No big deal in eating or not eating meat

Learning Point No 280 


"What is important is what goes through the heart and not what goes through the gut" Ji Gong the Living Buddha

How on earth did many think that  the followers of the Buddha think that they must be vegetarian and not eat meat. Nothing bad about being vegetarian and not eating meat. 

Some are even not taking food cooked with garlic or onion for these would give a bad breath and smelly mouth when one breathes or talks. 

Avoiding meat or eating less of it may be healthy but will it help one to be enlightened. The answer is both yes and no. 

Yes, those who are motivated will want to be true to being good, to wish no harm or ill will to others, animals included. 

No, there are those who are vegetarians and yet  have dislike or unpleasant thoughts of their comrades in the same temple, of their friends and colleagues at work. 

They have foul mouth and speaks ill of others even if they do not smell of onion or garlic. 

Even if they think, speak and act ill, there may be health gains if they persist and are more orientated to vegetarian diet provided they do not go all the way and be overboard.

But have those who believed in the historical Buddha, Siddharta Gautama ever realised that when he went out for alms before noon, what were offered in his alms bowl must generally be accepted. 

He cannot be choosy and specify what he wanted. He had no clinging or attachment. Thus, he would still eat meat or food with garlic or onion. 

He would think, speak and act without clinging, without defilements arising from ill will, greed and false views. He is the fully enlightened Buddha and yet he would eat meat which was offered.

Eating meat would be wrong if one relished the idea of killing animals as game for food. That would be having thoughts of killing. 

Of course, if we wish that there is no killing of animals and eat less meat that would be good. But then again, did not the Buddha teach that there must be realism, there must be right views? 

We must avoid false views. There are two extreme views to avoid, one is denial and the other is indulgence. 

In denial, we simply wish away all forms of killing. Farmers kill pests, insects, ants and rodents just to grow vegetables. So it is wishful thinking to wish away killing by being vegetarians. But generally a vegetarian diet approach is good for health, more than for spiritual gains. 

In indulgence, we wish and have great fun albeit ill will in thinking of the pleasure of killing animals for food. We go to say seafood restaurant and choose life seafood like fish or prawns to be cooked live in front of us. Some restaurants or farms even allow patrons to choose which suckling pig to be killed to be roasted. 

What is important is in the heart. This was also  stressed by Amitabha Buddha. 

How we think determines how cultivated we are, how pure and enlightened we are. But we must not struggle with our mind and be vexed. Rome is not built in one day. We take one step at a time. We improve bit by bit and cannot be buddha over night.

When pilgrims from other countries went to India to learn more of the teachings of Buddha and other saints or gurus, they cared not the religion or label. So when they meet gurus or monks, they learnt from  them and religion did not cross their mind. 

The concept of religion as an institution is a later day or modern day innovation and such labeling was otherwise really non-existent in ancient times. So the ancient day pilgrims from Asia, China and Tibet met many other monks or gurus who practiced not just what Buddha taught but what these monks learnt from other gurus as well. 

There was no clear division into that this was Buddhism, this was Hinduism etc. This accounted for why many Buddhists in 2013 believe in being vegetarians when Buddha himself was not one. 

There is really therefore no big deal in eating or not eating meat. 

Ji Gong

One saint Ji Gong lived in China more than 1000 plus years ago as at year 2013 of writing this post. He ate meat and even drank wine. 

He was in fact asked to leave, literally expelled from the monastery for this. But he proved himself to be a saint and considered also a buddha. He helped many and has followers around the world. He says that what matters is the heart and not what goes through the gut.