What
Buddhists Believe
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera
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Vegetarianism
One should not judge the purity or
impurity of man simply by observing what he eats.
In the Amagandha Sutta, the Buddha
said:
'Neither
meat, nor fasting, nor nakedness,
Nor shaven heads, nor matted hair, nor dirt,
Nor rough skins, nor fire-worshipping,
Nor all the penances here in this world,
Nor hymns, nor oblation, nor sacrifice,
Nor feasts of the season,
Will purify a man overcome with doubt.'
Taking fish and meat by
itself does not make a man become impure. A man makes himself impure by
bigotry, deceit, envy, self-exaltation, disparagement and other evil
intentions. Through his own evil thoughts and actions, man makes himself
impure. There is no strict rule in Buddhism that the followers of the
Buddha should not take fish and meat. The only advice given by the Buddha
is that they should not be involved in killing intentionally or they
should not ask others to kill any living being for them. However, those
who take vegetable food and abstain from animal flesh are praiseworthy.
Though the Buddha did not
advocate vegetarianism for the monks, He did advise the monks to avoid
taking ten kinds of meat for their self respect and protection. They are:
humans, elephants, horses, dogs, snakes, lions, tigers, leopards, bears
hyenas. Some animals attack people when they smell the flesh of their own
kind. (Vinaya Pitaka)
When the Buddha was asked
to introduce vegetarianism amongst His disciples, the Buddha refused to do
so. As Buddhism is a free religion, His advice was to leave the decision
regarding vegetarianism to the individual disciple. It clearly shows that
the Buddha had not considered this as a very important religious
observance. The Buddha did not mention anything about vegetarianism for
the lay Buddhists in His Teaching.
Jivaka
Komarabhacca, the doctor, discussed this controversial issue with the
Buddha: 'Lord, I have heard that animals are slaughtered on purpose for
the recluse Gotama, and that the recluse Gotama knowingly eats the meat
killed on purpose for him. Lord, do those who say animals are slaughtered
on purpose for the recluse Gotama, and the recluse Gotama knowingly eats
the meat killed on purpose for. Do they falsely accuse the Buddha? Or do
they speak the truth? Are your declaration and supplementary declarations
not thus subject to be ridiculed by others in any manner?'
'Jivaka, those
who say: 'Animals are slaughtered on purpose for the recluse Gotama, and
the recluse Gotama knowingly eats the meat killed on purpose for him', do
not say according to what I have declared, and they falsely accuse me.
Jivaka, I have declared that one should not make use of meat it is seen,
heard or suspected to have been killed on purpose for a monk. I allow the
monks meat that is quite pure in three respects: if it is not seen, heard
or suspected to have been killed on purpose for a monk.' (Jivaka Sutta)
In certain
countries, the followers of the Mahayana school of Buddhism are strict
vegetarians. While appreciating their observance in the name of religion,
we should like to point out that they should not condemn those who are not
vegetarians. They must remember that there is no precept in the original
Teachings of the Buddha that requires all Buddhists to be vegetarians. We
must realize that Buddhism is known as the Middle Path. It is a liberal
religion and the Buddha's advice was that it is not necessary to go to
extremes to practise His Teachings.
Vegetarianism alone does
not help a man to cultivate his humane qualities. There are kind, humble,
polite and religious people amongst non-vegetarians. Therefore, one should
not condone the statement that a pure, religious man must practise
vegetarianism.
On the other hand, if
anybody thinks that people cannot have a healthy life without taking fish
and meat, it does not necessarily follow that they are correct since there
are millions of pure vegetarians all over the world who are stronger and
healthier than the meat-eaters.
People who criticize
Buddhists who eat meat do not understand the Buddhist attitude towards
food. A living being needs nourishment. We eat to live. As such a human
being should supply his body with the food it needs to keep him healthy
and to give him energy to work. However, as a result of increasing wealth,
more and more people, especially in developed countries, eat simply to
satisfy their palates. If one craves after any kind of food, or kills to
satisfy his greed for meat, this is wrong. But if one eats without greed
and without directly being involved in the act of killing but merely to
sustain the physical body, he is practising self restraint.
-ooOoo-
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Source: Buddhist
Study and Practice Group, http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/
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Update : 01-11-2002
