[Buddha-l] Victimized vegans?

[[DPD Web] Shen Shi'an]

Some related thoughts... Moderation... hmmm... If an "advanced" alien
slices just a tiny chuck of meat from me to eat as a nugget - is that
moderate? Or if these aliens continually breed, castrate, kill and eat
humans by the millions on a daily basis, is it moderate? Is it moderate
to be just one of the millions of aliens who like human meat? (We're
probably these very aliens to animals.)

Is a vege/vegan diet extreme? Or is it moderation? Is a diet that
demands the deaths of animals more extreme? The Buddha might had refused
to make vegetarianism compulsory at the request of Devadatta, but he did
say it is optional - so that can't be extreme. 

Of course, in the Mahayana, the Buddha made is compulsory for
Bodhisattvas-in-training to be vegetarians (3rd secondary precept of the
Brahma Net Sutra). It's easy to see why - it is hypocritical to want to
help all beings, if Bodhisattvas keep wanting to help themselves "with"
some beings.

As a mother would risk her life
to protect her child, her only child,
even so should one cultivate a limitless heart
with regard to all beings. - Metta Sutta

"Mahamati, I see that living beings are in the transmigration of the six
paths, being together in births and deaths, they give birth to and
foster each others, and cyclically become fathers, mothers, brothers and
sisters of each others; They may be men or women, may be the direct line
of descent, may be cousins, affinities, uncles, aunts, sons, daughters,
grandsons, and other various relatives of each others; They may also be
born in other paths(of animal, ghost, god, and so on.), whether virtuous
or evil, they frequently become the relatives of each others. Because of
these relationships, I see that all meats eaten by living beings are of
their own relatives." - Lankavatara Sutra

-----Original Message-----
From: Margaret Gouin [mailto:Margaret.Gouin at bristol.ac.uk] 
Sent: Friday, 11 May, 2007 3:58 PM
To: buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Victimized vegans?

A friend of mine--a long-time Buddhist practitioner--observes a vegan
diet
at home and as much as possible when eating out. But if he goes to
someone's house for dinner and they serve meat, he will eat it. In
moderation.

It seems to me that 'moderation' is the key word. So is 'respect'.
Respect
your food sources, and moderation in using them follows naturally. The
amount of meat that is consumed in Western societies, particularly North
America, is way in excess of actual body needs.

I have a problem with the 'killing sentient beings' argument in that,
according to modern science, plants are sentient too. And of course,
agriculture involves the killing of a vast amount of small life forms in
the soil. And if it comes right down to it, taking anti-biotics to
eliminate a serious infection is killing life forms too and it would
appear those little viruses and bacteria have sentience.

Francis Cook wrote: '... in a world in which I must destroy and consume
in
order to continue to exist, I must use what is necessary with gratitude
and respect. Part of this is a frugality born of this respect and
gratitude, for to waste, out of greed or carelessness, is the rankist
sort
of ingratitude. It nullifies the thing we depend on, murders it, and in
so
doing, we murder ourselves and others.  This attitude of respect and
gratitude toward all things, which I would consider part of ethics, is
extremely important in Buddhism, because it is not so much what one
does,
such as eating a carrot, as it is what one's attitude is toward that
thing. ...'
(Hua-Yen Buddhism : The Jewel Net of Indra, p. 119)

-- 
Margaret Gouin
PhD Candidate
Centre for Buddhist Studies
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
University of Bristol (UK)




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