[Buddha-l] Insight into Anti-Muslim Violence in Sri Lanka

[Christopher Fynn]

On 22/08/2013, bob Woolery <drbob at comcast.net> wrote:

> This passage rang such a bell in me that I chased the link to the specific
> diatribe against carnivores.

> -Firstly, the Buddha never called anyone to believe or follow Him; instead,
> He urged people to see for themselves and find out what is true. Even so,
> many Buddhists become prisoners of books, repeating things like parrots or
> tape-recorders, without investigating, thereby missing the great value of
> the Buddha's Way, which is a Way of self-reliance."
>
> http://shabkar.org/download/pdf/Taking_a_stand.pdf

> This whole argument hinges on the notion that plants are not sentient
> beings.  Lakota claim that the very rocks have consciousness, and are the
> only such that don't have to eat.  Plants consume mineral nourishment,
> transform it into their tissues, which we rudely yank out of the ground and
> consume.  The rabbit or deer have the chance to run; that poor carrot just
> has to wait.

It may hinge on that notion - but where in any text attributed to the
Buddha can you find the teaching that plants or stones have sentience?

>    If we give any credence to the notion of sentience in plants, the
> implication is that we all must kill to live.  A strict Fruitarian might
> argue that he has escaped killing, and planting fruit trees maybe quashes
> the problem of seeds. The rest of us are for sure killing living things who
> have no choice in the matter.

Why in particular should a Buddhist give  this notion credence?