The Dhammapada and vegetarianism
I happened across a well-written article today by the title of Animal Rights and the Dhammapada, written by Rosemary Amey, who does a great job of pulling verses out of the Dhammapada in order to assemble a coherent case for Buddhists (and others) being vegetarian.
Background: Buddhism and the Dhammapada
What does Buddhism have to say about animal rights? Among the world’s hundreds of millions of Buddhists, there is disagreement about this basic issue. I first became interested in Buddhism because two of my favourite restaurants (Buddha’s Vegetarian Foods and the Lotus Garden, both on Dundas Street West in Toronto) are Buddhist, and are very careful to serve only vegetarian food with no eggs. In one restaurant I was told that this was necessary because Buddhist monks and nuns eat there. This suggested to me that Buddhism takes the plight of nonhuman animals very seriously indeed. On the other hand, my fiancé and I have several friends who are Buddhist, but continue to eat meat and feel this is consistent with Buddhism.
Do Buddhists, or at least Buddhist nuns and monks, have to be vegetarian? What does Buddhism have to say about our treatment of animals in general?
To resolve this controversy, it is necessary, I feel, to return to the Buddhist scriptures and see what (if anything) they have to say about the issue.
Read the rest of this article on the original site. I haven’t read the other articles Rosemary has on her site, but I’d imagine they’d make interesting reading.
11 Responses to “The Dhammapada and vegetarianism”
About this entry
You’re currently reading “The Dhammapada and vegetarianism,” an entry on Bodhipaksa's blog, bodhi tree swaying
Published: Mar 04 2009
The teacher I worked with Master Teacher of Meditation, Phra Tep Jeiyajan, Luangphor Viriyang Sirintharo, ate meat and explained he ate what people offered him out of respect for the giver.
I come from them perspective, although I don’t eat mammals, it is how we relate to animals who give their lives for humans to live. My family are traditional peoples who give offerings and blessings to the spirit of the animals they hunt for sustenance. Out of respect, they don’t waste any portion of the animal, and share it with the rest of the community.
I believe there is no right or wrong approach to eating or not eating meat, as it relates to Buddhist, it is a matter of interpretation.
with metta,
Hi Angelina,
It’s traditional for monks to eat whatever is put in their bowls (with some exceptions) so monks were not expected to be vegetarian. I go into this in my book on Vegetarianism and Buddhism. I respect anyone who decides to eat only what they beg, and at the same time think they have a clear obligation to educate their donors about what’s the most ethical kind of food to offer.
As for traditional values — I’d say that we have to decide which set of values we’re going to live by, those of the Buddhadharma or those of the society around us. Sometimes those values are in conflict. I certainly think it’s better to honor animals that you kill, but it’s even better not to kill them. (Odd choice of words incidentally, about animals “giving” their lives — did any of them get asked?)
Lastly, as a matter of interpretation, the Buddha said “Do not kill, or cause to kill, or approve of others killing.” That doesn’t seem to leave much room for interpretation!
I like this article and do agree with it. In the past three months, I have gone from a pesco vegetarian to a vegetarian. I have done this because of my own personal beliefs and how I want to live my life. I respect that others may want to eat meat and that is their choice. I would never preach but also would like to think that the ‘you are a crank’ attitude because you are a vegetarian, would also be not put on me as well. In the way that I follow certain Buddhist principles, this article fits in nicely with what I believe. This is an ethical issue and a debate that will never be solved. As long as I live by my principles, I feel happy.
I’m curious how one should feel about leather goods… I try to live organically and with as little negative impact on the environment and other living beings as possible. But I do often develop a complex regarding the issue of meat consumption and the use/ownership of leather goods in relation to Buddhism.
Hi Brandon,
Weaning myself off leather is something I’ve found difficult, but to be honest I haven’t put enough effort into researching vegan alternatives to leather shoes. I don’t like spending money on clothes and like wearing smart-ish shoes, and a pair of leather Oxfords doesn’t set me back more than about $50. But these aren’t good reasons for wearing leather shoes and I plan to make my next purchase vegan.
There are definitely ethical reasons for wearing vegan shoes, from both an an animal welfare perspective (leather apparently represents 10% of the value of a corpse, so using leather makes it a bit more profitable to grow cows), and from an environmental perspective (leather production is very polluting. Here’s some info from the UK Vegetarian Society:
Wow. Those are some interesting, dispiriting facts.
On the other hand, perhaps researching vegan shoes is going to be a huge amount of fun. I like a good research project!
Honestly, I’ve never found Vegan fashion the least bit appealing. And you know I like to look sharp. However, I do plan on substituting a lot of leather products for alternative materials like canvas. The majority of my leather purchases are shoes and belts.
I have zero dress sense, so this is probably less of an issue for me. Except I was hoping you’d take me clothes-shopping some day!
Anyway, tell me if there’s anything here that takes your fancy: http://www.zappos.com/n/es/d/722000389/page/1.html
You can’t go wrong with Vans Authentic Core Classics. Particularly off-white and/or blue. I’ve actually replaced my Authentics with a slightly better brand.
Check these out: http://bit.ly/plR4S (They’re on sale) And here are another option: http://bit.ly/A9oBc
Nice shoes, although I guess I could also do with a recommendation for something suitable for a New Hampshire winter. And what kind of pants? My gods, I’m just so out of the loop when it comes to choosing clothes. These days I just head to Kohls and pick up jeans or chinos. At one time I was considered a snappy dresser — living in small towns tends to push people towards conformity, I guess. When I lived in Glasgow there were all these trendy little clothes stores to choose from. Now it’s a trip into the mall…