bodhi tree swaying

Welcome to the launch of my book, Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View. All today I’ll be online, doing various things connected with the book and its subject. Do feel free to drop in and say “hi” or “congratulations” or anything else you feel inspired to utter (using the comment form, naturally; you can talk to your computer if you want but I probably won’t hear you!).

As well as the welcome video I’ll be adding new material to the blog all day, and I’ll add links on this post. So this is the “home page” for the party, with different “rooms” where you can mingle.

First you have to dodge the author touting his wares in the hall and spouting his opinions:

• Here’s a list of places

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[Part of my book-launch party offerings.]

Dirk Johnson, a friend from Twitter, wrote a poem a while back about Buddhists who justify their meat-eating on the grounds that “it’s ok to eat animals because everything is empty.”

Here’s a link to the poem. Please do go read it in its entirety. It wags a finger, but in a playful way.

And here’s an extract:

Oh, you Buddhist, so far along the path
That you’ve realized
Your own inseparability from emptiness,
That your own pain is without essence,
That your own suffering is an illusion,
That your imputed self is a mirage,
You, who realize this so deeply
That you even experience
This emptiness in the minds of other beings,
The bliss that they think is their pain,
So that you can see them killed and eat them
Without the slightest perturbation of regret.

[Part of my book-launch party offerings]

Potatoes roasted in olive oil with thyme from the garden.

Tofu, deep-fried, and then stirred into an orange/ginger sauce with garlic and chili.

And of course salad with a home-made balsamic vinaigrette.

Lots of protein, and in fact lots of everything good. The photograph doesn’t do it justice.

This post is one in a series connected with the launch of my book, “Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View,” and with my book launch party. It’s a brief extract from my book.

The notion that vegetarians are being inconsistent in eating plants because plants are living things is very common: there can scarcely be a vegetarian who hasn’t heard this argument several times. It is hard, however, to see how plants can suffer. They have nothing corresponding to a central nervous system or even to nerves. While it’s of considerable evolutionary benefit for animals to have a sense of pain so that they can escape danger, why should plants, which are by nature static, have evolved such a sense? I believe that we instinctively recognize that plants are of a different order from animals. I doubt if many who employ the above argument would really feel the same seeing a carrot

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This Just came in from my old friend Roger as a contribution to the the launch of my book, “Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View,” and with my book launch party. I swear he hasn’t aged in ten years.

This video is one in a series connected with the launch of my book, “Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View,” and with my book launch party. Here I read a page from my book, detailing some of the ecological problems of meat-eating and the benefits of moving (even partially) to a vegetarian diet.

This post is connected with the launch of my book, Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View.

In my book, Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View, I argue that although the Buddha ate meat, that was because he lived by begging for food. Those of us who shop for food are in a different situation and we should follow his advice “not to kill, or cause to kill, or to approve of others killing.” In other words, to live a compassionate life, don’t eat meat.

A nice little trailer pointing out some of the carbon-related benefits of reducing or eliminating meat from our diet. This is one of the posts that’s part of my book launch party.

This is a response to a question raised by Dharmasuri of Nagaloka Buddhist Center in Portland, Maine, in response to the concerns of one of her sangha members.

This post is connected with the launch of my book, Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View.

This post is connected with the launch of my book, Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View.

This post is connected with the launch of my book, Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View.

This is from my favorite Indian vegetarian recipe book, Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian Vegetarian Cooking.

BANARASI ARHAR DAL

Banaras arhar dal, a dish reminiscent of the north Indian countryside mango groves, coriander patches, and fields of lentils stretching to the horizon – is in fact a simple, humble dish and quite easy to make. The lentils are first cooked to a smooth, creamy consistency. Then the mango slices, spiced with cayenne, cumin, and garam masala, are folded into the dal. Finally fresh coriander is added to perfume and mix the flavours.

In my mother’s home, as a child, I ate this dal with a simple baked bread or a bowl of fluffy plain rice and a vegetable side dish, the most memorable being Bitter Gourd with Spicy Onion Stuffing and with Fragrant Potato Stuffing (pp. 238 and 239).

FOR 6–8

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This post is connected with the launch of my book, Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View.

I haven’t watched all of this video. I’ve seen this stuff in real life on farms and don’t really need to go there again. It’s a PETA presentation explaining how modern farming works and what you make yourself a part of when you choose to eat meat. If you’re a vegetarian already, this might push you towards veganism.

This is one of the posts that’s a part of my book launch party.

…here she explains why.

This post is part of my book launch party.

This video is being posted as part of my book launch party.

You can buy my book. Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View at any of the following places:

• Amazon.com in the US
• Consortium Books in the US
• Amazon.ca in Canada
• Windhorse Publications in the UK
• Amazon.co.uk in the UK

Amazon.com and Consortium’s sites are saying that the book’s not yet available, but I’m told it should actually be in stock. In any event, I’d really love it if you bought the book. If you buy the book today on Amazon it will create a nice little blip in sales which will help to get it a bit more attention. Maybe we could make it into Amazon’s list of best-selling Buddhist books?