Desert Snake
Veteran Member
Is vegetarianism a requirement in Buddhism?
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Can you eat meat and be Buddhist ?
- Thread starter Paranoid Android
- Start date
Is vegetarianism a requirement in Buddhism?
ratikala
Istha gosthi
namaskaram diciple ji
one may be a Buddhist with differing levels of comittment , ....
The lay prātimokṣa consists of five vows that are also known as the Five Śīlas:
One is not obliged to take all five vows. The commentaries describe seven types of lay followers:
however monks and nuns take in between 250 and 365 vows , ....many Mahayana traditions inturpret the first Sila ''To refrain from Killing , to nececitate vegetarianism , ....so in these traditions yes it is a requirement for monks and nuns in these traditions , for lay persons it is voluntary , ....
one may be a Buddhist with differing levels of comittment , ....
The lay prātimokṣa consists of five vows that are also known as the Five Śīlas:
- To refrain from killing.
- To refrain from stealing.
- To refrain from false speech.
- To refrain from sexual misconduct.
- To refrain from using intoxicants.
One is not obliged to take all five vows. The commentaries describe seven types of lay followers:
- Promising to keep just one vow.
- Promising to keep certain vows.
- Promising to keep most of them.
- Promising to keep all five.
- Keeping all five and also promising to keep the pure conduct of avoiding sexual contact.
- Keeping all five, pure conduct, and wearing robes with the promise to behave like a monk or a nun.
- Lay follower of mere refuge. This person is unable to keep the vows but he promises to go for refuge to the triple gem until death....(quoted from wickipedia)
however monks and nuns take in between 250 and 365 vows , ....many Mahayana traditions inturpret the first Sila ''To refrain from Killing , to nececitate vegetarianism , ....so in these traditions yes it is a requirement for monks and nuns in these traditions , for lay persons it is voluntary , ....
ratikala
Istha gosthi
"To practice nonviolence, first of all we have to practice it within ourselves. In each of us, there is a certain amount of violence and a certain amount of nonviolence. Depending on our state of being, our response to things will be more or less nonviolent. Even if we take pride in being vegetarian, for example, we have to acknowledge that the water in which we boil our vegetables contains many tiny microorganisms. We cannot be completely nonviolent, but by being vegetarian, we are going in the direction of nonviolence. If we want to head north, we can use the North Star to guide us, but it is impossible to arrive at the North Star. Our effort is only to proceed in that direction." Thich Nhat Hanh
psychoslice
Veteran Member
Well in truth were not the mind body organism, we are the source of all there is, that which never is born or dies.
Nope. What defines a Buddhist is refuge, not diet.
Here's part of the problem. Excuse? How about reason instead? Excuse implies that someone got caught doing something wrong. Your statement implies that a meat diet is wrong. That how it is?
I can give you plenty of reasons. I don't need to make excuses.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Refuge says do not be a cause of killing of an animal.
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
Really? So you simply don't care about the millions of animals that are abused and butchered to satisfy a dietary preference?
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Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
And Buddhist practice challenges egocentric attachments.
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
So you're using a religious belief to justify killing animals?
More to the point, am I doing something wrong?
So you're using personal preference to excuse the killing of animals?
Feeling challenged?
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
No, it looks like you're the one doing that.
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Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
So you simply don't care then? You just want meat on your plate and you're not concerned about how it gets there?
Are you aware that Right Intention is a path factor in Buddhism, and that it includes a commitment to non-violence, or harmlessness, towards other living beings?
Noble Eightfold Path - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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I don't rely on wikipedia for path guidance. Do you?
You seem to be dancing around simply coming out with a complete condemnation of both eating meat and those that do. Why why all the passive aggressive BS. Tell us how you really feel.
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
I think that choosing to buy meat when alternatives are available is questionable for somebody who is developing Right Intention. It also seems hypocritical in the sense that if you buy meat you are expecting somebody else to do the butchery, which is Wrong Livelihood.
If you don't agree then please drop the point-scoring and explain why.
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
Again, cheap point scoring, and you still won't address the actual arguments.
The only "argument" that need be addressed is the Op and thats if it's ok to be a Buddist and eat meat. However, seeing as we've gone off on a tangent were the character of meat eaters is question, it's perfectly fine to shine a little light on their detractors as well. Turnabout is fair play.