Chapter 8: Vegetarianism

Q1 Buddhist should be vegetarians, shouldn't they?
Not necessary. The Buddha himself was not a vegetarian. He did not teach his desciples to be vegetarian and even today there are many good Buddhists who are not vegetarians. In the Buddhist scriptures it says;

"Being rough, pitiless, back-biting, harming one's friends,
being heartless, arrrogant and greedy -
this makes one impure, not the eating of meat.

Being of immoral conduct, refusing to repay dept,
cheating in business, causing divisions amongst people -
this makes one impure, not the eating of meat." Sn. 246-7

Q2 But if you eat meat you are responsible for animals being killed. Isn't that breaking the First Precept?
It is true that when you eat meat you are indirectly or partially responsible for killing a creature but the same is true when you eat vegetables. The farmer has to spray his crop with insectisides and poisons so that the vegetables arrive on your dinner plates without hosts in them. And once again, animals have been killed to provide the leather for your belt or handbag, the oil for the soup you use and a thousand other products as well. It is impossible to live without, in some where, being indirectly responsible for the death of some other beings. This is yet another example of the Frist Noble Truth, ordinary existence is suffering and unsatisfactory. When you take the First Precept, you try to avoid being directly responsible for killing any living beings.

Q3 Mahayana Buddhist don't eat meat.
That is not correct. Mahayana Buddhism in China laid great stress on being vegetarian but both the monks and lay people of the Mahayana tradition in Japan, Mongolia and Tibet usually eat meat.

Purification of the mind is the most important thing in Buddhism.

Q4 But I still think that a Buddhist should be vegetarian.
If there was a person who was a very strict vegetarian but who was selfish, dishonest and mean, and another person who was thoughtful to others, honest, generous and kind, which of these two
people would be the better Buddhist?

Q5 The person who was honest and kind. Why?
Because such a person obviously has a good heart.
Exactly. One who eats meat can have a pure heart just as one who does not eat meat can have an impure heart. In the Buddhist's teachings, the important thing is the quality of your heart, not the contents of your diet. Many people take great care never to eat meat but they may not be too concerned about being selfish, dishonest, cruel or jealous. They change their diet which is easy to do while neglecting to change their hearts which is a difficult thing to do. So whether you are a vegetarian or not, remember that the purification of the mind is the most important thing in Buddhism.



Q6 But from the Buddhist point of view, would the person who had a good heart and was vegetarian be better than the person who had a good heart but was a meat eater?
If a good-hearted vegetarian's motive in avoiding meat was concern for animals and not wanting to be involved in the cruelty of modern industrial farming, then he or she would definitely have developed their compassion and their concern for others to a higher degree than the meat eater would have. Many people find that as they develope in the Dhamma, they have a natural tendency to move towards vegetarianism.

Q7 Someone told me that the Buddha died from eating spoiled pork. Is that true?
No it is not. The scriptures mention that the Buddha's last meal consisted of a dish called sukara maddava. The meaning of this term is no longer understood but the word sukara means a pig so it may refer to preparation of pork although it might just as easily refer to a type of vegetable, a pastry or something else. Whatever it was, the mention of this food has led some people to think that eating it caused the Buddha's death. The Buddha was 80 at the time he passed away and he has been ailing for some time. The reality is that he died of old age.