I have been researching buddhism and i have realised its a great religion to take on, but you have to become a vegetarian and make lots of sacrafices, and i have already told my dad i want to be a vegetarian but he wont let me, so how am i meant to tell him i want to be a buddha when it consists of being a vegetarian?
2007-02-21 05:01:58 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Belief is ur personal matter.
2007-02-21 05:06:28 · answer #1 · answered by ManhattanGirl 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There was a story regarding being vegetarian.
Buddha's cousin was Buddha's disciple. The cousin later wants to have greater fame and reputation than Buddha. So he developed his own Buddhism sect. He has many followers. They are very extreme in many ways. One of it is being a vegetarian. The cousin reprimanded Buddha and Buddha's followers for eating meat. He proclaimed to other people that his sect had better ethics, and better teaching.
Buddha never said that you have to be a vegetarian in order to be a Buddhist. In Buddha's time, monks get their food by going to peoples' houses. They cannot tell people that they don't want to eat this or that. The monks eat whatever is offered to them.
Buddha said that it's better to be a vegetarian if you have a choice. But if you don't have the choice then just eat what there is.
Buddha did say that meat is not really good for the body. Not many animals die in a peaceful way. At the time of death, the animals generate a lot of negative energy. When we eat those meat, we absorbed their negativity. This is one of the reasons that we shouldn't eat meat. Another reason is out of compassion, we shouldn't kill or be the cause of another being's death.
2007-02-23 03:43:27 · answer #2 · answered by Renee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you are not committing a crime in wanting to be a veggie. How old are you ? you should tell your dad that you would like to be a vegetarian. there are so many hindus who are veggies. If you are a christian or a muslim even then vegetariansm can be a choice and you can voice it or do it without being obvious. If you want to turn to buddism you can adopt buddhist principals in life for sometime without actually joining a sanga. Religion is a way of life and not some conversion drama. The principals of buddha are eternal and people belonging to any religion can follow these principals in life. do you know that there are many buddhists who are non-veg. If you want to seek enlightenment etc, why dont you start meditation at home, meet the dalai lama in dharamshala and take their guidance. Travel to tibet. If it is my child I would advise to lead family life and search a bit later but if you are a buddha in the making [born to seek] you dont need ask ordinary people like us in the net, the path will come to you. Read the book "siddhartha" -it will tell u about trail and error and final realisation of traveller - the buddhist way
2007-02-21 05:21:32 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
You do not have to become a vegetarian to be a Buddhist . In fact , many buddhist are not vegetarian .
It is not a commandment or law in buddhism which state that vegetarian is a must .
A highly respected Buddhist Monk once said , what goes inside the mouth is not important , but what goes out from the mouth .
Of course , We must do our best to prevent from killing other to satisfy our food needs .
2007-02-22 03:14:50 · answer #4 · answered by YoBro'' 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, he probably figures your vegetarianism as some sort of rebellious crusade that will feature HIM as the "bad guy" because he LIKES meat. Just because he fixes a steak doesn't mean you HAVE to eat it...just take more vegetables or something. And then say that you just weren't as hungry.
And it's like I tell anyone else who has this sort of problem - they can MAKE you go to church until you move out, but they can't make you BELIEVE. If you are Buddhist, learn what you can to pass the time in church, and listen to the messages in church as well. Many Buddhists respect Jesus for the messages he gave, so being respectful and learning would NOT be contrary to a Buddhist way of life.
Yes, both of these things seem to be "leading him on"...but if he is not open-minded to your differing opinion, you will NEVER change his mind. Instead, learn to live peacefully, and mindfully, as he can not MAKE you pray to Jesus, because he can not read your mind. When you become and adult and move out, then talk with him about your decision, and perhaps he will see that your path actually started long ago, but was so UN-rebellious that it actually is good for you. Or maybe not. But at that point, you are LEGALLY allowed to believe and do what you want without his consent.
2007-02-21 05:12:32 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Some people say that they eat to live, some say they live to eat .Please ask your parents in a logical way for what he is living?This world is an examination hall, we are here to achieve good pass out mark for another planet where we can meet physically with the creator of this universe.Without realisation of the great we cannot achieve pass out percentage and for realisation we need to pray Him.You can find and pray Him within your body if it is pure.In fact our body is a temple but people are making it graveyard by putting different animals dead-body in it,now you decide what you want to put in your temple.As far it is concerned that your dad don't allow you to be veg. It is up to you,body is yours,life is yours,only thing is you should make strong determination.If vegetables are available around you why to take life of innocent animals?they might be our forfathers due to their bad deeds in past life they might have reborn as so.
2007-02-21 16:59:06 · answer #6 · answered by Jagadish Bishwakarma 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't have to be a vegetarian to be a Buddhist. As long as you eat meat that came from an animal that had lived a happy life and was killed in a humane manner, then you are fine. Besides, where do you think soybeans come from? There is a soy field next by my house, and when the tractor comes it kills many groundhogs, mice, insects, and killdeer birds. Every living thing is equal...
2007-02-21 05:14:27 · answer #7 · answered by Shinkirou Hasukage 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If they are not into Buddhism and you don't think they are open to it, then don't try to convince them what Buddhism means to you. You can be Buddhist and nobody will be able to tell.
As far as being veggie goes, try to convince your dad of the nutritional value of going veggie. If he's not buying it, it's OK.
The most important thing is that you do zazen (sitting meditation). You have to practice zazen, it's the most important thing.
2007-02-24 03:51:06 · answer #8 · answered by Teaim 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tell it to your family step by step.
If you can become a vegetarian it is good.
But It is not the most important thing to become a Buddhist.
I think living according to 5 precepts is more important.
1. To refrain from destroying living beings.
2. To refrain from stealing.
3. To refrain from sexual misconduct (adultery, rape, etc.).
4. To refrain from false speech (lying).
5. To refrain from intoxicants which lead to heedlessness.
2007-02-23 03:16:41 · answer #9 · answered by Shehan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To accept Truth ......you need not take permission of anyone!!
Go ahead...come out of "Alice in wonderland" stories
2007-02-21 05:39:36 · answer #10 · answered by ۞Aum۞ 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Just tell them: " A big rock hit me on the head"
2007-02-21 05:11:50 · answer #11 · answered by rentsdew 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋