According to Theravada, the Buddha allowed his monks to eat pork, chicken and fish if the monk was aware that the animal was not killed on their behalf.
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
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 killed 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, and 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
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hmm very true, & in many respects this is often times overlooked. We rely on so many products which originate from a being in some form that it cannot be held against us... Unless you are harming a being in such a manner which is inhumane shall one be held responsible
Unless you sacrifice animals for a higher rebirth or murder people, that is really bad....as a lay person it is easy to follow sila. But the article is pointing out there are worse things a person can do compared to eating meat.
I loved the article. I think that there are worse things yes, but often eating meat is LINKED with these things. For example, excess consumption, factory farming, waste, destruction of forests etc. So buying and eating meat can be harmful.to ourselves and others. I am not vegetarian rhough I try best to be and am.careful when I do.
Most areas around the world are supplied food through small holdings. Many places on earth cannot grow just vegetables and grain to feed their population. Especially the northern countries and arid countries. It is easy to be a vegetarian if grocery stores are easily acccessible and one has the funds to pay for suppliments needed, there is no way to get heme (digestable Iron) from plants or vitiman Bs...Strict vegans need supplements or they become sick. Vegetarians can eat eggs and other animal products depending on the diet they follow. not getting enough heme, (anemia) for children and women is dangerous, it stunts growth and causes painful menstrual cycles, pregnancy issues, and breast feeding. We cannot absorb plant based iron, it is a fact...
Also if the world stopped eating domestic animals we would lose our hardy heritage livestock put the world in danger of famine if our corporate food grids fail...they are fragile because of their dependency on our energy grids and subject to infectious diseases from the use monoculture, chemicals, and crowding.
anyway, as you said there are far worse things we can do....lying, stealing, greed, murder, consuming more than we need....
Okay so if there is places on earth that cant grow veggies for humans where are the animals getting their food from? like cows who need more food and water than humans, Especially the factory farmed animals which depend on factory farmed vegetables. Because of the monotony of modern diets people have forgotten the abundance of diversity of plant food that grows in all environments, northern and arid.
Cows fill a symbiotic relationship with plants and dirt microbime, as do all grazing animals. They do not eat or take water from other animals and plants. They actually help the enviornment retain moisture through fertlizing the soil , which promotes healthy microbiome that feeds plants, as they graze as all grazing animals do. Ruminits should not be eating grain, it will actually kill them if that's all they eat...Plants are an important part of the human diet. However many cultures that live in deserts and northern climes cannot eat just grass or scrub but animals can. That is why their diet is primarly meat like the Masai and Inuit people...We have a symbiotic relationship with the animals and plants we have domesticated...you have a simplistic view of a world that never existed and you are reacting to a toxic environment I do not want to be apart of just like you.
Thank you for your passionate heartfelt response @jaredcordon, however this post wasn't actually about eating meat. Is about blind reactions to what we do not like or do like ....
I don't agree that we can't absorb plant based iron. My entire family has been vegetarian since 1970's (although I eat meat now) and we never had a problem with iron absorption as Mum always made sure we ate the right foods. i will never forget being fed raw cabbage and capsicum as we were waiting for tea when we were hungry kids, never knowing the reason she did it was so that we were getting enough vitamin C to absorb the plant based iron we did get. However, I acknowledge that in other countries this might be trickier as of course we had access to supplements if we need them, not that we ever did.
Edit, I found my reseearch papers and I will write up an article. I just found out over 2 billion people are iron deficient, a study done by WHO....
Your Mom was right and I was was wrong about iron...nonheme iron is difficult to absorb and I will write a paper on this...
Men don't need that much iron so for you and me, a post menopausal woman getting enough iron is not a big deal!
Ill get the data for you, And also there has never been a pure vegan society...and vitamin c is needed in greater quantities if eating a high carb diet, your Mom was spot on with that...
But there are worse things than disagreeing about diet regarding the articles topic like hating meat eaters or vegans just because of ideology...like telling meat eaters or hunters they are going to Buddhist hell....lololol
I totally agree that ideology sucks. We never shoved our choices down peoples throats. My parents did it for health reasons as they were worried about preservatives and hormones in processed meat. After a while they just felt better and would never go back. My Mum was smart enough to research and do it properly. And that was the 70s, before online research was possible! Im glad you discovered some new information to adjust your thinking. Love these steemit conversations!!! And thanks again for this fabulous Steemit article. I wpuld resteem but i cant handle the picture of a bbq on my feed 🤗🤗❤❤
I found 3 studies related to gut bacteria microbiome, iron deficiency with pregnant women , and autism...this is going to be a great paper because of you @riverflows and your awesome MOM <3
Nice article, and yeah some meat consumption might have worked 1000´s of years ago, since it did NOT directly kill humans and plants.
Today thou, I must say, it does and the Buddha would turn to veganism looooooog ago, according to the philosophy you describe.
I am a vegan since 5 years, an engineer in biochemistry and I´ve never eaten any supplements for vitamin B or iron, there are no reason what so ever.
Having non heme iron in vegan, antioxidant rich sources, enables 20% uptake , standard uptake from heme iron with no extra vitamins e.g stake, sauce potatos, peas, you will take up 10% of the heme iron... Guess which is more healthy?? doh..
The numbers vary greatly with the iron level in the body off course.
The combo of sugar + fat, makes it impossible for humans to get rid of the fat since ketosis is extremly important and eating sugar for breakfast
stops it, and meat / fat intake over during the day is never burnt off, is a death senescent!
The biggest problem might still be protein diseases which is growing more then anything, and is my arena of profession.
Meat wont work in 2018, we lose 90% of the energy to heat, while 50% of humanity is suffers malnutrition...do the maths!
The Buddha wished love to all sentient beings before all else, if you don´t see this conflicting with meat consumption, after the numbers i just gave you, I fear nothing will change or view on global state of nutrition :((
Why produce 90% heat instead of food? Ah rite the corporate agenda, big money, export meat to rich zones FROM the poor, leaving the poor with no soils or forests.
The beef produced in The Amazonas is not eaten by the starving population close by NONO, it is exported to fat / obese, ignorant Americans who gladly pays premium to DIE faster and take the planet with them :)
Peace
Thanks! Look forward to reading it!
of course, there are always gonna be worse things-that's just the world we live in. Eating meat, for me, is honestly extremely hard to give up... I have tried but I have not been able to do so for more than a few weeks at a time
When you give up meat be sure to suppliment your B complexes, I have lots of vegan and vegetarian friends that are very healthy but they supplement. You can do it if you want to @conradsuperb <3
You don't need supplements. where do you think animals get their B vitamins? its from drinking natural flowing water and different kinds algae and bacteria. Most nutrients found in meat are in a state that is non digestible. Finland has one of the highest populations of milk consumers while also at the same time having some of the highest levels of calcium deficiency. Just cause the nutrients are there doesn't mean they are bio-available.
thanks for the great advice and support, it has given me that extra push and motivation that I need to make it happen!! You are much appreciated @reddust :-)
You will do it, just think about what we do for the planet!
you will save 1000 gallons of water daily as a vegan, as well as animal lives, C02 imprints, and up to 30 sqf Forest area a day <3
It is so easy to stay vegan, think of the endless suffering animals endure, the Buddha would cry, he would not believe what has happed to this earth..
Remember 50% of humans eats less then optimal while meat wastes 90% of the energy into heat and spews out gases, methane, warming our planet.
90% of the energy is lost, this means 90% less food if we eat meat. We can get 1kg beef or 10kg vegan food from the same area, or probably more then 10kg, since animals have more interactions with the suroundings and much more devastation occures.
Many protein diseases and deaths from cardiac failures are linked to eating sugar and fat continuous. Staying vegan excludes many bad fats and processed foods, at least the way I cook :)
Peace
Yeah, many times people forget about the 'virtual water' that goes into producing foods from animal products... chicken, beef, eggs, you name it (even coffee-which we all love so dearly) takes hundreds and hundreds of gallons to produce for an individual's daily consumption.
I really think there is a lack of education regarding this stuff bc we reallllllly are in a water security crisis, especially in the immensely growing megacities around the world...
I am a very healthy person, and I know the threats which eating meat proposes in the long-term, so Vegan may just be the way to go. Hopefully more and more people hop on board bc it really will do great wonders for the greater good of society :))
See ya around my friend !!
It makes me glad to read some insightful comments from time to time :) yeah water are getting scarce even California and Texas have tasted the shortages by now!
Indeed education is the key here, I am currently trying to get a few posts done on this topic and I must say it hurts to see what we are doing to animals.
Peace friend!
@Travelingwoman, I remember reading something about Kamma/karma, don't look too close or you will go crazy ;-) You know what you are talking about!
Yes off-course I know and its intresting for me to know about The religions of others So i know
And also read from your post that i did not know
You copy and pasted this text from this site A Basic Buddhism Guide: Vegetarianism
https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/qanda08.htm
Yes I copy and past because i read it from that site and if you think its wrong so no worries because i read and know more about others religions and if you think its wrong to read and underatand others religions then ok but I always read from others site and some time from people no doubt also from your post and itsgood for me that i lear nnew things
Here on steemit because we earn rewards for comments and posts, copy and past is not allowed...a bot may find your copy and paste and if you do this often you will be but on their blacklist, steamcleaners comes to mind. If you cite your copy-paste, leave a link and there will be no problems!
Oh many many thanks for this kind information Next time if i paste from any site then i will also drop a link along with the comment because i am new and i did not know about this but mostly i write my own words but here i read already from that site so i copy and paste next time if i will do iwill also drop a link
Thanks wish you all the best
Excellent! Thank you @travelingwomen