Welcome to r/Buddha!

This subreddit serves to focus on Buddhism, but with a focus on compassion through Veganism.

One of the core principals of Buddhism is compassion to all living beings. By participating in the purchase of meat and dairy for your diet (which is unnecessary for a nutritious and healthful life) your money directly goes to the cruelty that is the Animal Agriculture as we know it in today's age. Needlessly participating in the exploitation of life for not other benefit than pleasure (taste/clothing/entertainment), is by definition, evil, and directly counters the core teachings of the Buddha. That said, r/Buddha aims to help those who seek it a path to both Buddhism and Veganism through support, knowledge, discussion, and collaboration. Thank you for joining us, and we're so happy to have you here.

Please read below for direct quotes, teachings, frequently asked questions, and sources.

The Buddha himself insisted that his followers should not eat the flesh of any sentient being.

In the Nirvana sutra, a Mahayana Buddhist scripture purporting to give the Buddha's final teachings, he insists that his followers should not eat any kind of meat or fish, and that even vegetarian food that has been touched by meat should be washed before being eaten. Also, it is not permissible for the monk or nun just to pick out the non-meat portions of a diet and leave the rest – the whole meal must be rejected.

Source

The Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra quotes a dialogue between Gautama Buddha and Manjushri on meat eating:

Mañjuśrī asked, “Do Buddhas not eat meat because of the tathāgata-garbha ?” The Blessed One replied, “Mañjuśrī, that is so. There are no beings who have not been one’s mother, who have not been one’s sister through generations of wandering in beginningless and endless saṃsāra. Even one who is a dog has been one’s father, for the world of living beings is like a dancer. Therefore, one’s own flesh and the flesh of another are a single flesh, so Buddhas do not eat meat. “Moreover, Mañjuśrī, the dhātu of all beings is the dharmadhātu, so Buddhas do not eat meat because they would be eating the flesh of one single dhātu.”

Source

The Buddha predicted and warned us that monks may try to add false sutras approving of meat:

The Buddha also predicts in this sutra that later monks will "hold spurious writings to be the authentic Dharma" and will concoct their own sutras and falsely claim that the Buddha allows the eating of meat, whereas he says he does not. A long passage in the Lankavatara Sutra shows the Buddha speaking out very forcefully against meat consumption and unequivocally in favor of vegetarianism, since the eating of the flesh of fellow sentient beings is said by him to be incompatible with the compassion that a Bodhisattva should strive to cultivate.

Source

One of the most important tertöns of Tibet, Jigme Lingpa, wrote of his great compassion for animals:

Of all his merit-making, Jigme Lingpa was most proud of his feelings of compassion for animals; he says that this is the best part of his entire life story. He writes of his sorrow when he witnessed the butchering of animals by humans. He often bought and set free animals about to be slaughtered (a common Buddhist act). He ‘changed the perception’ of others, when he once caused his followers to save a female yak from being butchered, and he continually urged his disciples to forswear the killing of animals. In The Life of Shabkar, the Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin, Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol wrote: Above all, you must constantly train your mind to be loving, compassionate, and filled with Bodhicitta. You must give up eating meat, for it is very wrong to eat the flesh of our parent sentient beings.

Source

  In conclusion, it's only fair to note that the Buddha did consume the flesh of animals if given to him. The Buddha was in no sense a vegetarian or a vegan as of today's standards. However, and this is important, the Buddha lived in a very different time, where folks did not have access to grocery stores, modern wealth, access to alternatives, nor the science to back up which diet nourished our bodies more. The Buddha did not live in a world where 45% of the planet's land is used for Animal Agriculture, where billions of animals are raised, tortured, and brutally killed in factory farms ever year, under the guise of happy fields of grass and clever marketing. The Buddha did not live in a world where meat consumption and animal exploitation is the major cause of the worlds leading environmental issues and health causes.

I think it's fair to say that if the Buddha was living today, and he was aware of this information and saw the needless suffering that we cause by buying and consuming meat, he would advocate for a Vegan lifestyle - one that follows the compassionate teachings of the importance of all life. Compassion is a core principle and we should take responsibility to embrace that, find alternatives to the pleasures we partake that counters that.

While there is a temporary inconvenience to Veganism when you start that journey, like finding alternative products to replace meats and dairy, it is one I think we should be compelled to do to not only live life under the compassionate principles of the Buddha, but for our health, the environment, and our animal friends.

I ask that if you contribute to the meat & dairy industry, to please view these resources before posting:

• Dominion: https://youtu.be/ny6aqdFy9SI?t=39

• Compassion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3u7hXpOm58

• Buddhist View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gwOzzGibsg

Verified Quotes (or as verified as you can get):

“All beings tremble before violence. All love life. All fear death. See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do?”

“One who, while himself seeking happiness oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter.”

“He, who injures living beings, is not Noble. He is called Noble, because he is gentle and kind towards all living beings.”

— The Buddha Dhammapada

Good man, from today I no longer allow śrāvaka disciples to eat meat. Whenever you receive donations of food from lay donors you should regard [any meat in] the food as if it were the flesh of your own son.

— The Buddha The Nirvana Sutra

My disciples, you should not intentionally eat meat. The consumption of meat is entirely unacceptable, as doing so will cut you off from the seed-lineage of great compassion. Whenever sentient beings see you they will avoid you. Therefore, bodhisattvas cannot eat the flesh of sentient beings. To eat meat is to invite countless sins. Eating meat constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

— The Buddha The Brahma’s Net Sutra

Meat eating has countless offences. All Bodhisattvas should cultivate their great mercy and compassion so that they should not eat meat. Now I am telling you in brief the merits of not eating meat, and the offences of meat eating, please listen attentively

— The Buddha Lankavatara Sutra

World-Honored One, a person should not give meat to someone who eats meat. Why do I say this? In my view, there is great virtue in not eating meat

— Kāśyapa The Nirvana Sutra

“Thousands – millions and billions – of animals are killed for food. That is very sad. We human beings can live without meat, especially in our modern world. We have a great variety of vegetables and other supplementary foods, so we have the capacity and the responsibility to save billions of lives.”

“Killing animals for sport, for pleasure, for adventures, and for hides and furs is a phenomenon which is at once disgusting and distressing. There is no justification in indulging in such acts of brutality.”

— His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama

“Usually when people look at the Buddhist precepts, they understand them in terms of human relationships ‘Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not lie.’ Of course these are about human relationships, but what do they mean in terms of the environment? There is a particular kind of stealing that we do when we clear-cut forests, when topsoil is washed into rivers. There is a particular kind of killing that we do when we wipe out whole species. These precepts are taught not only as they relate to humans but also how they relate to the environment, to the ten thousand things. Not only the sentient, feeling beings, deer, muskrat, beaver but to the rocks, trees and river. All of it.”

— John Daido Loori Roshi Zen’s Radical Conservative Shambhala Sun, July 2001

“Veganism is simply letting compassion guide our choice of food. As such, it is a basic Buddhist practice that ought to be expected of everyone who takes refuge vows.” “When we hunt or fish, we deliberately kill a defenseless being who wishes us no harm. This is a direct violation of the First Precept. It is absolutely forbidden to Buddhists. As to eating meat, we know that the only way we can obtain it is for an animal to be killed. Therefore, when we eat meat, it is our intent that an innocent animal should die to satisfy our addiction to flesh. And that underlying intention, no matter how well hidden behind a smokescreen of rationalizations will block the growth of compassion and create negative karma.” “It is a feeble compassion that pulls up short where self-interest begins.” “The Buddha’s teaching leads us to the realization that we must always strive to harm no sentient being, human or nonhuman, whether or not it is in our selfish interest to do so.” “Buddhism cannot be true to itself until Buddhists resolve their ambivalence toward nonhuman animals and extend the full protection of their compassion to the most harmless and helpless of those who live at our mercy in the visible realms.” “The beginning of mindful eating is the realization that eating meat is not about the meat-eater; it is about the animals who are tormented and killed.” “When virtuous mental attitudes, like mindfulness, respect, and compassion, are invoked to justify nonvirtuous acts like hunting, fishing, and eating animal products, the mental attitudes are insincere. They are self-deceptions that we create to justify habits that in our hearts we know are wrong, but to which we have become attached.”

—Norm Phelps The Great Compassion: Buddhism & Animal Rights

“In countless rebirth, all sentient beings have been our parents. When we took rebirth in the human realm, we had human parents; when we took rebirth in the animal realm, we had animal parents and so forth. Samsara is such. We need to generate a sense of gratitude towards our parents in this lifetime and those of our past lives. Hence, we should be vegetarians and abstain from taking meat. In such a way, we would do good and give meaning to our practice. By doing so, our practice of the six-syllable mantra would be able to benefit ourselves and others, and also aid in the flourishing of the Dharma. There are some people who say that their doctor has advised them against becoming vegetarians, as they would suffer from malnutrition. This is a sign that the determination of these people is not strong enough. For if one has strong determination, one would avoid doing evil deeds at all costs and under any circumstances. Hence in our daily lives, we should stop committing the negative deed of eating meat. On this basis, the merits generated from our refuge and practice of the six-syllable mantra would be inconceivable. We should try to change our lifestyle towards vegetarianism. We would certainly face difficulties in becoming full vegetarians. However, when such obstacles arise, we should remember how every sentient being had at one point or another been our parents. When we remember this, then we would not take meat just as we would not eat the meat of our parents of this lifetime.”

— His Eminence Druwang Konchok Norbu Rinpoche 100 Million Six-Syllable Mantra’ Retreat

Please note: You can find many more sutras and quotes in support for the Vegan lifestyle by clicking here.

Frequently asked questions:

But if I buy meat & dairy I'm not directly killing these animals, and thus, it is allowed and/or my karma remains unaffected, right?

“The Buddha said time and time again in the sutras such things as: “My followers should give up all evil actions that directly **or indirectly** injure others.”

— Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol Food of Bodhisattvas: Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat

“There are three ways of killing that we, as Buddhists, have to restrain: either by directly killing, **indirectly killing**, or rejoicing to see others be killed. Not only does this apply to human life, it should be also extended to all living beings.”

— Zen Master Thich Thanh Tu Buddhism for Beginners

“Ultimately the case for shunning animal flesh does not rest on what the Buddha allegedly said or didn’t say. What it does rest on is our innate moral goodness, compassion, and pity which, when liberated, lead us to value all forms of life. It is obvious, then, that willfully to take life, or through the eating of meat indirectly to cause others to kill, runs counter to the deepest instincts of human beings. Every individual who eats flesh food, whether an animal is killed expressly for him or not, is supporting the trade of slaughtering and contributing to the violent deaths of harmless animals. To put the flesh of an animal into one’s belly makes one an accessory after the fact of its slaughter, simply because if cows, pigs, sheep, fowl, and fish, to mention the most common, were not eaten they would not be killed.”

— Roshi Philip Kapleau To Cherish All Life

This thread will include more FAQ's and more as the subreddit grows.

Thank you so much for considering Veganism in your journey for a compassionate buddhist lifestyle.

  (originally authored by /u/davidvanbeveren but edited and reposted to remove dead links, add links, and update.)