h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Are buddhists allowed to eat meat if the animal died of natural causes?

I don't know. Do you think that murdering a vegetable geneates good Karma?

I don't know. Do you think that murdering a vegetable generates good Karma?

Buddhism does not require one to be a vegetarian. Indeed, the Buddha is said to have died from an illness caused by eating some bad pork. The Dalai Lama is not a vegetarian, either.

With that said, many Buddhists are vegetarians and many sects require members to be vegetarians. It is negative karma to kill any sentient being. So killing an animal for food is considered bad form. Of course, often overlooked, is the fact that many insects loose their life during harvesting vegetables. So the main thing is to be mindful and thankful of whatever ones eats and not to waste.

Indeed, anyone can do anything, it's just choosing what is most beneficial to do, for what purpose, and it may be different at different times.

Best to do whatever your teacher tells you as some sutras recomend not eating meat, whereas others will recomend eating meat as part of a tantric practice.

As I was given to understand, Buddha was not a vegetarian but not being prepared to kill a fellow animal, would not eat meat whilst living off the land - he would accept and eat meat as part of a given meal.

A fine ethical line on which to balance

Having tried to live a form of buddhist vegetarianism (that I will not cause nor be the reason to have caused the slaughter of animals for meat) the past decade, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to persuade friends & families that it's not a cop out. Most carnivores assume that vegetarians are ardent fundamentalists who even object to vegie food being cooked in the same pan which has had meat in it. I don't buy meat, but accept it when visiting friends for dinner (since everyone else is having meat). A second issue is should I encourage my young children to be vegetarian or should I provide them with meat? It is afterall my wages which buy the weekly groceries (although it is my wife who shops). Anyone else experiencing these sorts of problems?

A 15 year old boy Ram Bahadur Bamjan has been sitting meditating under a tree in Bara (Nepal) for six months despite being bitten twice by a snake, without eating or drinking anything.

Locals say that he is the recincarnation of the Buddha. Ram is said to be in the first stage of enlightenment. Curiously, his mother's name is Maya Devi, the same name as the mother of the original Buddha.

Another person who doesn't eat or drink is the fasting fakir Prahlad Jani, approx. 70 yrs., who lives in a cave in Gujarat (India). He agreed to go into hospital in 2003 for 10 days for various tests and observations which left the physicians flummoxed.



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