Are you vegetarian?

[Soujiro Masakuni]

I'm curious, how many people are vegetarian knowing that all life is sacred in Buddhism? Except for the Buddhist monks of Sri Lanka, all Buddhist monks are vegetarian.

Personally, I eat meat and I express gratitude towards the animal.

Do you eat meat?  

[Akanishi Makoto]

I was a vegetarian.

How it pertains to Buddhism is that all things carry the same essence that we do, and that to eat another "living being" such as an animal, is to destroy that essence and that volition.

The inherent problem is that plants are also alive, so although they are not conscious, they are not without volition.

I know almost for fact that the Buddha Shakyamuni allowed all of his disciples to eat meat if it was offered to them, as long as the meat and the offering met certain criteria. 1 - the animal could not have been slaughtered primarily for the monks consumption, 2 - the monks could not witness the slaughter or 3 - hear the cries of the animal during the killing.

So, considering that Shakyamuni allowed it for his monks, then it would be OK for many of us to eat. Now, exactly how should we approach meat?

I, for one, will not order anything containing meat. I will not purchase any meat or meat products in the supermarket. That meat is slaughtered almost exclusively for someone's consumption, and by virtue of me buying it, it becomes an animal slaughtered exclusively for my consumption. I am not a monk, by the way, but I live to the precepts.

Anyway - I will eat what is offered to me at a meal either with family or with friends. Even if it's ordered by them for me, then that's fine, but I will not actively persue meat.

On the other end of the spectrum - strict vegetarians are subject to one of the three poisons, aversion, because they actively avoid the meat. The whole point is to be passive and compassionate. That's our ultimate goal in all actions, so we need to remember these things when we make even the smallest decision.  

[kt_jingle]

I am a vegetarian only on the 15th & 1st of each month on the lunar calendar... 3nodding  

[~ Jade Samadhi ~]

I am mainly vegitarian, but eat seafood for the health benefits. I don't eat any other meat.

 

[Caesura]

I am a vegetarian, but I was vegetarian before I learned anything about Buddhism. At this point I don't really have a choice in the matter, since I've been vegetarian long enough that eating meat would make me ill. And that's fine by me.

I don't have a problem with people eating meat, though, and I think you bring up a very interesting point, Akanishi.  

[Llelwyn]

I've been a vegetarian ever since I was very small. Like Caesura, eating meat would make me ill, at this point. My main objection to the meat that is offered in most restaurants and stores is the way that the animals who were slaughtered for the meat were treated. Most meat is factory-farmed, and while I'm not one of the rabid "you can't eat meat, I'll spray you with red paint" vegetarians... it is very clear to me that forcing animals to live in conditions of extreme suffering for the sake of a profit and a meal is wrong. Similarly, I would not, under any circumstances, eat veal or foi gras (not entirely certain of the spelling of that) because of the way the animals are abused.

In my ideal world, people would either farm or hunt their own meat if they chose to eat it.

But that's just me. I'm not going to force my beliefs on anyone.  

[crystal_raye]

Akanishi Makoto

The inherent problem is that plants are also alive, so although they are not conscious, they are not without volition.

I've always felt/believed that plants were actually superconscious, and in a sense, born enlightened.  

[Tenzin Chodron]

I am not a vegetarian. I live in a region where it would be very impractical and expensive to eat vegetarian. A decent amount of hunting happens around here, so meant is readily available. I do not have a problem with eating this sort of meat because the animals being eaten were not born and raised in a box and force-fed through tubes before being slaughtered and packaged. Also, a lot of the animals that are killed here for food also have their other remains used. Their skins and furs are used by aboriginal craft maker people, turning them into shoes, boots, and whatnot. So there is very little waste.  

[pretty hate machine]

Yes, I eat meat. I couldn't live without it. Seriously. My iron drops dangerously low sometimes and I can't really absorb the iron whenever I take the iron tablets, so my doctor suggested that I eat more meat, seeing as that's how most iron is obtained naturally. If I take iron tablets, it makes me constipated. neutral People aren't meant, natrually, to be without meat. And just like people have stated before me, plants are living beings too, so no matter what you do, you're killing and consuming a once living and breathing things.  

[Jailbait Queen]

i was a vegitarian
but i wasnt eating right, as it was hard to when youre the only vegitarian in the family.
i eat lamb, chicken, fowl, and the occasional pork.

i dont go out of my way to order meat, i eat what im given, really. when i do eat meat, i am grateful for the animal.

 

[Tsujiaikun]

i am a picky eater.......^^ there is some meat that i eat and some seafood that i eat but i don't ever touch even a tiny tiny percentage of those meats.i eat vegetables a ton more then i ever eat meat though.... guess that means i am not a vegetarian  

[Satoshi Sagara]

I'm a vegitarian =D! I eat just sea foods and poltry. But I rather not eat those >_> My mom made me because it's bad enough I have a serious lack of calcium. So, I can't let my protien stuffies go down D:

Uhm, I guess I do it 'cause I got tired of it.. Sounds stupid >3<; But I felt like it was wrong for animals to be raised just for our own selfish reasons. D: I mean. Would you like it if some animal raised you, and ate you?! o__o;  

[byebyebye1]

I am not a vegitarian.. simply because I have an iorn problem. People may not want to know this.. but.. as a woman.. I bleed. ALOT. By alot I mean even by eatting meat and high iorn foods my iorn level was still so low I was really sick and passing out randomly. Then for a few months I had to take 400g iorn pills 3 times daily just to get it back up. (Thats alot by the way.) I still have to take those sometimes.. recently Ive been slipping on taking them though. Which is bad of me..

Anemia is not the worst thing you can have.. but I dont feel like passing out on the street while walking around in the city, and getting kidnapped or something.  

[Mizu Otaku Monkey]

I am the same as you Foujiro, I eat meat, but I thank the animals for what they have done, and hope they have a wonderful next life. Also, I think that the animal wouldn't have died to feed others if that wasn't what it's purpose for it's own future sake.

 

[Maryhl]

I'm pretty much a pescetarian, in that I do sometimes include seafood in my diet. And I think I picked up my vegetarian habits somewhere in 1998.

My general philosophy is that I avoid eating animals I wouldn't have the conscience to kill myself. Though, this may conflict with a more passive approach to existence, I feel it's necessary to reflect on my own potential actions in order to gain a greater appreciation for the creature's life.
I have fished before in my younger days.. and being that I live in Florida now, I know I can deal with sea critters with the proper attitude.
Hope that makes sense. sweatdrop