Buddhism can you eat meat

The truth is, you would be wrong to assume that a Buddhist diet is strictly vegetarian or vegan. Do Buddhists eat meat even with the fundamental basis of causing no harm? The fact of the matter is, yes, many Buddhists are still eating meat. Not just as lay Buddhists, the monastics, including prominent and popular preachers, do so while teaching about compassion.

However, as we spread awareness, more and more younger generations are moving towards a compassionate lifestyle, which is marvelous to see. Eating meat to me is out of the question. I have never approved, I am not, and I will never approve that — I have strictly condemned eating meat in every way. Buddhists know that all animals land and sea , insects even those pesky mosquitos , including all those of the six realms, want to live and avoid suffering by any means possible.

Doing them harm directly or indirectly creates negative karma collectively and independently. Why then do so many Buddhists still eat meat? The three conditions are: first, you have not witnessed that killing for consumption. Next, you have not heard anyone killed the animal for consumption. Lastly, you do not doubt if someone killed it for consumption.

People often misinterpret this as approval of meat-eating. Then, a vulture flies by and eats the remainder of the deer. Is the vulture responsible for the deer's death? Long story short, there is no bad karma in being the scavenger in Buddhism, but there is in being the hunter.

The act of eating meat is separate from the act of killing, and you don't necessarily have to kill to eat meat. In the Amagandha Sutta , the Buddha recalls his predecessor making this very point about these two acts being separate, and whether or not you're a vegetarian will have no effect on bringing you closer to achieving Nirvana.

Image Source: wikipedia. This is the basis of why it is okay to eat meat in Buddhism. Buying meat at the market constitutes being a scavenger, and it's better to make use of the meat rather than having the animal die just to have its flesh thrown away. As for those who say not buying meat reduces the killing of animals, this is a good point to make, but not an all-encompassing point. There is a famous story in the Buddha's life where he was at a festival as a child.

During the festival, the young prince caught a glimpse of a farmer plowing his field to plant crops. The observant prince noticed that as the farmer plowed the field, it exposed and killed numerous worms and insects in the ground, causing the prince to feel great compassion for the small creatures.

Image Source: buddhistedu. While the supply and demand effects of buying less meat would shift killing away from livestock, the consumption of crops also leads to the loss of life, even if accidental or indirectly.

Not to mention, in today's world many farmers use pesticides to protect their crops, a deliberate act of killing. Horrible as it may be, this is just the world we live in, and it's best not to focus too much on things out of our control. Being a vegetarian doesn't make you good, and not being one doesn't make you bad.

Just to be clear, if you're a vegetarian, that doesn't mean you should quit after reading this article. The purpose of this article is solely to explain the reasons as to why some Buddhists don't consider vegetarianism necessary. Some sects of Buddhism do encourage vegetarianism for various reasons and some don't, but just because a sect doesn't actively encourage it doesn't mean it's discouraged.

An American journal had in quoted one of his aides as saying that the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader does a balancing act by adhering to a vegetarian diet in Dharamsala and having meat dishes when offered by his hosts elsewhere.

Many Buddhists in Tawang and West Kameng districts of north-western Arunachal Pradesh are vegetarian, but some eat the meat of yak, a high-altitude bovine animal that Buddhists consider sacred. In a world drifting towards majoritarian, sectarian and dictatorial rule, the Dalai Lama feels India is still the best country to uphold religious harmony and tolerance. But despite niggles it is possible in India, the most populated democratic country. Professing more interaction among adherents of different religions, the Dalai Lama said faith is not a necessity for becoming a good human being.

Religion, he felt, should be about kindness without complicated philosophy. All religions have serious scope for promoting harmony. But as soon as anyone indulges in terrorism, he is no longer a Muslim or a Buddhist. Tibetan language is closest to Sanskrit, both ideal for explaining philosophy and spirituality easily, he said. India, an older civilisation, should similarly respect and nurture the Sanskrit tradition, he felt.