how do Buddhists justify eating meat?

Question

One of the tenets of Buddhism is non violence,and it seems weven the Dalai lama eats beef.Is this true? if so, how is it justified?

Answer 1

killing a form of life

Answer 2

Ahimsa, the principle of do no harm, is the ethical contention in a diet that has animal products. I hate that phrase, but milk and eggs can be exploitive as well.

Some say there's no way you can follow ahimsa without causing harm. Others say that harm isn't about killing, it's about the suffering while the animal is alive. An animal killed with proper compassion is killed in a few seconds and suffers no stress or harm prior to it. That means no commerically produced meat since feed lots and commercial slaughterhouses do not take care to make sure the animal does not suffer prior to death.

Aadil Palkhivala says, "It doesn't matter what the food is, it matters how it is." Does this mean eating meat is okay? It really depends on if you define killing as harmful or as a natural part of the biosphere.

It's the nature of some animals to eat meat and humans are one of those animals. However, as intelligent omnivores, meat is not a necessary part of the diet.

Personally, I'm doormat wishy-washy on the issue. I'm the only Buddhist in my house and everyone else is almost violently opposed to non-exploitive lifestyle. Meat, milk, cheese, leather, and plenty of it is their philosophy. I prepare the meals and sometimes I'm the one that has to purchase commercially produced dairy products. What do I do? It's pointless to not eat the food and often wasteful. It goes against my idea of what I should be. Giving up ice cream? Nachos? Pizza? It's very, very hard. Sure, there are soy alternatives, but giving it up tastes better.

Answer 3

I may be totally off base here, but I think most serious Buddhists are vegetarians. I've never heard of the Dalai Lama eating meat.

Answer 4

why wouldn't they eat meat? They gotta feed themselves! Well if you say that eating meat would be considered violence against the animals, then the same should be applied to plants. Because plants are living beings too (they grow, they die, they feed, they reproduce...)..so what makes an animal more special??

Answer 5

What does diet of a Buddhist has anything to do with your well being or salvation?

Please dont waste your energies and time on rightousness anger as it is only going to harm you. True non-violence is non agression even towards those viewpoints are beliefs are against yours.

Answer 6

the only tenet of buddhism is awareness. you eat what you eat but you should be aware of what you eat. If you are eating beef you should be aware of how the beef was born, how it lived and died, what it means to the world, how it tastes and how it effects you. there is nothing to justify.

Answer 7

in the teachings of buddhism they hav said that whatever they get to eat which is given by other people (which is also known as bhiksha in hindusm)is given by the god to them and they hav to accept it.as ther is a story behind it that once budha was walkin with his saints n a man frm d village gav beef as bhiksha so they got to accept it n eat it .hence people say they also eat beef .but in budhas teachin they hav also said that to eat beef or any type of non veg is inhuman n is not fit for human body

Answer 8

some do and do not. i'm a Buddhism, and that i do not devour meat. the reason being because buddha thinks and that i also believe that animals in this earth isn't made to be kill, and stay like they're in hell. because in case you be conscious how people kill aniaml, its feels like hell interior the slaughter abode.. Seeing them cry their hearts out, preserving to stop it. they favor us to speak for them, they're animals, they can't talk words won't be able to they? Like shall we are saying you've been a cow, time-honored one in all of your household member is going to the slaughter and be made meat for the peopel going to devour. Are you going to experience unhappy?? of route! similar witht he animals. some Buddhism devour meat, yet they shrink too, like in the adventure that they devour meat 7 days per week, 3 days they're going to be vegan. Then they'll slowly advance. thanks for the question and desire I help

Answer 9

From "A Buddhist Question: To Eat Meat or To Not Eat Meat?"

"Twenty-five hundred years ago when Buddha introduced the idea of compassion to the world, he advised his followers not to eat meat unless it had been given to them in their begging bowls. Today, some Buddhists do not eat meat while others do. Are meat eating Buddhists guilty of hypocrisy?"

"The essence of Buddha's teachings are as flexible as a river and that is why they are able to adapt themselves to the traditions of other cultures around the globe. The Vietnamese Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh, has said, 'The forms of Buddhism must change so that the essence of Buddhism remains unchanged. This essence consists of living principles that cannot bear any specific formulation.' The essence of Buddhism is the compassionate open path that follows the line of least resistance; this essence sympathizes with the wisdom of other paths, the similar hunger and goals of all religions."

When Buddhism traveled beyond the borders of India to Tibet, it merged with the Tibetan's Bon Pa religion. The Tibetans live on the Himalayan mountain range where it is very cold and difficult to farm vegetables. They eat a lot of meat, the fat of which protects them from the cold. Being meat eaters has not prevented the Tibetans from being Buddhists. When Buddhism traveled to Japan, Zen was born. The Japanese have always gotten their protein from fish, but this has not prevented them from being Buddhists."

*****

From "Do Buddhists Eat Meat?"

According to the Pali texts the Buddha and his followers did eat meat so long as certain conditions were met. These conditions were that a monk should not have seen, heard, nor have any reason to suspect, that the meat was from an animal killed specifically for him. If these three conditions were met then the meat was said to be ‘blameless’. There are some four references to the ‘blamelessness’ of eating meat-once in both the Majjhima and Anguttara Nikayas, and twice in the Vinaya. However, for a householder to have an animal killed in order to feed a monk was reckoned to result in great demerit. In the Sutta Nipata a previous Buddha, Kassapa, is admonished by a brahmin for eating ‘stinking meat’. Kassapa replies with a long list of unskilful mental states and declares that such are ‘stench’, not the eating of meat. There is also the notion from the Vinaya that meat and fish are ‘excellent food’ for those who are ill. Interestingly, in the Chinese ‘equivalents’ to the Majjhima and Anguttara Nikayas, the sutras dealing with the ‘blamelessness’ of eating meat are absent."

"Nevertheless one must at least argue that the reason for refraining from eating meat is not to safeguard one’s own ‘purity’ but to prevent the unnecessary suffering of animals. The former is more in the spirit of Hinduism, the latter that of Buddhism."

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From Wikipedia:

"There are no universally agreed-upon rules for permitted and not-permitted foods in Buddhism. In some regions, it is common for monks to eat no meat and drink no alcohol. But the laity are exempt from this rule either entirely or except when they visit a monastery. In some regions, even some Buddhist monks will eat meat or drink alcohol. In other regions, it is also common for Buddhists to believe that vegetarianism is better for their karma than eating meat, but to eat meat anyway and consider it something of a bad habit; and, in some areas, such as Japan, avoidance of wu hun foods is not a large part of Buddhism. Many Buddhist traditions state the Buddha himself taught that meat offered as charity to monks and nuns should not be refused (as this was the only way for them to gain sustenance), unless the killing was done specifically for the monks and nuns. This is often misinterpreted to mean that as long as the animals were killed for other humans, or for the public, the eating of their flesh is acceptable, while the implication is that the animal must have died naturally, and not have been of a species that is troubled by the eating or taking of their dead (humans, elephants and horses amongst others). However, other traditions state this concession to be inaccurate, and that the Buddha was strictly always vegetarian.

While many debate Buddhist teachings, it is widely believed that the Buddha's final words were, "Be a light unto thyself," which might imply that he wanted each individual to choose his/her own path to Enlightenment, or perhaps that he urged debate and philosophical reasoning rather than religious faith; however, many Buddhists would ask what the sense of calling oneself a Buddhist is, if one is not trying to discern and follow the Buddha's teachings on foods and all other issues. Conflicting aspects of Gautama Buddha's teachings -- compassion, The Five Precepts, and karma, versus the humility to accept meat and other things offered as charity -- are not likely to be easily resolved, given the vagueness of written history. However, unlike other major world religions, Buddhism is least bothered about traditions and scriptures. The focus is on the need of an individual to 'discover his path' using the precepts as mere 'guidelines', or even just a starting point on a philosophical, lifelong investigation."

Answer 10

If animals weren't meant to be eaten why are they made out of meat?

Answer 11

so far as I know Buddists are supposed to be vegetarian?... if they eat meat they're cheating in that case.... Not even Buddists can be perfect! ;)