[Buddha-l] Re: on eating meat

[Andrew Skilton]

Wed 19th October Jim Peavler wrote:

>With no evil intentions at all I cannot help asking any vegetarian who 
keeps carnivorous pets: What is better about supporting the death of 
animals to feed your pets than doing so for your own food? Isn't the 
effect the same? 

Your question is completely reasonable.  Except that dogs, as I understand them,
are omnivores, like us.  They'll eat any old crap - even crap, if you let them. 
So they don't have to be fed on other dead critters.  That said, commercial
vegetarian dog food is not top of their list of favourites, whereas curry from
one of our local vegetarian Indian cafes is. 

I also have qualms about forcing my choices on others - whether other animals or
other human beings (if you'll allow me such an illogical distinction).  Society
rightly requires me to have a relationship of ownership to these dogs and thus
take responsibility for their welfare and conduct. They are thus physically
enclosed by me and therefore dependent on me to feed them. But I hesitate to
believe that my choices or preferences should automatically be theirs.  

Your question is also reasonable excepting that the circumstance of my 'owning'
pets didn't come about through a kind of utilitarian debate.  I freely confess
that their acquisition was a largely selfish act, in that my wife and I wanted
to enjoy the company of dogs again, for both of us after long intervals without
them. Ironically (?) we picked up both of ours from 'death row' at the local
city pound. 

>Do dogs collect bad kharma for eating meat? and if not, why not?

Well, the start of an answer must surely be the Buddha declaring that 'karma' is
'intention'. When mine gobble food down, I guess they have no intention of
harming other creatures, whatever it is that I have put in their bowls. But I do
think they have other plans when they try to murder squirrels in the local woods
- although even then their total incompetence in the matter suggests to me that
they are in the chase more for the charging around and yelling than for murder
as such.  

When I give them food containing meat, I assume that the 'bad karma' arising
from that choice is mine. But the animal realm is regularly described as a
durgati, 'a bad place to be', because therein one is more likely to commit acts
that are unwholesome.  So maybe, through some of the limitations that I impose
on their choices and actions prevent them from deeper sin! 

>I have always been puzzled by this and have never had an answer that 
seemed satisfactory.

Me neither, obviously.

Andrew



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Andrew Skilton 

email: skiltonat at cardiff.ac.uk

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