Buddhism and Veganism Read online

  How could my parents do this? What could possibly justify the murder I had just witnessed, the murder of someone we had loved and nurtured? Like the song “Meat is Murder” by The Smiths says, “a death for no reason is murder.” At that moment I felt that I was drowning in suffering—the suffering of the cow through our family’s betrayal, the suffering my parents were actively taking part in, the suffering I felt at being duped and misled. No one had ever told me at dinner that I was eating the body parts of the animals I knew and loved. Meat was one of those things we didn’t talk about, unlike the vegetables that came from our garden, or the fruit we picked from a friend’s tree, which we discussed to great extent. Meat was omnipresent, yet silent.

  All I knew as a nine-year-old child was that I had just seen hell, and I knew, deep down, that none of this violence and suffering was necessary. And at that moment, I also realized that it wasn’t just my beloved friend who had been killed for his flesh—it was hundreds of thousands of animals every single day (I now know that number is actually millions of animals per day). A strong vegetarian seed was planted in my consciousness that day. While I tried very hard to be a vegetarian at that tender age of nine, my family was not supportive or helpful and I struggled. But I knew when the conditions were favorable, that somehow, I would be a pure vegetarian and would work to advocate for animals.

  At the age of eighteen, while browsing in my local community library one day, I came across the section on Buddhism, and picked up the book Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. This book presented radical ideas that resonated strongly with me in regards to reality, mind, and an alternative way of being. At that time, as a young adult, I felt weighed down by the cultural norms and expectations of the society of which I was part, and was certainly up for some rebellion, as many young adults are. Suzuki Roshi’s statement, “When you study Buddhism, you should have a general housecleaning of your mind,” was like a flash of lightening in the darkness. I knew my mind was travelling well-worn paths of conditioning and expectations. Hearing there was another way to be in this world was like a cool breeze on a hot day.

  Although it took a number of years after that for me to formally become a Buddhist by taking my refuge vows and receiving the precepts, I began a spiritual quest at that point, and the teachings of the Buddha were always at the center of my studies and contemplations. This was about the same time that I left home for college and signed up for the vegetarian meal plan at my dorm. Finally, meat was no longer on my plate. I assumed at that point that anyone practicing Buddhism was also a vegetarian or vegan—to me, it seemed a given that serene minds, compassionate hearts, and wise actions are all built on the foundation of a peaceful diet and reverence for all life. I believed that anyone sincerely walking a spiritual path would never intentionally and unnecessarily cause suffering to another living being.

  However, I learned that the truth was a bit different, because I discovered Buddhist practitioners who didn’t give a second thought about eating meat on a daily basis, much less questioning the suffering behind dairy products and eggs. How could this be? I think there is a tendency in our modern society to use Buddhist teachings and practices in an effort to simply “better our own life.” Practitioners can focus on meditation as a way to calm their mind and relieve stress, rather than also using it as a way to generate compassion and wisdom. Teachings on the ultimate reality and on emptiness can be construed as an invitation to simply negate the world we live in and to dismiss concerns about suffering as the karmic outcome of previous lives.

  But samsara (conditioned existence) is also real, and living beings suffer greatly. We have a wise and compassionate teacher to help us on the path of liberation for ourselves and for all with whom we share this Earth. We who have been fortunate to find the teachings of the Dharma in this lifetime are called to use those teachings to promote what the Buddha started nearly 2,600 years ago: a revolution of compassion and wisdom that makes this Earth a reflection of our true nature. We are called to be bold and authentic because we are endowed with the heart and mind of a Buddha.

  When he came to the end of his life, the Buddha said that his teachings focused on helping people understand the causes of suffering and the path to end suffering, and nothing else. The Buddha was clearly moved by the suffering he saw in the world, both that experienced by humans as well as by the other creatures with whom we share the world. As a child, he was moved to tears by the death of the insects and worms he saw killed as the Earth was tilled in his village. As an adolescent, he came to the aid of a swan his cousin had shot, and fearlessly stood his ground in opposing his family regarding the innocence of the swan and the needless suffering that had been inflicted upon this bird.

  Time and time again, through his actions, teachings, and directives to his monks, his message was clear: these teachings on suffering and the cessation of suffering apply to all sentient beings, not just humans. At the time of his enlightenment, he spoke of the Buddha-nature present in all beings, and repeated this throughout his lifetime. The Buddha saw clearly that suffering is generated in this world through unwholesome acts such as killing, stealing and exploiting, and that wisdom shows us the unity of life, and interconnections between each and every thing in the universe. When we harm one, we harm all, including ourselves. He gave us a clear roadmap to stop creating suffering through the practice of the precepts and the Noble Eightfold Path. He also asked us to look deeply within to touch our inherent Buddha-nature, and to live from this place of truth, and not from the conditioning of our family and society.

  Though I didn’t grow up in a vegetarian or vegan family, my life now as a Buddhist means that I live as a vegan, because compassion calls this to be the guiding force of my life as I practice the Dharma. Confining, commodifying, and killing animals to take and use their flesh, milk and eggs is nothing other than cruel, leading to immense terror and pain unnecessarily inflicted upon sentient beings who are my sisters and brothers in samsara. The abuse of these industries is well documented. We need only be willing to look at the realities involved and open ourselves to the consequences of these realities.

  Being a Buddhist vegan provides me with a roadmap as I navigate the various paths and decisions of my life, helping me stay on a compassionate course, even when my self-interest would lead me elsewhere. I feel I’ve been given a rare gift: a human life in which I’ve encountered the Dharma and the opportunity to live in a place and time when plant-based foods are abundant and animals need not suffer for me to nourish this impermanent body. There is deep peace within me as I walk this Buddhist vegan path, an authentic peace that I nourish in such a way that the world can also be at peace. The Buddha is alive within all of us who practice his path; we bring his teachings to this modern world in our actions and our way of life. Our actions are, ultimately, all we have to stand on. We are called to ask ourselves if the Buddhist teachings have transformed us deeply so that we can transform this world of suffering.

  As a nine year old, I felt profoundly the suffering caused by the killing of animals, although I had no real framework within which to begin to transform it. As an eighteen year old, I discovered that there was a path to a radical and loving way of being in the world. They joined forces in my consciousness and awakened my heart. While it took time for this consciousness to ripen and for my heart to open, when they did, a force of joy arose within me. When I took my refuge vows and received the precepts in the lineage of my teacher, the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, I was given the Dharma name “Joyful Awakening of the Heart.” I cried when I received the name because it so well described my spiritual journey in which veganism and Buddhism are intertwined, or “inter-are,” as my teacher would say. I invite all of my sisters and brothers in the Dharma to join this same joyful vegan journey. Together we can transform this world of suffering.

  Eat Your Way to Wisdom

  MASTER XIANQING

  The common purpose of all different religions and philosophies is to explore the truth of the w
orld and the universe. The sages, with their own thinking and understanding, reveal the truth about the relationship between humans, the animal kingdom and the environment, as well as how to live in accordance with wisdom so as to experience authentic happiness and peace.

  Abstaining from killing and being vegetarian are not principles that were initiated by Buddhism, nor are they unique to Buddhism. At around 1000 BC, the idea of advocating a vegetarian diet appeared in both India and the eastern Mediterranean. According to the historical records, Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher in the sixth century BC, was the earliest vegetarian in the Mediterranean area, who advocated replacing meat with vegetarian food, and asked his disciples to do the same. From the time of Plato onwards, many philosophers such as Plotinus, Epicurus and Plutarch, also advocated vegetarianism. They did this because they believed that the soul could be reincarnated.

  The essential difference between Buddhism and other religions is that the Buddha perceived the truth of Egolessness (anatta). The advocacy of a vegetarian diet in Buddhism is a concrete manifestation of the spirit of no ego. In addition, it is also a form of practice through which Buddhists can cultivate compassion. In that it complies with the laws of nature, the vegetarian way of life advocated by Buddhism is not only instructive to Buddhists, but can also bring comfort and greater awareness to non-Buddhists.

  Eating meat can temporarily satisfy a desire, but it breaches and damages the equal relationship between humankind and other sentient beings. Therefore, a long-term adherence to this unhealthy lifestyle can only bring harm to ourselves and others. The scientific community reveals the harm of being a meat-eater and the benefits of being vegetarian from a perspective that is focused on this life. (We use the word vegetarian to include abstention from dairy and eggs, which are products of the meat industry.) However, Buddhism explains from the perspective of infinite life that a vegetarian diet can not only benefit one in the next life, but can improve physical and mental health and increase wisdom in this life, even in the present moment. Furthermore, because of the proliferation of meat culture, our planet has been overwhelmed. Given this situation, vegetarianism plays an important role in alleviating the Earth’s burden, preventing environmental degradation, and benefiting all sentient beings on the Earth.

  Buddhism is broad and profound, not only providing us with the reasons and benefits of being vegetarian in the teachings, but also establishing related precepts to help practitioners slowly change from being omnivorous to practicing vegetarianism. What’s more, in the history of Chinese Buddhism, many eminent monks’ vegetarian habits and outstanding actions have set a good example for the public to persist in following vegetarianism, and build their confidence. Moreover, the vegetarian culture and traditions in Chinese Buddhist monasteries have a history of over two thousand years, which mandates that the Buddha’s teachings on diet be fully practiced by monks and practitioners.

  Compassion is the Buddha’s original intention, and the fundamental purpose of promoting vegetarianism is based on compassion. Buddhism teaches that all sentient beings follow endlessly repeated cycles made up of the six-fold paths: heaven (devagati), the human world (manussagati), the asura realm (asuratta), hell (narakagati), the ghost realm (petagati) and the animal world (tiracchanayonik) due to different karma. As sentient beings upon the six-fold paths, animals are equal to humankind in that they have spirits and Buddha nature, and will ultimately attain Buddhahood. Killing sentient beings for food goes against the fundamental spirit of “never harming sentient beings” in Buddhism.

  In the Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha answers the question put forward by Mahamati in telling the crowd that eating meat will destroy the seeds of compassion, but abstaining from eating meat can quickly lead to the supreme wisdom of enlightenment.

  Pray tell me, Bhagavan, Tathagata, Arhat, Fully-Enlightened One regarding the merit of not eating meat, and the vice of meat-eating; thereby I and other Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas of the present and future may teach the Dharma to make those beings abandon their greed for meat, who, under the influence of the habit-energy belonging to the carnivorous existence, strongly crave meat-food. These meat-eaters thus abandoning their desire for [its] taste will seek the Dharma for their food and enjoyment, and, regarding all beings with love as if they were an only child, will cherish great compassion towards them. Cherishing [great compassion], they will discipline themselves at the stages of Bodhisattvahood and will quickly be awakened in supreme enlightenment; or staying a while at the stage of Sravakahood and Pratyekabuddhahood, they will finally reach the highest stage of Tathagatahood.

  In the Surangama Sutra that is highly respected by the Chan (Zen) tradition, the Buddha pointed out that those who eat meat, no matter how good they are at meditating, cannot overcome afflictions and escape from birth and rebirth.

  You should know that these people who eat meat may gain some awareness and may seem to be in samadhi, but they are all great rakshasas (demons). When their retribution ends, they are bound to sink into the bitter sea of birth and death. They are not disciples of the Buddha. Such people as these kill and eat one another in a never-ending cycle. How can such people transcend the Triple Realm?

  In the Angulimaliya Sutra, the Buddha pointed out that the reason why no Buddhas eat meat is that they have understood that self is other and other is self, “the meat of others is the meat of mine.” The Buddha praised Mahakasyapa because he had a very high level of practice when it came to eating, and wherever he was and no matter what situation he encountered, he would always be calm and his heart and mind would never be moved.

  In the places where he begged there were all sorts of people. Some said they had no food, and some scolded and insulted him, however, Mahakasyapa just replied with blessings and left calmly, with his heart unmoved. If some said they had food, Mahakasyapa refrained himself from greed, replied with blessings and left calmly, with his heart unmoved.

  The Buddhist form of vegetarianism involves not only quitting all animal-sourced foods, but also the “Five Spices.” According to the Brahmajala Sutra, monks should refrain from the five acrid and strong-smelling vegetables: garlic, three kinds of onions, and leeks. Whoever eats them commits a slight but impure crime.

  There are two reasons for abstaining from eating the five spices. Firstly, after eating garlic and scallions, the strong smell will affect others. According to the precepts, those who eat the five spices should live alone or stand a few paces away from others, as well as sit in the downwind position or repeatedly rinse the mouth to dissipate the smell, all of which aims to minimize disturbance of others’ practice.

  Secondly, eating the five spices disturbs practice. The Surangama Sutra reveals that those who want to practice meditation need to stop eating the five acrid and strong-smelling vegetables, because these vegetables will affect people’s physical and mental state whether raw or cooked. Eating the raw vegetables will make people become irritable, while eating them cooked will bring people lust and impulsiveness.

  When the Buddha gave the first Dharma talk, he pointed out that people could eat “triply clean meat” in exceptional circumstances, but before entering nirvana, the Buddha explained the cause and intention behind eating “triply clean meat.” According to the Nirvana Sutra, a disciple asked the Buddha why the “triply clean meat” that was permitted in the first Dharma talk was forbidden now? The Buddha answered that religious discipline is like a flight of stairs that ascends step by step. At that time, there were some people who had suitable foundations and opportunities to convert to Buddhism, however, if required not to eat meat, their failure to keep to this stricture might give rise to obstacles in their practice. Therefore, out of great compassion, the Buddha allowed them to eat “triply clean meat” at first, and then gradually guided them to stop eating meat altogether. Due to historical and cultural reasons, strictly following a vegetarian diet became the most common situation for Chinese Buddhist monks and practitioners.

  During the era when the Buddha was alive, monk
s and nuns fed themselves by going door to door asking for free food or were supported by householders. To make it easy for people to offer food, the Buddha did not, at this time, require that only vegetarian food should be eaten. When Buddhism was first introduced to China, the masters who accepted the emperor’s patronage ate triply clean meat occasionally.

  During the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589), the emperor Liangwu who believed firmly in Buddhism wrote four essays under the title, “Quit Meat and Wine,” in order to oppose meat-eating and promote a vegetarian lifestyle, which led to the requirement of all monks and nuns to quit meat. Killing animals for sacrificial offerings was prohibited as well. At that time, almost half of the people followed a vegetarian lifestyle. Since then, it has become a rule that monks and nuns are required to be vegetarian. This rule has lasted down to the present day, so that Buddhist monks, nuns, and lay people are all vegetarian.

  Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism believes in integrating practice into daily life by habitually doing small daily actions in the Chan way. From a monk or a nun’s point of view, eating can be an opportunity to practice Chan. According to Master Lianchi: “the opportunity to practice Chan appears with every bite you take while eating, with every step you make while walking,” which enables practitioners to take advantage of an opportunity to practice Chan and experience its miraculous effects in daily life.