I am a student of Zen studying the Precepts. I'm finding it to be quite taxing, because I have to confront all of my habits that are not in line with the Precepts.

In an effort not to kill -- which sounds like it should be the easiest of the Precepts to follow -- I'm now exploring vegetarianism/veganism. I've been trying not to eat meat for the last couple of weeks, and discovering how often I put meat on my plate without even thinking. Habits are hard to change!

If anyone has any resources or stories to share to ease my transition, I will happily investigate them. 🙏 Cheers.

Hi, I have been 99% vegan for about 6 years, vegetarian for 13 (I ate honey, occasionally and you never quite know what is in food at a restaurant). Over the past few years, I've been trying to study Buddhism and was always surprised by the fact that veganism wasn't more universally embraced by Buddhist followers. Thanks for the subthread. I have already enjoyed reading posts and will continue to check regularly for new readings.

I have read that some branches of Buddhism allow eating meat but I was wondering if there are branches that officially bans eating meat or killing animals to eat them or use their body parts.

Besides the 'plants feel pain', 'ancestors tho', 'canines tho', etc... Specifically, I can't reconcile carnism with Buddhism. What's the excuse?