htm
Must Buddhists Be Vegetarian?
Article Expanded 27/05/03
“If a person does not harm any living being…
and does not kill or cause others to kill-
that person is a true spiritual practitioner.”
-Dhammapada (The Buddha)
"In order to satisfy one human stomach, so many lives
are taken away.
We must promote vegetarianism. It is extremely important."
-Live in a Better Way: Reflections on
Truth, Love and Happiness (pg 68)
(His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama)
Click here for 12
Quotes by HHDL on Vegetarianism
Must Buddhists be vegetarian?
No.
Why the fuss then?
Though
the Buddha never made it a compulsory rule that all His followers
have to be vegetarians, He strongly encouraged us to be. In the
Bodhisattva practice of minimising harm to all beings and
benefiting them as much as possible, the practice of vegetarianism
as far as possible plays an essential role.
We can see this in many of the Buddha's recorded
teachings.
“The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great
Compassion.”
-Mahaparinirvana Sutra
(The Buddha)
"...Ananda, I permit the bhiksus (monks) to eat only the five kinds
of pure flesh* which are the product of my transcendental
power of transformation and not of animal slaughter. You, Brahman,
live in a country where vegetables do not grow because it is too
damp and hot and because of all the gravel and rock. I use my
spiritual power of compassion to provide you with illusory meat to
satisfy your appetite. How then, after my nirvana, can you eat the
flesh of living beings and so pretend to be my
disciple?..."
"...All monks who live purely and all Bodhisattvas always refrain
even from walking on grass; how can they agree to uproot it? How
then can those who practise great Compassion feed on the flesh and
blood of living beings?..."
”...How can a monk, who hopes to become a deliverer of others,
himself be living on the flesh of sentient beings?...”
”...If a man can (control) his body and mind and thereby refrains
from eating animal products, I say he will really be liberated.
This teaching of mine is that of the Buddha whereas any others that
of evil demons..."
-Surangama Sutra
(The Buddha)
http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Shurangama/Shurangama.htm
”The Bodhisattva, whose nature is Compassion, is not to eat any
meat… For fear of causing terror to living beings…let the
Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain Compassion,
refrain from eating flesh.”
-Lankavatara Sutra
(The Buddha)
"If a bhikkhu sees, hears or suspects that it has
been killed for him, he may not eat it."
-Mahavagga of Vinaya Pitaka
(The Buddha)
"Let him not destroy, or cause to be destroyed, any
life at all, nor sanction the acts of those who do so. Let him
refrain from even hurting any creature, both those that are strong
and those that tremble in the world."
-Sutta-Nipata (The
Buddha)
"I have
enforced the law against killing certain animals and many others,
but the greatest progress of righteousness among men comes from the
exhortation in favor of non-injury to life and abstention from
killing living beings."
-King
Asoka's Edicts
All
true practitioners of the Bodhisattva path eventually relinquish
meat-eating. In His previous lives, the Buddha as a Bodhisattva
would rather cut His own flesh to feed an eagle than let it eat a
smaller bird. All advanced practising Bodhisattvas are thus
necessarily vegetarians, since they cannot bear the pain of
sentient beings.
While nothing we eat makes us impure, our choice of diet is an
action with implications. If our choice of diet arises from greed,
sustaining the greed obviously makes us impure.
If being vegetarian is so important on the Bodhisattva path,
why was the Buddha not one?
The
Buddha and the Sangha in His time were not total vegetarians as
they consumed alms food offered by lay followers, whom they
encountered “randomly” from place to place. Though the Buddha never
requested specific food to be offered, He spoke against the
intentional acquiring of meat for Him and the Sangha. In this way,
the Buddha neither directly nor indirectly cause the death of any
being for His food. On the other hand, we have the freedom of the
choice of our diet, since we do not eat alms food. Why not make the
kinder and wiser decision?
Can’t I be a good Buddhist who is not
vegetarian?
Of
course we can. One who eats meat can cultivate a pure heart just as
one who is vegetarian might have an impure heart. But why not
cultivate a pure heart while making the extra effort to further the
practice of Compassion by being vegetarian?
*But didn’t the Buddha say there is pure meat?
The
Buddha advised monks that meat should only be accepted when certain
conditions are met. Meat may be eaten by one who does (1) not see,
(2) hear of, (3) or doubt about the animal having been killed
purposely for him to eat, (4) but is certain that it either died
naturally, (5) or that its flesh had been abandoned by birds of
prey.
Isn’t meat from the markets and restaurants considered pure
meat?
No,
because demand creates supply.
Once,
a disciple of the Buddha asked a man why he kept buying meat. The
man replied that he did so since the meat-seller kept selling meat.
When the meat-seller was asked why he kept selling meat, he replied
that he did so since the man kept buying from him. When the Buddha
was consulted as to who was the unskillful (in Compassion and
Wisdom) one, He replied that both were unskillful.
Supply
and demand is an obvious vicious cycle. The whole universe of meat
eating and animal slaughtering is an intricate web of
interdependence, of related cause and effect. When we buy meat, we
play a part in the circle of life and death of other
beings.
What is real pure meat then?
Here
are some forms of meat that can be considered pure meat.
1.
Meat ordered or received by mistake.
2. Leftover or discarded meat.
3. Meat from animals that have died naturally or by accident for at
least 16 hours
(The number of hours is to ensure the
consciousness has left the body).
4. Meat from random alms rounds as practised in the Buddhist
tradition.
Isn’t killing vegetables taking life too?
Yes.
However, plant life is not sentient life- they are not beings with
reason and emotion.
Doesn’t growing vegetables kill many insects
too?
This
is not true if we choose organic food, which are grown without the
use of pesticides (which can be harmful to humans too). In
comparison to eating non-organic vegetables, pesticides are used
fifty times more when we eat meat- to kill pests to produce animal
feed. It takes ten kilos of vegetable protein to produce only one
kilo of animal protein!
Much
of our daily products also involve animals- such as leather shoes,
milk from cows, honey from bees, soap from animal fat, drugs with
animal serum (that might be tested on animals)… However, there are
many new products today that are free from animal derivatives.
Given more choice, we are at liberty to make wiser decisions on how
to live life in a more harmless way. Consider becoming a
vegan!
Despite
all we can do, merely to live is to deprive other beings of their
food, habitat and/ or life to a certain extent. Therefore,
Buddhists practising the Bodhisattva path should do all they can in
their ability to avoid killing, and to protect life
instead.
Can you further convince me to be a vegetarian?
Here
are some good reasons to be a vegetarian.
1.
Personal well-being- No disease can come from a balanced vegetarian
diet. Medical proof states that all kinds of diseases can spring
from meat-eating, while having a vegetarian diet can not only
prevent, but help cure many diseases. Our body constitution is also
not designed for meat digestion. For example, our teeth and
intestine structure are virtually identical to that of herbivorous,
not carnivorous animals. Eating animals which die in great fear and
hatred, we devour along their toxins of fear and hatred, which
affects both our spiritual and physical health.
2.
Well-being of animals- Animals live imprisoned and tortured lives
before the final horror of being slaughtered. While alive, they
suffer from overcrowding, castration and countless other
cruelties.
3.
Well-being of the environment- Animal-rearing depletes the Earth’s
resources of energy, land, crops and water. It also creates large
amounts of harmful animal sewage and greenhouse gases..
4.
Well-being of fellow humans- More than two-thirds of the Earth’s
cropland is used for cultivating animal feed for animals to be
slaughtered as meat. No human starvation would exist if animal
rearing for the rich meat-consumers was lessened, converting the
crops as food for citizens of the Third World Countries.
5.
Peace on Earth- Wars, racial riots and other forms of related human
unrest are collective karmic results of generated hatred when
group-slaughtered animals, which die in great fear and hatred, are
reborn as humans.
“For hundreds of thousands of years
the stew in the pot has brewed hatred and resentment
that is difficult to stop.
If you wish to know why there are disasters of armies and weapons
in the world,
listen to the piteous cries from the slaughterhouse at
midnight.”
-Ancient Chinese Verse translated by Gold Mountain
Monastery Staff
6.
All beings have at one point or another been reborn as our kin. The
practice of vegetarianism is thus the practice of filial piety. It
is the practice of the Loving-kindness, Compassion and Equanimity
to all beings, recognising that they have Buddha Nature (the
potential to become Buddhas) like us.
What if vegetarian food is hard to find?
Another
reason why the Buddha never made vegetarianism a compulsory rule is
His understanding that the living and karmic conditions of
different people are different. For example, it would be downright
impossible for all Tibetan Buddhists to have vegetarian diets when
Tibet can hardly grow vegetables. However, at least three major
Tibetan monasteries have become totally vegetarian today with the
aid of imported food.
What
happens if you cannot find vegetarian food readily? Does it mean
you have no choice but to eat meat? Think again carefully... the
path of Compassion is not always easy to tread. It involves making
many sacrifices. Being a committed vegetarian might mean having to
go the extra mile to get vegetarian food.
Did you know the Buddha is a vegetarian at heart?
The Buddha remarked that the meat He consumed in His entire life
was manifested by His great compassion and psychic powers. That is
to say, not only does the meat in theory already exist as pure
meat, it isn’t even real meat! In other words, the Buddha was a
full vegetarian at heart!
It
is worth mentioning that the Buddha did not die from eating meat
(poisoned or putrid pork), as it is so often mistaken. His last
meal consisted of "sukara-maddava"- which is correctly translated
to be (1) a pig's soft food, ie. food eaten by pigs, (2) "pig's
delight," ie. a favourite food of pigs, (3) "pig-pounded," ie.,
food trampled by pigs. It was actually a kind of mushroom called
truffles.
Why do some well-known practitioners not vegetarian?
Some of these practitoners are advanced practising Bodhisattva, who
eat meat out of skillful means and compassion to benefit more
beings indirectly. In fact, they might even be enlightened beings
who are able to manifest "fake" meat like the Buddha. If one wishes
to follow the practices of these masters, one has to be sure of
one's motivation. If it is not compassion and wisdom, it is greed
and ignorance at play- nothing other than selfish
rationalisation.
It is also a mistake to think that by eating meat, one will
generate a karmic Dharma connection with the deceased being, so as
to help it in future. These beings would rather us to connect with
them while alive- not when they are on your dinner plate!
On a related note, animal liberation (life-releasing) is easily
practised when we practise vegetarianism- which is simply
liberating animals from our dinner table. If one thinks carefully,
it is actually spiritually hypocritical to liberate animals from
captivity when we eat them. This is especially so when animal
liberation is at times done in an ignorant random manner,
endangering environmental balance, the animals themselves and other
animals.
Hmmm… I’m still unsure whether to be a
vegetarian…
Well…
the Buddha left it to you to choose!
Remember- Buddhism is a free religion. Though there are always
kinder and wiser choices you can make, you are also free to choose
otherwise.
"A vegetarian diet is not obligatory for Buddhists. Still, for
those of us who follow the teachings of the Great Vehicle, it is
important. But the teachings of the Buddha were open and flexible
on this subject, and each practitioner has the choice to be
vegetarian or not."
-His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Reflect
carefully- why are you putting off vegetarianism when it so
obviously has all the plus points? Is it due to plain greed for the
taste of meat? If you want to be sure you are not vegetarian not
because of greed, the best solution is to be vegetarian and prove
it to yourself. This is not my challenge for you- this is your
personal spiritual challenge. We have to be totally honest with
ourselves. Remember this- your decision to be vegetarian or not
will affect thousands of sentient lives in your lifetime.
Quotes on Vegetarianism by the World's Most Famous
Buddhist-
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (1989 Nobel Peace Prize
Laureate):
In the mid 1960s, the Dalai Lama was impressed by ethically
vegetarian Indian monks and adopted a vegetarian diet for about a
year and a half. Apparently he consumed primarily nuts and milk.
Unfortunately, he contracted Hepatitis B and his liver was
seriously damaged. For health reasons, he was advised by his
personal physicians to consume meat. While he has eaten meat in
moderation ever since, the Dalai Lama has repeatedly acknowledged
that a vegetarian diet is a worthy expression of compassion and
contributes to the cessation of the suffering of all living beings.
However, he eats meat only on alternate days (six months a year).
He is a semi-vegetarian, though he wishes to be a full one. By
making an example of cutting his meat consumption in half, he is
trying to gently influence his followers.
"While many of the great Tibetan teachers did and do eat animals,
the Dalai Lama has broken new ground by publicly stating his case
for vegetarianism. If we seriously consider the compassion inherent
in His Holiness’ advice and actions, Buddhist meat-eaters could
similarly try to eat vegetarian at least every other day to start
out with. Since Buddhists have taken vows not to kill, they should
not support a livelihood that makes others kill. Even if one does
not have great compassion for animals this would meritoriously save
humans from performing heinous deeds. The power of each human being
becoming vegetarian releases the most intense suffering of the
animal realm—the agony of factory-farmed animals. This profound
action can help slow the grinding wheels of samsara, bringing to a
halt the cycles of suffering of the entire animal realm and
influencing their eventual liberation. When animals are not just
looked upon as creatures to fill our stomachs, they can be seen as
they really are—beings who have the same Buddha nature as we all
do."
- http://www.serv-online.org/Eileen-Weintraub.htm
"This Thanksgiving, staff of the Fund for Animals are thanking the
Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, for recent
statements in support of animal rights. In an audience with
representatives of The Fund for Animals earlier this month, the
Dalai Lama commended the animal rights movement for working to end
the suffering of animals, and urged everyone who can to adopt a
vegetarian diet. Speaking with The Fund for Animals' national
director, Heidi Prescott, and program coordinator, Norm Phelps, the
1989 Nobel Peace Prize recipient said, "People think of animals as
if they were vegetables, and that isn't right. We have to change
the way people think about animals. I encourage the Tibetan people
and all people to move toward a vegetarian diet that doesn't cause
suffering." His Holiness also condemned the abuse and killing of
animals for entertainment purposes, such as the practice of hunting
wild animals for sport. The Dalai Lama invited the Fund for Animals
to work with his government in exile in India to help encourage
people to become vegetarian and to protect animals from
suffering."
-AmeriScan: November 25, 1998
"According to Buddhist teaching, there is a very close
interdependence between the natural environment and the sentient
beings living in it. Some of my friends have told me that basic
human nature is somewhat violent, but I have told them I disagree.
If we examine different animals, such as tigers or lions, we learn
that their basic nature provides them with sharp fangs and claws.
Peaceful animals, such as deer, which are completely vegetarian,
are more gentle and have smaller teeth and no claws. From that
viewpoint we human beings have a nonviolent nature."
-Ecology and the Human Heart
"Whenever I visit a market and see the chickens crowded together in
tiny cages that give them no room to move around and spread their
wings and the fish slowly drowning in the air, my heart goes out to
them. People have to learn to think about animals in a different
way, as sentient beings who love life and fear death. I urge
everyone who can to adopt a compassionate vegetarian diet."
-In an audience granted to Norm Phelps and Heidi
Prescott
of The Fund for Animals, Washington, D.C., November 10,
1998
"One day
I went to visit a small lake to offer food to the fish that we had
previously freed there. On my way back someone said, "By the way,
did you see the poultry farm?" All of a sudden I had a vision where
I saw large groups of chickens marching along carrying banners on
which it was written, "The Dalai Lama not only saves fish, but even
feeds them. What does he do for us poor chickens?" I felt terribly
sad and sorry for the chickens . . . We no longer raise poultry in
our settlements."
-The Dalai Lama, in Imagine All the People: A Conversation
with the Dalai Lama on Money, Politics, and Life as It Could
Be (pg. 30)
I do not see any reason why animals should be slaughtered to serve
as human diet when there are so many substitutes. After all, man
can live without meat. It is only some carnivorous animals that
have to subsist on flesh. Killing animals for sport, for pleasure,
for adventures, and for hides and furs is a phenomenon which is at
once disgusting and distressing. There is no justification in
indulging in such acts of brutality.
In our approach to life, be it pragmatic or otherwise, the ultimate
truth that confronts us squarely and unmistakably is the desire for
peace, security and happiness. Different forms of life in different
aspects of existence make up the teeming denizens of this earth of
ours. And, no matter whether they belong to the higher group as
human beings or to the lower group, the animals, all beings
primarily seek peace, comfort and security. Life is as dear to a
mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and
fears pain, just as one wants to live and not to die, so do other
creatures.
-
The Vegetarian Way, 19th World Vegetarian Congress
1967
"For those people who can practice strict vegetarianism, that is
best. I was deeply impressed the other day when I heard on the BBC
radio that the number of vegetarians in this country (Great
Britain) is growing. This is good news."
-The Meaning of Life from a Buddhist Perspective (pg
72-73)
"Vegetarianism is very admirable. In the case of those living in
Tibet in the past, because of the climatic conditions and the
scarcity of green vegetables, it is perhaps understandable that
people generally adopted a non-vegetarian diet. Now, however,
particularly in countries where there is an abundance of fresh
vegetables and fruits, it is far better to reduce our consumption
of non-vegetarian food as much as possible."
-The World of Tibetan Buddhism (pg 111)
"I think that from a Buddhist point of view it is very important to
be vegetarian. I always say that even if on an individual level one
does not always manage to stick to a vegetarian diet, when large
numbers meet for a party, a conference, or any other gathering, it
is indispensable that the group avoids eating meat. As for myself,
I have tried my best to introduce vegetarianism to Tibetan
society...
According to Buddhism the life of all beings--human, animal or
otherwise--is precious, and all have the same right to happiness.
For this reason, I find it disgraceful that animals are used
without being shown the slightest compassion, and that they are
used for scientific experiments.
...I have also noticed that those who lack any compassion for
animals and who do not hesitate to kill them are also those who,
sooner or later, show a lack of compassion toward human beings.
Inversely, the more compassion we have toward animals, the more we
regard their lives as precious, then the more respect we have for
human life."
-Beyond Dogma (pg 28)
"The suffering of animals is immediately apparent, for example, in
goats and lambs slaughtered by the butcher, unable to save their
own lives. Animals are harmless, they are totally powerless,
possessing nothing but the bit of water and food we give them. They
are so simple, so stupid, ignorant, and defenseless, that men
really have no right to hunt and kill them for food. Cows, horses,
mules and other animals have a dismal life and a dismal
fate."
-Essential Teachings (pg 43)
"If you adopt questionable methods to become richer, such as
selling arms or building poultry farms, then your livelihood
becomes a source of negative energy and karma. By investing your
money in the poultry industry, for example, you may become richer
but at the expense of other beings' lives...
Although from a spiritual point of view, we can say that human
beings are the most precious of all living beings, seen from other
angles we are the most destructive species our planet has known.
Not only do we create pain for other species-- the millions of
fish, chickens, cows and others we consider to be our righful food
-- but we use our intelligence even to plan the total destruction
of the planet on which we live!"
-The Dalai Lama on Money, Politics, and Life As It Could Be
(pg 15, 29-30)
If you are paying particular attention to observing practices of
the three lower tantras it is important to maintain a vegetarian
diet. Although it was reasonable for Tibetans to eat meat in Tibet,
because of the climatic conditions and the scarcity of vegetables,
in countries where there are vegetables in abundance, it is far
better to avoid or reduce your consumption of meat. Particularly
when you invite many people to a party, it is good if you can
provide vegetarian food.
-A Survey of the Paths of Tibetan Buddhism
HE Kyabje Lati Pinpoche is one of HH the
Dalai Lama's spiritual advisers and the Root Guru of
Trijang Rinpoche Yangsi- Trijang Rinpoche is the present Dalai
Lama's junior tutor. This interview was conducted by Kunga Nyima on
26 December 2000 at Sakyamuni Dharma Centre, Singapore.
Q: In recent years, we heard that there are plans to convert the
diet of the three great Gelugpa monasteries into full
vegetarianism. What is Rinpoche's view of this plan and for that
matter, for Buddhist monasteries in general, to become full
vegetarian?
A: I am happy the monastic authorities want to make this huge
change. That is really appreciable. I really support this type of
change coming up.
Q:Why
does Rinpoche feel that it is better to be vegetarian?
A:If the number of people who consume meat is reduced, it then
automatically reduces the number of people who kill the animals to
meet the demand. In this way, by becoming vegetarian, we
contribute, to some extend, the reduction in the number of animals
killed.
Q:Why is
it then in old Tibet that the monasteries are rarely fully
vegetarian?
A:In Tibet, there are many people who are strict vegetarian. Even
in the big monasteries where there are huge gatherings of monks,
they never eat non-vegetarian food. In the monk's individual
quarters, though, there might be some monks who eat meat as
food.
Vegetarianism
is something not very new in Tibetan society. Generally, in the old
Tibetan society, most of the people try to avoid taking meat
specifically killed to feed individual person. This is evident in
very level of Tibetan society. Even in the scriptures of the
Buddha, we have to avoid taking such meat which is killed specially
just to feed ourselves. The texts prohibit us from taking this type
of meat. That is the common way of practice and instructions in the
Buddha's teachings. Especially in the Mahayana teachings when a
person does intensive practice of Bodhicitta, they are advised or
prescribed to avoid taking meat.
May all beings be free from fear, harm and danger.
May all beings be well and happy.
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