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Vegetarianism
Every so often I have had reason to look at this
subject, and ask myself whether I feel a person should be vegetarian…. After
all, I am.
However, I know enough not to believe that just
because something is right for me, that it must be right for everybody.
I look at the question again here because a few
days ago I received an email from a visitor to our site asking if I am
vegetarian. I replied saying yes, but that I was not sure whether one has to
be, elaborating by saying that I have a very good friend in India who is
Enlightened and who is not vegetarian. I received a one line reply saying
simply “Trust me - your friend in India cannot be enlightened if he eats
God's innocent animals!”. So, here I will see if I can answer the question…
Does one need to be a vegetarian to be Enlightened?
First I will look at why I have chosen to not
eat meat:
1) I have always been very sensitive to people
and animals and would never want to hurt another animal if I can avoid it,
in any way. As soon as I left home (at the age of 21) and was able to
arrange my own food, I stopped eating meat.
2) But also the fact that my own teacher was
vegetarian, or at least only vegetarian food was served at the meetings, and
as a result I am sure I was influenced to follow this example, until it
became the norm in me.
Considering the above, what if a person had not
followed the example of a teacher who was vegetarian; and what if they were
not overly sensitive to people and animals, and for whom Enlightenment came
pretty much without effort – meaning that they did not have to scrutinise
what was the best course of action in order to achieve the state of being
they sought? Would Enlightenment really still happen in the above case? And
if so, would a person suddenly have a ‘Road to Damascus’ type realisation,
whereby they would suddenly change their eating habits, and perhaps their
whole way of life, to accompany their new found way of being?
My own experience is that I struggled and fought
for many years to realise and become what I have, but when it happened here,
I did not change. I carried on just as I had beforehand. Sure, I had been
changing all the time, but when I had the ‘final step’, nothing changed
beyond the knowledge or sense of being within.
One aspect of enlightenment that is often hard
for non-Enlightened people to comprehend is the lack of morals inherent in
being Enlightened or ‘Awake’. My own view is that one’s morals – or the lack
of – continue into Enlightenment. A ‘nice’ person remains nice, whilst a
not-so-nice person is unlikely to suddenly become so just because they
realise that they are the being that is creating all that they experience.
In fact, it could be argued by the latter that nothing matters at all as
nothing really exists, so they can do whatever they like with few, if any
real consequences!
Then we have the average chap (let’s say) who
has become Enlightened without focussed effort – or with effort of a
different kind - who is a decent chap and lives like most people around him;
including the eating of meat. It is his history and his culture, and
everybody’s doing it.
Culture plays a big part in this. I have the
advantage of having plenty of choice about what I eat, visiting the large
supermarkets etc. I can even shop online from different stores and have my
shopping delivered without even leaving the house. What if, in another part
of the world, they do not have the facilities, or the money to have this
choice? Are we going to say that this means the people cannot be
Enlightened? Who has the right to decide this?
From a scientific (barely) point of view, it is
said that meat requires more energy to digest, thus eating it makes one
heavier on an inner level. It is also said that ‘Real Red Blooded Men’ would
eat meat, while softie pansy types (more sensitive) may not do so. If this
is true, whether there is a cause and effect relationship or just the way it
usually works, I am not sure; but certainly the fact that a person has
chosen not to eat animals suggests a greater sensitivity towards animals,
and perhaps life in general (but not necessarily).
As I said before, I have always been extra
sensitive with regards animals and had a sort of affinity with them (as well
as with people), and this has not left me. In fact, I have found a greater
appreciation for life developing in me, going as far as stopping to remove
worms and snails off the path to avoid them getting stepped on. But whether
this is part of my Enlightenment or just part of the developing character of
Nick Roach, I don’t know.
In the hope of finding a solution to the
problems we face in daily life, we are often led to a spiritual or religious
figure of some sort who demonstrates to us how we should be living in order
to find inner peace. Such figures tend to have a background in religious
teachings, and thus pass on the religious and established traditions as to
how we should live, along with their teachings. However, while their
lifestyle may well suit them, and their country of origin, there is no
reason why they would suit another’s, living in a totally different country
and society; and what’s more, it may have nothing at all to do with the
insights of realisations they are teaching. Their activities and practices
are simply what they do and have always done, while they are living -
whether Enlightened or otherwise.
Having said the above, I am reminded of the
story of Jesus, who is supposed to be the Son of God, but who, to me, was an
Enlightened man, fed the 40,000 with loaves and fish. Now, had he been
vegetarian himself, and promoted this, it would be unlikely that he would
have gone out of his way to make such a miracle as to feed all those people
fish. (For the record, I make no claims about the accuracy of the story;
instead showing the that it is unlikely even Jesus was vegetarian).
Also, one new piece of information that
surprised me recently, was to find that many Buddhists are not vegetarian,
and on reading into this further, it seems the Buddhist teachings about
eating meat vary too. For some, it is indeed a big No-No. But for others, it
is only advisable to avoid eating meat where they are able. There is even a
sutra (teaching from the Buddha) which recommends avoiding the eating of
only certain animals, in order to prevent offending people; and for others
they are not permitted to turn away any food that is offered to them, even
if it is meat, unless the animal was killed specifically for them to eat -
in which case it is considered impure and should not be touched.
A more detailed history of vegetarianism in
Buddhism can be found here :
Buddhist vegetarianism - Wikipedia
The point in all the above is, just because we
see a certain Enlightened individual living or behaving in a certain way,
that does not necessarily mean that all Enlightened individuals must live or
behave the same way.
Likewise, just as not all Enlightened people
will be vegetarian, not all vegetarians will be Enlightened. :o)
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