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The Pros And Cons Of Buddhism Being Vegetarian

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Along with the pros and cons of a Buddhist being vegetarian, there are a lot of differences among philosophy and region. To begin with, it’s been alleged that the Buddha ate meat. This is a fairly well attested fact. The issue of vegetarianism is addressed a few times in the Suttas, notably the Jivaka Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya. The Buddha consistently affirmed that monastics (monks) were permitted to eat meat, as long as it was not killed intentionally for them. This goes back to the point of kamma and intentionality. There are numerous passages in the Vinaya (regulatory framework monastic community) that refer to the Buddha or the monastics eating meat. Meat is also regularly mentioned as one of the standard foods. For these reasons, the …show more content…

This position sits squarely within a straightforward application of the law of kamma. Kamma simply understood as intention. Eating meat involves no intention to do harm, because the harm has already been done. As there is no intention, there is no kamma. As there is no kamma, there is no ethical problem. However, not all see it this way. The situation in Mahayana is more complicated. Mahayanists, especially in East Asia, embrace vegetarianism, often as a temporary measure for religious events (Silk, 2016). Although the monastics are typically vegetarian all the time, special occasions are cause for celebration. The motivation is, at least in part, an expression of the greater emphasis on compassion in Mahayana. In practice, however, Mahayanists often adopt vegetarianism (as do Hindus) as a rite of purification. This is done because of the toxins and purity of mind and body talked about earlier in the essay. This is despite such texts as the Amagandha Sutta of the Sutta Nipata, where the Buddha insists that eating meat is not a source of spiritual impurity (Silk, 2016). However Tibetan monastics usually eat meat. Vegetarianism and Buddhism seems to vary depending on both how one interprets an ancient text, as well as where one is located and the type of Buddhist they

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