Reply #1: My studies in Buddhism coincided with my going veggie. [View All]

[Ignis]

But many (most?) Buddhists believe that the Buddha was not vegetarian, did not espouse vegetarianism, and did not say (and thus, it's not in the sutras) that one must be vegetarian to obtain enlightenment.

Personally, my own path showed me a dramatic conflict between Right Action / Right Livelihood and killing animals purely for taste. Because I do not think that eating animal flesh is necessary to live as a human being -- and numerous studies (cf. The China Study, etc.) and almost 20 years of being vegan seem to support that hypothesis -- I would only be eating meat for selfish, temporal, sensory reasons.

In my own ethical calculus, the suffering caused by eating meat outweighs the enjoyment I receive from the taste of meat. I don't question others' decisions along this path, but I do think that Buddhism requires at least considering the ethical implications of one's diet...just as one would consider the implications of any other action.

I hope that helps. :hi: You might also wish to cross-post this in the Veggie forum, as there are many ethical vegetarians there who probably have good insight into this choice--even if they're not Buddhist.

(FLAME-RETARDANT NOTE: I'm not bashing meat-eaters. Everyone must make their own choices, and this was simply the path to my own choice in this matter. I don't wish to weigh in on anyone else's dietary choices.)