Self responsibility.
That people kill animals is a fact of life.
That people are cruel and unkind to other living beings is a fact of life.
That the meat and dairy industries are completely without love and compassion is a fact of life.
That animals are seen only as produce by individuals and especially large profit based corporations is a fact of life.
That you are part of this is a fact of life.
Now, what do you want to do?
Harmlessness (Ahimsa) is the highest spiritual practice in the world. It means to serve and take care of others, not to exploit, and without the cultivation of 'oneness' your spiritual journey will come to a standstill. You may be deeply involved in religion, but living compassion is much more important.
And if you say 'but I like meat' would you not give this up to save the life of another living being? It's only a self important blindness that will not see the suffering of others to maintain our own pleasure.
The true Dhamma life demands that we live with love and awareness. We can progress to the moment of awakening only by honestly recognizing that we contribute to the cruel and humiliating treatment of other beings simply by turning away.
When we make the choice to be meat free, food shopping and preparing meals becomes a part of our spiritual practice, taking care not to support the meat and dairy industries and definitely avoiding burger chains, no matter how glamorous they make eating dead animals seem!
You cannot extrapolate yourself from the equation by saying that the Buddha said its acceptable to be involved in animal slaughter by eating meat, (personally I doubt a fully awakened being can ever say such a thing) - what do you say?
You are responsible for you in every moment of your life, and killing and eating the flesh of these cruelly murdered animals is a choice, not a necessity.
You must decide for you, but at some point everyone on the path to awakening must arrive in the place of universal love.
And so truly I say, may all beings be happy.
That people are cruel and unkind to other living beings is a fact of life.
That the meat and dairy industries are completely without love and compassion is a fact of life.
That animals are seen only as produce by individuals and especially large profit based corporations is a fact of life.
That you are part of this is a fact of life.
Now, what do you want to do?
Harmlessness (Ahimsa) is the highest spiritual practice in the world. It means to serve and take care of others, not to exploit, and without the cultivation of 'oneness' your spiritual journey will come to a standstill. You may be deeply involved in religion, but living compassion is much more important.
And if you say 'but I like meat' would you not give this up to save the life of another living being? It's only a self important blindness that will not see the suffering of others to maintain our own pleasure.
The true Dhamma life demands that we live with love and awareness. We can progress to the moment of awakening only by honestly recognizing that we contribute to the cruel and humiliating treatment of other beings simply by turning away.
When we make the choice to be meat free, food shopping and preparing meals becomes a part of our spiritual practice, taking care not to support the meat and dairy industries and definitely avoiding burger chains, no matter how glamorous they make eating dead animals seem!
You cannot extrapolate yourself from the equation by saying that the Buddha said its acceptable to be involved in animal slaughter by eating meat, (personally I doubt a fully awakened being can ever say such a thing) - what do you say?
You are responsible for you in every moment of your life, and killing and eating the flesh of these cruelly murdered animals is a choice, not a necessity.
You must decide for you, but at some point everyone on the path to awakening must arrive in the place of universal love.
And so truly I say, may all beings be happy.
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