Contrary to popular belief not all Buddhists, Buddhist monks or Buddhist nuns are vegetarian. There are some hot debates among scholars as to whether or not, according the texts of Buddhism, they should be.
I was recently reading a PDF booklet by one Buddhist monk describing his decision to go vegetarian. He wrote that one reason he decided not to go vegetarian in the past was that he was turned off by vegetarians talking obsessively about the workings of their digestive organs. I can relate to that. Sounds like the kind of thing you hear all of the time from raw foodists and other people into “nutrition folklore”.
Yet, the other week I was watching a video of the Oprah show where she discussed the vegan challenge that she and her staff took. None of the vegan guests on her show talked about their inner bodily workings, but the carnists among her staff did. At least two people mentioned how before they took the vegan challenge they were only going to the bathroom once a week and now they were amazed ( and feeling better ) going to the bathroom every day. Oy. That kind of shocked me. Having gone vegetarian at 14 I’ve never thought about those issues as an adult.
Getting back to Buddhism, not being a scholar, I have to defer to the scholars who write that there is no clear writing in Buddhist texts mandating veganism. However, in my non-scholarly way I think there is a good case. Since I am not a scholar, please take these thoughts with salt.
First, I think that there being no explicit mandate doesn’t mean as much as many people would think. The Buddha was very liberal for his time ( ancient India, about 563 B.C.E. ). Innovations that he made had to be pulled back for his order to coexist with the culture around them. For instance, the Buddha allowed women to be ordained as nuns. That later disappeared. To this day in Asia the concept is still hotly debated.
Given that the Buddha made compromises with the culture he lived in and some explicit writings about food in Buddhist texts, I think a case can be made that while not mandated, the Buddha saw veganism as the way to go.
Buddhist monks in the earliest surviving sect of Buddhism, Theravada, are not allowed to accept meat as almsfood, if the animal was killed specifically for them. As consumers, cows, pigs, chickens and fish are killed specifically for us.
Next is the specification of “Right Livliehood” for lay followers. Right Livliehood is one part of the 8 Fold Path, the Buddha’s prescription for eventually reaching “nibbana” ( nirvana, unbinding, liberation, awakening, enlightenment, etc ). In his description of Right Livliehood the Buddha describes 5 types of businesses that will retard a person’s spiritual progress and that should be avoided:
- business in weapons
- business in human beings
- business in meat
- business in intoxicants
- business in poison
So, wow. According to Buddhist texts the Buddha put bringing meat to a market on the same level as being an arms dealer, being a slave trader, being a pimp or being a drug dealer. Mighty fine company there.
You don’t have to be a scholar to see that there is no “business” of any kind without buyers and users. If all meat producers were strict Buddhists it would be impossible for people in Buddhist countries to buy meat. Buddhists who buy meat are enabling businesses to exist that Buddha would want no part of for anyone. If Buddhists did not buy and use meat, there would be no “business in meat”.
That point may not be a smoking gun to serious scholars of Buddhism, but it is a mighty hot gun.
Well, what about veganism? The word “vegan” was not invented until 1944. The Buddha died about 2,600 years ago.
Central to Buddhism is the goal of eliminating “dukha”. “Dukha” can mean any unsatisfactory mental state from feeling life is not all that it could be, all the way to feeling flat out miserable. It is commonly, inadequately, translated into English as “suffering”. Back in 500 B.C.E. in ancient India ( now Nepal ) a dairy cow could live a pretty decent life. In 2011, with factory farming, dairy cows and egg laying hens get killed just the same as animals killed for their meat. A dairy or egg animal that can no longer produce milk or eggs is nothing but a cost that can’t be recovered. So, these worn out animals are killed. Since dairy and egg animals are kept alive in the horrible conditions of the factory farm longer ( to get more dairy and eggs ), than animals killed for their meat, these animals also suffer more. Dukha. The one thing all Buddhist teachings are motivated by to reduce as much as possible.
Wonderfully written!!If people understand at least half of whats said above the society would be a better place.
Sadhu!Sadhu!
Well said, well said 🙂 excellent post. I know who is that Buddhist monk, it’s Bhante Dhammika, it’s a wonderful book, true and clear Dhamma teaching. Brother I’m also recomending You text entitled “Why Buddhist should be vegetarian?” posted by Bhante Sujato http://sujato.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/why-buddhists-should-be-vegetarian-with-extra-cute/ – a special one.
With metta
Marcin
Only the truly inspired can express something with this clarity in so few a word. I believe that Einstein said something along the lines of “if you can not explain difficult matters to a child, you have not understood the issue”.
You truly have understood the issue.
Thank you.
There is no clear writing in the Buddhist Sutras mandating veganism? Must be attuned to the wrong scholars it seems. The Surangamma Sutra very clearly lays out a vegan lifestyle quite explicitly. Given that a Sanskrit version of the Sutra exists quibbling about its authenticity seems to have diminished greatly. (online.sfu.edu/repstein/Buddhism ) I am not a scholar either, but I am a Buddhist in the Chinese Mahayana tradition.
Blessings
I enjoyed this, and interestingly, it left out what I feel is the most compelling reason Buddhist should be vegan: The very first precept/vow that laypeople take (not just monks and nuns, but all of us laypeople as well who commit to Buddhism) is to refrain from killing (sometimes translated as refrain from harming living beings). There is no way to get around killing/harming an animal if you are going to eat it. And as this author already noted, whether you, specifically, killed the animal or not, is ignoring the spirit of the vow … ALL sentient beings are sacred, and want to live and not suffer just as you and I do. Therefore, we must let them live.
Thank you for this article!
Hey Sarah,
If “don’t kill” was enough, the world would have been at peace for the last 3,000 years. Followers of some religions, aside from that, do accept some significant rules. On the positive side, from the small corners of Buddhism I have been exposed to I have seen an element in the Buddhist subculture where some people will decide to stop eating animals on their own. In other religious subcultures people can be devout their entire lives and that question will never come up. Something positive. Thanks for posting your thoughts.