@@alexgibb8406 "living is suffering " it's the first noble truth of buddha , and he shows a path to come out this suffering without killing/ harming anyone .
@@alexgibb8406 One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter. One who, while himself seeking happiness, does not oppress with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will find happiness hereafter.
Buddha said to look within and find the truth. All that has to be done is for laypeople to be asked politely not to offer meat. We live in times of abundance generally speaking, meat eating should be for survival purposes just as it was in the beginning. True enlightenment will come when both monks, nuns and lay people understand this.
Bhante These days animals are killed for eating. Even these activities are quite organised. And we all know it. Then, how taking meat can be justified by monk or anyone.
A timely reminder: the Buddha's acceptance of meat and fish was intended to regulate the lives of ancient Indian monastics who lived entirely off alms. There is no equivalent advice for ancient Indian laypeople, one way or the other. Let alone for laypeople in the age of supermarkets and factory farms. The monastic argument just does not apply to (most of) you. You'd need to find another rationale for supporting an activity in which Buddhist ethics are systematically breached.
The Lord Buddha's teaching might best be summed up as the following... "I would prefer that monks and nuns do not eat meat at all. However if you are offered meat by lay people and you feel that they are offering from a pure heart (and importantly that they are offering from their own meal) then it would be unskilful to reject their kindness. To discourage such noble Dana and to look down upon them would bring upon both parties suffering. So out of compassion for you these are the guidelines that i offer to you to limit the damage from the karmic interactions that you will invariably then be a part of. To live in this realm is to cause suffering to some degree to other sentient beings. This is unavoidable. Do not therefore beat yourself up on this issue. Do not become obsessed by this issue. That is just egoic and stems from ignorance. Rather better concentrate on unfolding the wisdom to understand the liberating teachings. Let there be no scism in the Blessed Sangha..... " It should also be understood that the Lord Buddha was speaking in a useful and focused manner in a particular time and place to a certain audience. Cultural and environmental factors are also therefore relevant. Today in most countries of the world it is viable for the vast majority of people to live healthily upon a vegetarian diet. Therefore we ought perhaps to at least move carefully in that direction. It brings us good merit to do so. Indeed many Theravadin monks and nuns choose to be vegetarian for this reason. In doing so they are not looking down upon the Buddha's guidance on this matter but rather up towards him....
I understand that the Buddha has not prohibited pig, pork, birds and fish under neither seen, nor heard, nor suspects conditions. But still, no meat comes without killing. It is not proper to eat any type of meat in any pretense. So, I think there should be a Universal body of Buddhism, having represents from all Buddhist countries, to amend or correct Binay rules. Because, as we all know that we can live long, if we can adapt to changing needs of time. I appreciate the attitude of Rev. monk Sarana described in this video. Bhabatu sabba mangalam.
Exactly. Regardless of different interpretations , people following budhhism themselves should avoid meat i think out of compassion for other beings. Its the essence of budhhism. I was born a hindu and loved meat. But left eating it when i was in grade 5 ( maybe i was 9/10 yrs at that time) after reading a book that had autobiography and teachings of budhha. I also tried following the teachings by heart and practiced meditating 😂on my own. Well I left doing all those things when i was 15 16 i guess. But I never started killing or consuming meat of any kind. I'll turn 21 this march. And now again I'm on the journey of finding peace that amazed me as a kid. Budhha gave me that amazing insight of love and non-violence for which I'm forever thankful . Hadn't I read that book , hadn't I known budhha , I wouldn't be sensitive to sufferings of other beings as I'm now. Its crazy how meat eating is justified considering how painful the killing process is. A chicken has as equal right to live its life peacefully as we do , isn't it?
The principal teaching of Buddha is non violence .thervada is not buddhisim it is a self indulgey sect of hedonists who falsely call themselves buddhists
The difficulty comes from this: no one is allowed to kill a living creature. But a follower asked the Buddha, what if I find an animal that is dead already (of old age or accident) am I allowed to eat it? The Buddha has answered that in such a case it is allowed to eat the meat. In our modern society you will have to think for yourself when you are in the supermarket in the meat department. Is it allowed because it is dead already? Or was the animal specially killed for you to eat it? Would the rules for a monk be more strict than for a layman? Think it over for yourself and decide for yourself.
@@MrJCHsteel If you are in a supermarket and buy meat there, then yes, of course that animal was killed to be sold to whoever buys it. So if you buy it, of course it was killed specifically for you (and anyone else who buys it) To suggest otherwise makes no sense and to me appears like a way of justifying eating meat
I do not think that the Buddha said any of these things; these rules were written by meat eating monks. Ascetics were all vegetarian in the Buddha's time - as indeed most are in modern India.
I also heard that Buddha allowed his monks to eat meat of any kind that are not purposely killed or slaughtered for eating. It probably makes clear that his monks were allowed to eat meat of naturally died animals or even humans. It has a deep meaning I feel.
It's all excuses. Spewing out of excuses and pretty poor arguments at that. Any decent compassionate buddhist would feel deeply in their heart that the animals suffering is held in that meat. To turn a blind eye to that fact suggest that anyone with argument that meat is OK, will turn a blind eye to anything that they do not wish to give up in the goal for compassion for all creatures@@Andrea-r1o3h
Compassion knows no boundaries, true freedom from suffering for all sentient beings, may they rejoice in lasting happiness upon achieving enlightenment. If Bodhicitta is developed, why would you want to allow an animal to suffer just in order to have some seconds of pleasure?
Eating meat is not breaking the first sila(Refrain from killing any living beings). Whether you break the first sila or not, depends on your volition. If you don't have volition to kill any living beings, you don't break the sila. Every time you walk, you can step on ants, insects or any micro organisms and kill, every time you inhale, you can kill many invisible living things in the air. But you don't have volition to kill them, so you don't break your sila. You chose to be a vegan because you want animals to be killed. It's such a great compassion. But killing is inevitable. There are many other animals surviving only on meats. The food cycle is a part of nature.
It's not about pleasure. It's about surviving. For original Buddhist Theravada monks, they entirely survive on alms from laypeople. So they'll need to eat whatever they give. It's as simple as that. Mahayana view of compassion is so misleading and extremist.
i need help.. I want to become Buddhist but im still a teenager and i have to eat what my family gives me (meat). Can I still become buddhist even if i eat meat until I move out and am independent? I want to follow Buddha's teachings, but the rest of my family is not buddhists so they wouldn't understand. I want to change my ways for the better!
Slandering the Buddha's Dharma will be the cause to be reborn in Avicii Hell in the next life. Please stop putting words in the mouth of the Buddha. Please repent and take refuge in Amitābha Buddha. Namo Buddha of Infinite Light 🙏🙏
This is really dumb reasoning. Whether the monk saw the animal getting killed for him or not. It was killed so that some person can consume it, whoever that happens to be. To say you can only accept meat if it wasn’t killed for you, makes no sense to me….
Monks are not allowed to refuse whatever food is donated according to the Vinaya. Eating meat is not breaking the first sila(Refrain from killing any living beings). Whether you break the first sila or not, depends on your volition. If you don't have volition to kill any living beings, you don't break the sila. Every time you walk, you can step on ants, insects or any micro organisms and kill, every time you inhale, you can kill many invisible living things in the air. But you don't have volition to kill them, so you don't break your sila. You chose to be a vegan because you want animals not to be killed for food. It's such a great compassion. But killing is inevitable. There are many other animals surviving only on meats. The food cycle is a part of nature.
@@minthura9053 ❤❤not true . According to vinaya a monk can accept or reject anything he likes and dislike. What if the monk is alergic to certain foods? He can always accept or reject any food offered to him. Eating meat is totally against budhism as it is a philosophy based on compassion . When you eat something , your common sense will tell you if that food is made by harming someone or not. Meat cannot be obtained without killing a innocent soul. Even a baby knows that. So ths monk is totally wrong. Monks spread these wrong view to fulfill their urges to eat meat. Budhdha will never accept a meal which is made by harming others.
If you have a choice make the nonviolent one. If the act is already done, way neglect and dishonor the animal by throwing it in the trash? Better to honor and give thanks for the life that was taken. But if there is a choice for life or death always love, light and compassion.
One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter.--Dhammapada
@@Andrea-r1o3h people, who pay for meat - pay for the animals to be slaughtered. Farm workers have one of the most percentage of PTSD because of all the horrors they have to endure through. They are usually low paid jobs with horrible work safety. The same companies can create bean, soy or nut products that have less carbon footprint, dont sacrifice a living being and is safer for the employees. Within your logic, paying somebody for killing another person is alright, because you personally didnt do the deed.
@@Otto-Webb Sorry then you can not eat vegitables. Farmers use pestesides. So paying for vegitables you pay for the animals to be slaughtered. And if you pay a person to kill some one you have the intention of killing that person.That of course if bad karma that will hinder your progress to nibbana. And if you pay for meat, vegitables etc.... with the intention of killing animals then yes you will have bad karma
I'm afraid it is. If you wish to use that excuse, accept that it is just that, an excuse. If you eat meat you know that an animal has suffered very badly to provide it. The meat is from that animal. If you can't be a vegetarian than accept that you don't care about the suffering of innocent creatures, accept whatever karmic debt this may cause and eat your meat. @@Andrea-r1o3h
In my opinion, discarding a meal because it contains meat is against Buddhism. The point of not eating meat is to live as a minimalist i.e. we eat to survive not to satisfy our greed for tasty food, it is a balance point between living and having the least effect on the environment. Wasting a meal donated to you just because it contains meat is just bonkers.
Very simple, Ask if the donation contains meat, if so refuse. Just eat plain rice or any other offering of fruit etc. Agreed wasting would be wrong. But I would never eat meat, and if given a meat meal I would give the meat to someone who eats it or to a dog or cat.
@@kevinslaney486 ah yeah, what a good look for the monks. Refusing the humble offer of free food that would otherwise go to waste. Taking a gift and re-gifting it to an animal. Great optics man.
@@acex222 What a good look for the monks???? It's not about how it looks and infact Buddhist monks should be encouraging vegetarianism as the Buddha said "take not sword, knife or club to any living creature: and also that compassion for all living beings is vital. I doubt any refused offering would go to waste. And surely it would only take the monks once to explain that not meat donation please, just veg,rice,fruit. It would be cheaper for those donating also! sounds like my reply irritated you. Don't know why. It was pretty straight forward and still is. This is about Buddhism and Buddhist literature and teachings are littered with importance of not killing or harming any other creature
But Buddha did say "One should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should one incite another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak, in the world"
That is why the buddha says if the monks sees, hears or suspect the animal is killed for the monk not to eat it. And meat is not a living thing it has no concious in that respect it is same as a plant
@@kaustubhnigam628 This is a sutra in Mahayana tradition.Mahayana tradition formed after the passing away of the Buddha. In Theravada tradition, which many belive is the closest to the original teachings of the Buddha, Have no sutra that banned eating of meat (To my knowladge)
This is the issue with Buddhism, it's all about the Buddha...like buddhists never consider that times change and some other people give better ideas than Buddha
Buddha belive in compassion and he do mercy on every animal so he cannot allow to eat meat. And one day when monks came from bikhsya . A crow fly on monks with a meat piece. And the meat drop into a vikhyu's pot then he came to buddha and ask buddha . Buddha what can I do ? A crow drop a meat piece on my pot and you said us never eat meat . And you eat that anything in your pot . Now it is a problem what can I do ? Buddha said - you can eat the meat piece . Because you didn't want to do ahmisa (nonviolence ) or you didn't want to eat meat so you can eat meat . So we can know buddhist cannot eat meat it is a sin for buddhist.
And dairy and eggs too. As well as anything living. Eventually, true masters will live off of chi or prana and need to kill no plant nor animal for their sustenance.
It really shouldn't be a matter of what buddha did or did not prohibit (after all nothing was written at the time so it is all hearsay) but as a buddhist I could not eat meat out off pure compassion for the animal who would provide it. An animal is killed (murdered) so a person can eat it. I am sure any genuinely compassionate person would not eat meat for this very reason. There is no debate. Being vegetarian isn't even a difficult thing to do. The argument that Tibetans use about if the animal was not specifically killed at your request so it's OK is just utter nonsense and shame on them (if they wish to be genuine followers of the Buddha)
Dear monk Sarana, this vegetarian issue is still a dilemma in my mind. According to the general idea of rules by mainstream buddhism, it is ok to buy meat from supermarket or feasting meat at dining place so long as we dont witness the killing of animals, hear about it etc... The problem when we buy meat is that it becomes the main reason why people would slaughter animals and sell them, even though we dont witness the killing directly. It becomes a cycle of "supply and demand". When more people become vegetarian, of course there will be less killing of such animals, even though not completely. Eating meat without witnessing killing or hear about it is actually an indirect way of killing animals. In my personal opinion, if we eat meat purely for the sake of survival, not for sensual pleasures is what will prevent us from getting bad karma for killing. Considering there are people in certain regions such as tibet or arctic regions, where vegies are hard to grow, they had to slaughter animals for survival, its almost impossible for them to survive by being vegetarian. Ajahn brahm once explained that out of vegetarian itself, there are countless of bugs or harmful crop eaters get killed by farmers for the sake of selling vegies. Even though this makes sense, but those are much smaller animals compared to cows, pigs, etc. So this vegetarian issue is still a question mark in my head whether its actually against the first sila in Buddhism. I agree that vegetarian doesnt purify anybody in terms of spirituality, otherwise herbivore animals such as cows and goats would already become saints. Besides I personally witness many vegetarian people dont behave any better than meat eaters, some still gossip, bear grudges with people, harbor negative thoughts against people. I myself was once a vegetarian for two years when I joined that suma ching hai cult, so glad I am out of it not for long. Being vegetarian didnt make much difference in pacifying my mind until I started the practice of annapanasati, metta, and vipassana by the theravada tradition.
Please read bhagawat geeta you will find you all Answers from there...... and it is scientifically proven too.... if you want to know you must read it..
@@sujitkohar5077 Every religion has their own answers. We Theravada Buddhists have our own solutions for liberation. S.N Goenka the Burmese Indian Vipassana teacher was a former Hindu. He was born in a very highly educated and wealthy Hindu family in Yangon. Goenka had studied all Bhagawageeta and Hindu Vedas since he was very young. He used to be a successful Businessman and very egoistic. He started to have a severe migraine at the age of 40s. He went to different doctors and countries. No doctor could cure his migraine. One day his friend recommended him to do meditation at U Ba Khin Vipassana Centre. He went to Sayargyi U Ba Khin to cure his migraine. When Sayargyi U Ba Khin knew that, Sayargyi told goenka " don't come to my centre with the aim of curing disease, Buddha dharma is a lot more than that, it can liberate you from all sorts of suffering, your migraine can be cured but it is just a byproduct of Vipassana. if you can change your mindset, you can learn Vipassana from me", and Goenka accepted. After taking Vipassaa retreat for a few months, Goenka's migraine was completely cured, he had wonderful experiences and became a Theravada Buddhist.
Whether you break the first sila or not, depends on your volition. If you don't have volition to kill any living beings, you don't break the sila. Every time you walk, you can step on ants, insects or any micro organisms and kill. But you don't have volition to kill them, so you don't break your sila. You chose to be a vegan because you want animals to be killed. It's such a great compassion. But killing is inevitable. There many other animals surviving on meats. The food cycle.
@@minthura9053 but still the oldest religion is sanatana... so we have to follow that.... Each and Every Answer u will found there..... with scientificially proven....
I don’t think it is okay for monks to go to market and buy meat. Monks get their food through offering and it is up to the lay people that offer the food. They eat whatever is given to them, meat or vegetables. Here they said there are prohibited meat. But if the monk has no knowledge of such meat or suspecting it when it is offered, then can still consume it.
Do they not follow the 5 precepts? The very first precept is Refrain from taking life, not killing any living being. If they do follow the 5 precepts, I wonder then, how they could possibly justify eating living beings? The precepts are there for a reason; everything we consume with our mouths, eyes, ears and hearts have a trickle affect on our thoughts, behaviors and also to those around us. It affects our consciousness and also lack of it, depending on what we CHOOSE to consume.
Didnt u know that Theravada was the oldest and cloest to the teaching of buddha? Theravada monks dont allow to eat anything after 12AM and it is the strictest among the others. There's reasons. It's not what u think it should be. It's like u say "God exists doesnt make sense to me" that's theirs religion and tis is Buddhism.
The unconscious pretending to be monks and Buddhists will never understand wisdom. It is as you write, without SILA there is no Buddha nature Realisation no Enlightenment. Those who permit slaying of animals, those who bring animals for slaughter, those who slaughter, those who sell meat, those who purchase meat, those who prepare dish out of it, those who serve that meat and those who eat are all murderers. They who desire to augment their own flesh by eating the flesh of other creatures, live in misery in whatever species they may take in [next] birth. 🙏🏽
@@mgphonekhantzaw835 in jivaka sutta my friend And in dhammapada He also said it in multiple times in Mahayana sutras like lankavatara sutra , nirvana sutra etc
They invented this thing of vegetarianism. The body needs meat. You don't commit any faults to eat a chicken. Your enlightened doesn't depend on what you eat, it is an energetic factor. When your energy is activated, you are connected to the Source.
What did the people of India and Nepal eat 2500 years ago? The Buddha was born into a Hindu family, along with much of these countries. It probably also became customary to serve vegetarian meals to monks and everyone, not just for religious reasons.
In the Amagandha Sutta, the Buddha said: 'Neither meat, nor fasting, nor nakedness, Nor shaven heads, nor matted hair, nor dirt, Nor rough skins, nor fire-worshipping, Nor all the penances here in this world, Nor hymns, nor oblation, nor sacrifice, Nor feasts of the season, Will purify a man overcome with doubt.'
Mahayana countries kill animals for food every day. Even if you eat vegetarian Animals are killed anyway. Monks must receive food from the people. It should not cause hardship to the people. What do the people eat? Monks should eat as well. Thank you. Google translate.
Strict vegetarian diet. The Sangha should now better what to give a Monk, an Arahant, a Buddha. Those who give meat support the killing of animals. Monks should better educate the lay people.
These is all lies .this is reinterpreted by later monks for their whims & fancies.Buddha ìs a Great supreme denied all killings of living beings.& adviced us to extend the loving Kindness.as we dont like not to get harmed our lives.All living beings r same.
To those devotees who is serving monks meat. U causing monks to b slandered as eating impure. R u a demon? Stop looking at sentient beings and see them as food. Are you a demon? No? To that animal you love to eat them..you are a scary horrifying demon. It is bad karma to eat meat. Kill n eat you will have your own life force taken away too not nourished. Stop comparing animals to plants. Animals have central nervous system. Plants don't. The pain n awareness cannot be compared. Stop killing. Stop stealing their life force by forcing them from healthy state to death. Stop stealing their meat. It is their body not your food. Don't kill and thank them. They will thank u if u stop seeing them as meat. You demon. What's wrong with you? Stop causing sexual misconduct by forcing animals to be raped n reproduced. Stop lying to yourself that you are not a meat eating demon. You are sick psychopath. Imagine someone look at you n kill n cook u? Don't pray n say oh I am so grateful God. Stop doing this nonsense. Nobody is grateful for you causing so much violence n pain.
You have eyes and heart.you are not monkey you can think for yourself.and try to understand the suffering of the killed animal and dont eat it.stupidity of religions never ends who cares about biddha what about you?arent you a human being?
I’m so sad. I am vegan and I am very driven to stay vegan. I want to become a monk, but I am not willing to start eating animal products again, does anyone know a way around this - other than consuming animals.
You can be vegan AND a monk. If you feel uncomfortable eating animal products, and if it is out of compassion for all living beings, then there is little reason to "force" you to eat them. The comment above by Andy Moss is especially clarifying in this regard. I have spent a week on a Theravāda monastery in Europe. Since Buddhist communities here are not large enough to enable the monks to go out for their alms round on a daily basis, it is costumary that the breakfasts and lunches for everyone be prepared or brought in by the residing lay guests, and that both the monks and the guests have their fill separately. I can assure that on such occasions I have seen very, very few animal products around, and even fewer eating them, since most of us were already vegetarian or vegan. But I think it could be different in other countries where, for example, vegetables are too scarce to grant a balanced diet or even surviving. Lay supporters would not let any monk die of starvation, stay assured; if they knew your needs they would help you by any means. But if you are still uncertain, then you should see for yourself and spend some time in a monastery of your choice, sharing your doubts with the monks. May all your noble resolves be fulfilled, my friend. 🙏
_"'Monks, I speak of alms food in two ways: to be partaken of and not to be partaken of': Thus was it said. In reference to what was it said? Any alms food of which one has come to know, 'When I partake of this alms food, unskillful qualities increase and skillful qualities decrease,' that sort of alms food is not to be partaken of. Any alms food of which one has come to know, 'When I partake of this alms food, unskillful qualities decrease and skillful qualities increase,' that sort of alms food is to be partaken of."_ ~ Samatha Sutta, AN 10.54 > www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an10/an10.054.than.html The name of the Sutta is no coincidence. Even the way a monk partakes of his requisites is a way to realize samatha-vipassana. It's all about understanding the difference between what is truly beneficial to oneself and to the others, and what is truly harmful, i.e. what is helpful and what is a hindrance on the quest for Unbinding. _"Although a bhikkhu, when he goes out to obtain almsfood, does not beg (he collects what is offered), since he is not allowed (unless ill) to ask for food, still he is largely dependent upon whatever is put into his bowl. After he has returned to the vihara he may if he wishes, select whatever vegetable foods he has been given and eat only that."_ > www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khantipalo/wheel130.html _"If a bhikkhu is given meat on alms round and he has no knowledge about how the animal died he has to 'receive it with attentiveness.' (See the Sekhiya Trainings.) He should be grateful and recollect that the food he is given is what enables him to continue to live the bhikkhu life, and that as a mendicant he is not in a position to choose what he gets. If he later comes to know the family and they ask him about Dhamma, he will be able to explain the precept about not killing. This may cause them to reflect on their attitude to meat eating."_ > www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/ariyesako/layguide.html Therefore, even if a monk can choose what he wants from what he gets, all that is offered to him comes from the generosity and good heart of laypeople who give what they have, giving priority to which has a higher nutritional value. And he takes that food just for the survival of his body and the continuation of his path. But given food is never wasted, except for leftovers. So again it's all about what is actually beneficial and what is actually detrimental, or whether it is more wholesome to stay vegan even if that means to shun a meritorious deed and to make an animal's death worthless or not. The Buddha ate the offering of Cunda, being aware that He'd have suffered deadly pains (and eventually His death - albeit it wasn't Cunda's fault) because in doing so the silversmith earned a great amount of merit (DN 16). It was a compassionate act. Compassion is a great responsibility, it means making choices that may hurt either oneself or others for a greater good. That’s also why the quest for Unbinding requires great courage, because you have to do the right thing no matter what. And sometimes there is no easy choice, sometimes the right thing to do is just to pick the lesser of two evils, even when it's hard to see which is it. I don't eat animals, and I longed to join the monastic life myself, so I've had enough time to reflect on this topic. But life (or karma) has a bitter irony, and she knows for sure when it's the worst moment to strike. Now I do know the meaning of Dhammapada's chapter about old age (Jaravagga): I'm a broken bow, with no more arrows to shoot, regretting the past. So the least I can say to you from what I've learned is that no one knows what life has got in store but illness and death are on everyone's menu. You still have a rare, invaluable occasion just now. Do not hesitate, do not let life choose for you. With metta, R.
Thich Nhat Kahn was a monk, a vegan and an activist! By being vegan you are so much more true to the purpose of being a monk than these so called "spiritual" people .
vegantarianism does not make on pure or impure, food when taken as food is just that; sustenance. moralizing such topics is not the goal of buddhism. if you want you can become a jain those are the neurotic vegans
I want to keep respectful, but i am a vegan of 9 years. How one should tell that he holds a belief system that he respects all living beings and then enslaves them - sentient beings mind you- gets rid of their lives without their permission, reducing their being only to being slaves to humankind. I dont respect catholic views of anthropocentricism, that god created animals to serve people, but i thought buddism was more profound about that.
In my humble opinion, the Buddhist rule of meat being acceptable if we have not seen, heard or suspected that the animal was killed for us is very immature and myopic. It gives precedence to convenience, over compassion and kindness. Closing our eyes to the killing of helpless beings does not make their suffering any more tolerable. Śrīmātre namah: 🙏🏻
@@Sarahizahhsum True compassion would be for the monks to avoid meat themselves and educate the Buddhist laity that their act of killing animals is wrong and leads to the accumulation of horrible karmic reactions.
I think this rule is acceptable for monks only. They cannot choose the food. They cannot eat the prohibited meat eg dog if they have knowledge or suspecting it is prohibited. But if they are given meat, they cannot throw it away because that’s karma. For lay people, it’s good that you decide not to buy meat from supermarket and stick to vegetarian diet. This will remove some bad karma. It’s great if you could donate vegetables to monks instead of meat as this creates good merits. But In no way Buddha would attempt to justify eating meat. It’s up to you to choose. For monks. It’s a matter of eating what they are given. For lay people, it’s a matter of removing karma and generate good merit
I want to be a vegetarian for nutrition but when I think about how chickens and cows suffer in farm I don't want to buy their products. Could someboby help me on that?
How are you able to be a vegetarian as a Theravadan monk when you have to accept whatever food is given to you, even if there's meat in it? I'm sincerely curious, because this is one big thing that is holding me back from the thought of becoming a Theravadan monk. Another monk in Thailand uploaded a RU-vid video about what they received over the course of a week of alms, and most of the dishes were meat dishes, with scanty amounts of vegetable, which I thought was alarming. How could poor people afford to give away that much meat? I had the feeling everyone must be ignoring the precept about not offering/accepting meat intentionally prepared for monks.
No, you have a wrong preception.. Theravada Buddhist monk can eat meat as Bhante said.. But it is not must. It is depends on what people give. Because Bhikkhu can not order the food they like. They just eat what people give to him..
@@denny2457 At 3:52 he says he's been a vegetarian for 18 years, 12 of those while being a Buddhist monk. So what's what I'm asking... how was he able to be vegetarian for the entire 12 years as a monastic if monks have to eat whatever they're given? I've never heard of a vegetarian Theravadin monk.
@@NirvanicSunshine my guess is that they collect all the food in one place. Then they divide up the food because otherwise some monks might not get enough.
"it's okay to eat meat that wasn't killed purposely for the buddha" is a contradiction. If you eat it, it was meant for you. Just try to ask the animal how it feels
Why would Buddha be speciesist? Why not do no harm to ANY animal unless it’s truly for survival - not enjoyment which is the main reason people eat meat these days.
Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu. Another reason to be vegetarian is the rebirth. If a mother or a child of our previous life is an animal in this life time, then maybe we will eat that animal too. The Buddha said to the Sanga, when you take you meal think when a mother and a father lost in desert with their own dead baby, and they have to eat the baby to survive, how they will eat their baby? They will not have a desire when they eat the dead baby to survive in the desert. They will not eat any part of the dead baby to feel the taste, look better, grow muscles and etc, but they need to live only. And if the Sanga think like that it will help to remove the desire. I guess the Clinging/Desire is a higher level/power or a pattern of an attachment which not only experience the feelings, but also it tries to cling with the causes (making my Matter/Form and my Data | eg: making my Tongue and my Taste) of the feelings.
Being a vegan doesn't make u a saint. Remember buddha teaching is middle way. In pali canon "Meat can be eaten so long as the monk knows the animal is not killed for his consumption; he will eat certain types of meat if the food is not specifically prepared for him but rather just offered."
The other answer is correct. Forget Buddism, it's just a word, a title, at worst organised religion. The Pali canon was not written by Buddha and is therefore hearsay only! Being vegan is a good, mindful, decent way to be. Making excuses to not be a vegetarian or vegan is pretty poor use of a persons mind/will power
Devadatta, who wants to destroy the Buddha's Sangha organization, and his followers also said the same. Just to be clear, we are all in the circle of everything, including nature, so for the end of this post, don't be too greedy when you're consuming your food
@@McBoy-hx4cl If you eat meat, then you are consuming it and that animal was killed for your consumption along with anyone else who eats it. Very simple. Buddhist or not
THE TEN KINDS OF MEAT TO AVOID AT ANYTIME: (1) human, (2) elephant, (3) tiger, (4) lion, (5) leopards, Jaguars and panthers, (6) snake, (7) horse, (8) wolf and hyena, (9) dog, (10) bear... I learnt from a venerable sir that some of those animals like elephants, horses, dogs are beneficial for humans & loved by many whereas some of them from the wild such as lions, tigers, panthers, snakes, bears, wolf are vengeful so it is not safe for monks who tend to stay near the woods because it is believed that animals could sense the smell of who have consumed the meat of their kind.
@@kaustubhnigam628 tf bro did u just came from no where to say all this sht? That's what was taught in Theravada buddhism @@ dont fking take ur preferences into this.
Tibetans eat meat regularly as a part of their diet. These tangential rules are of little importance in Buddhism. The idea is to avoid all meat if you can but it's not an absolute dictum. In any case, Buddhism is so much deeper and richer than your concern with this one issue.....I am vegetarian, mostly. And I think you are focusing on a trivial issue.
How could it be trivial? It causes deep suffering to many, many animals, sentient life. It also causes suffering to you, the frugivore. If you stray from your natural diet, you will suffer. You must eliminate suffering where possible for yourself and others when on the path. Going vegetarian is not skillful. Going vegan is not skillful. Going fruitarian is skillful. Eventually, going breatharian is enlightened.
Indeed, not everyone is privileged to have vegetarian diet. It was out of the compassion of the Buddha that he allowed his disciples to eat whatever the laypeople give them including meat, unless they suspect the meat was taken from the animals slaughtered spesifically for them. Nowadays white people who just converted to or discovered Buddhism feel so entitled to tell what Buddhists do and can't do even though they know very little about the texts and the Vinaya, some even don't know that each of the three schools have different vinaya lineages. If Buddhism didn't allow meat consumption indefinitely then it wouldn't have spread to soany regions of the world, including Mongolia, Siberia, etc where vegetables are scarce
@@chasestefanson8501 i need help.. I want to become Buddhist but im still a teenager and i have to eat what my family gives me (meat). Can I still become buddhist even if i eat meat until I move out and am independent? I want to follow Buddha's teachings, but the rest of my family is not buddhists so they wouldn't understand. I want to change my ways for the better! Would I still be able to achieve enlightenment? Also, do you have any tips to start out with Theravada Buddhism? I'm very new to this, but yet very drawn to it.
You can look for the teaching by Ajahn Chah and his disciple as starter to Theravada. Yes, as long you practice the noble path correctly, u can be enlightened. With Metta, Sadhu 🙏@@AsmrBrooke
@@Nature_Man707 I want to recommend you take retreat at Vipassana centre in India. Converting from one religion to another doesn't really matter in Buddhism as long as you are developing dharma in your mind.
this sounds like preaching of hypocrisy.. i was born in very religious Buddhist family and have never EVER tasted animal in my life. just like my parents and parents of my parents.. also as a Buddhist you are not to hurt any living being for any purpose so how does a Buddhist even come in possession of animal meat to offer it as a merit in the first place? also who would be so ignorant to their own religion to do such a thing? nothing this person is talking about makes no sense.. we are teached not to harm, not to kill and not to eat ANY meat. we even have to wash other food before eating it if it came into direct contact with meat.. and this man is talking about eating pigs and birds and fish? if your gonna teach a religion than first learn it properly and teach it with dignity and respect it deserves.
@@crescentmoon2112 actually it matters how you treat every kind as every life holds the same value. This is the problem with western people trying to meddle in everything. You want to be ''different'' than the others around you so you think ' hey why don't i try a new religion' and without even learning it properly or understanding it you preache it in your own warped ways and make a mockery out of it. I've seen english versions of Tripitaka and they are so porly translated and vastly different from what we learned for generations that i get sick reading some parts.
@@Kao96.. There were monastic guidelines prohibiting consumption of 10 types of meat: that of humans, elephants, horses, dogs, snakes, lions, tigers, leopards, bears and hyenas. This is because these animals (allegedly) can be provoked by the smell of the flesh of their own kind, or because eating of such flesh would generate a bad reputation for the Sangha. Paul Breiter, a student of Ajahn Chah, states that some bhikkhus in the Thai Forest Tradition choose to be vegetarian and that Ajahn Sumedho encouraged supporters to prepare vegetarian food for the temple. There are a significant minority of Theravada laypersons who practice vegetarianism especially in Thailand. My opinion which is confirmed only by a pure and dependable conscience is the following: Eat and be merry for life does not consist in what you solely eat but in loving others as yourself. Don't you realize you're sabotaging yourself with beliefs that sabotage others of your own kind? Isn't it enough to just learn to accept others where they are at in the evolutionary scheme of things? But no you seek yourself ✌
This monk is misleading. Buddha didn't teach us to eat this meat and not to eat that meat as same as it's mentioned in the Bible and the other Holy books in various religions. Buddha teaches us that all fear death and love their life therefore see yourself in others. So Buddha taught us how the man should be compassionate to all living things. That's how Buddha paved the way for us to think.
@@jayantkamble6082 That's true. You have a great knowledge of Buddhism When "ism" is added. But I dont know about Buddhism as a religion and don't want to learn it and practice. What I luckily have is the knowledge of Dharma and Unfortunately you lack it by being mislead by following the useless sermons in that manner.
When someone donate food (edible) to a Buddhist monk, the monk should accept the food. He should never refuse them even if the food made with meat because it will make the person who donated food sad. The monk should never throw away the food he was donated because throwing food is really bad (sin). In Buddhism it says not to kill any living being but if you have no food to survive you have to eat whatever the food available whether it's meat. Even the Lord Buddha has been donated only meat as food. And Lord Buddha never refused them. Even some of the events were intentionally made for the Lord Buddha and other monks. In Theravada Buddhism monks are not allowed to refuse or ask for food they are being donated. If the food is too much monks can say enough or share them with others but can't refuse the food because of they're meat or fish. 👍
Typical shirking of personal responsibility in the name of "spirituality". All the talk about compassion and love becomes a moot point when you contradict yourself by engaging in exploitation and cruelty to animals. How about walk the talk like another Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Kahn, who speaks out on being vegan and is an activist for non violence toward all sentient beings; instead of going against your own principles for your tastebuds, it's what the masses do and you don't want to risk losing some of your followers. There's no excuse for this hypocrisy in a person who claims to be a spiritual teacher.
Oh, so now your interpretation of Thich Nhat Hahn contradicts the most authoritative source of the Buddha's teaching. Well, place your bets, ladies and gentlemen.
So then I’m still trying to wrap my head, is it ok for meat or not? And you said for the monk what if it’s meat from a store for someone who believes in Buddhism can they eat the meat or not at all? Currently I haven’t eaten any meat/ fish in 3 days and spat out food of which I found chicken in it. I love meat a lot but it feels wrong to the Buddha (in personal opinion) to eat any meat. Is this the right mind or is it the wrong understanding?
It does not includ monkey meat. Only 1 Human 2 Dog 3 Horse 4 Elephant 5 black tiger 6 tiger 7 bear 8 lion 9 large bear live in cave 10 dangerous creatures 3
This is Theravada Buddhism. Dont bring ur preferences into this. When u say the monks shouldn't eat meat it sounds like u dont know the purpose of Buddhism. The Buddhist monks might go to a village for foods but not convincing people into believing.
No SILA No Samadhi No Panna No Buddha. Buddha equals SILA SAMADHI PANNA. SILA means no killing no meat eating no intoxicants meat is an intoxicant. An enlightened Buddha does not eat meat. An aspirant aspiring to be an enlightened Buddha does not eat meat. Of all deception the highest is the pride of self deception, to eat meat in any form for any reason is to not be a Buddha. What the Gautama the Buddha actually taught and what others say that Gautama the body taught are not always the same. Without practice there is no Buddha and without practicing SILA there is no Buddha and SILA is avoiding meat eating in all forms and all circumstances. No dogma no religion no belief, try it and see, practice SILA SAMADHI PANNA become enlightened and see from that perspective and not the minds Desires for flesh the identification with inpermanence. 🙏🏽
I follow Buddha the original one. Don't care what people preach. If its about peace then killing a innocent animal for food should be strictly prohibited and monks should refuse meat. But as u know who does not like a bit of meat here n there specially when u can have 2 meals a day. Any real monk won't evr do the wrong thing. Buddha has shown us the vision. Unfortunately people have interpreted as per personal gain. And dude is giving excuses because his friends miss big mac severely.
The bottom line is this : One should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should one incite another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak, in the world. as lord stated
Bhikkus went for alms and it was convenient for poor to give what ever they had, this is why Buddha allowed monks to eat certain kinds of meat. Meditating monks could not waste much time on searching for food, their purpose was to help people with Dhamma and to meditate, they were very virtuous, therefore vinaya rules were introduced to help laymen and monks.vinaya rules always harmonised the society. We have to understand the environment in Buddha times in India.
with the teachings of we are not human beings in a spiritual world but rather spiritual beings in a human world and the human world understanding consequences is very important. The suffering many deal with because the human world is a material world and causes much suffering.
I dont get why some people think a vegan diet is to extreme. Even in "poor villages" the most nutritious foods like beans and lentils are easily accessible. Plus if you cut out the diary products you will increase your gut absorption tenfolds and thus get more nutrients. Compassion is the future . Go Vegan❤
Lol , seeing the comments here , one can easily guess why non-mahayana Buddhists were called hinayana followers by Mahayana Buddhists In a sutra of Mahayana , it is said by Buddha that there are four things which only Bodhisattvas can practice, and which Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas cannot practice. What are the four? (1) To cultivate dhyana without hoping to be reborn in the dhyana heavens; (2) to be able to recognize the profound doctrines; (3) to have great compassion for sentient beings; and (4) to teach the Dharma without hindrance by using various kinds of eloquence
"Hinayana" is a term of derision oddly aimed at those who practice the most authoritative source of Buddha's thought, the suttas. Aimed by those that practice a branch that developed 400 years after the passing of the Tathagata. The term itself is no less political than the Lotus Sutra.
We Theravada Buddhist are keeping Buddha's teaching in the purest form as much as possible. We don't edit or mix Buddha's teachings with Hindu rituals and philosophies like Mahayana.
Monks are not allowed to refuse whatever food is donated according to the Vinaya. Eating meat is not breaking the first sila(Refrain from killing any living beings). Whether you break the first sila or not, depends on your volition. If you don't have volition to kill any living beings, you don't break the sila. Every time you walk, you can step on ants, insects or any micro organisms and kill, every time you inhale, you can kill many invisible living things in the air. But you don't have volition to kill them, so you don't break your sila. You chose to be a vegan because you want animals to be killed. It's such a great compassion. But killing is inevitable. There are many other animals surviving only on meats. The food cycle is a part of nature.
@@kaustubhnigam628 Buddha allowed monks to eat meat. Mahayana decided not to eat by themselves and that would suit yall well. If it doesnt then create ur own one and set ur own rules @@
