I've had this thought rolling around in my head for a few days now and I thought I might as well get it out. I was thinking about how many people assume that Buddhism requires one to be vegetarian in order that we not kill any animals. It turns out that The Buddha was not a strict vegetarian, but would eat meat if presented to him as a guest. However, only if it were not slaughtered for him specifically [See here for more as it gets somewhat sticky]. This brought up the thought that many vegetarians (and non-vegetarians) think that it is better to eat plants than it is to eat animals. I disagree with this view; not because we should kill animals, but because we should view all life as equally valuable.
How can we judge the worth of any living creature, "conscious" or otherwise. When a plant senses something that is detrimental to itself, does it not grow in another direction? Just because plants and other non-animal creatures do not have many similarities to us does not mean they are not worthy of life.
My point in this post is not to say that we should live off dust and rocks, but that we should thank and respect any creature who gave it's life to grow ours. And in that respect does it really matter whether we eat meat or not? I agree with moderation in all things, but to essentially say that an animal's life is more worthwhile than a plant's seems to be against what most people think of as the philosophy of vegetarianism.
I'm not going to get into fruitarianism as that seems a bit overboard. Death is a natural process of life and I don't think we should feel the need to not kill anything, but we should certainly treat every living thing with respect. That means sustainable practices and humane treatment. In general I think we should all try to eat less and not gorge ourselves; eat more slowly so that we may enjoy our food and be mindful of how it came to be in front of us; and of course, before eating take a moment to be thankful to the living beings who gave their lives so that we may be sustained. And one more thing, every once in a while turn off the TV and enjoy the company of others around the table or the company of ourselves when no one else is around. Just by being mindful and enjoying life we pay tribute to those creatures who gave us so much.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
A Fitting Quote
I find it interesting that a man who has seen so much power and conquered so many people had this to say near the end of his life:
"Do you know what astonished me most in the world? The inability of force to create anything. In the long run, the sword is always beaten by the spirit."
--Napoleon Bonaparte
"Do you know what astonished me most in the world? The inability of force to create anything. In the long run, the sword is always beaten by the spirit."
--Napoleon Bonaparte
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
On Loving 'Me'
While in the last post I spoke about how there is no me, I'm going to somewhat contradict that in this post. I'm not talking about the selfish kind of me, but about loving myself. In an odd way, only by realizing that there is no self can we learn to love ourselves. And only by loving ourselves can we learn to love each other.
This past weekend was somewhat tough. I found myself falling back into anxiety and unhappiness. I wanted to get so much done, but somehow I kept finding excuses to push off work. Every time I would push off work the little voice in the back of my head would shame me for not doing work. I kept striving after that calm, loving feeling I had grown into with my new meditative practices. I would tell myself, "If I just go to yoga today, then everything will be better. I'll get work done after that." However, my yoga practice didn't go well and so again I strove for that calmness by taking a meditative walk. But each time I tried for that calm, happiness I was confounded.
Today, however, I left the lab 20 minutes early and took a slow walk towards my class. I left my responsibilities behind and enjoyed the sunshine, the smell of flowers, the strength of the cedar trees along the path. I remembered how beautiful the campus is and I tried to extend that love that I felt to everyone I saw (which is a lot of people now that school is back in session). This made me feel much better and I was able to get to back to work after class. I attributed this change to my extending love outward, but I now think that there was also a vital piece that I wasn't taking into account: loving myself.
By finally letting go of the shame I had for myself at not getting work done I was able to bring peace and calm to myself. I hadn't realized that the reason I didn't want to work was because I was afraid of failing. Ironically enough, I was afraid of not getting the work done. As soon as I was able to break the cycle of shaming myself, I was able to be productive.
I believe, for me personally, this is my biggest issue to overcome. I need to be able to accept me for who I am. I get distracted and that's fine, but shaming myself for it is only making the problem worse. I'm finally learning to realize when I'm becoming distracted and come back to the now, not berate myself for it. As many Buddhist and meditative teachers say, imagine those toughest to love as they were when they were children and you will learn to love them as you would a child. I need to remember that I was once a child and still am in many ways. No one is infallible and the sooner I see myself in the same way the sooner I will be able to truly love others (and get some work done :).
This past weekend was somewhat tough. I found myself falling back into anxiety and unhappiness. I wanted to get so much done, but somehow I kept finding excuses to push off work. Every time I would push off work the little voice in the back of my head would shame me for not doing work. I kept striving after that calm, loving feeling I had grown into with my new meditative practices. I would tell myself, "If I just go to yoga today, then everything will be better. I'll get work done after that." However, my yoga practice didn't go well and so again I strove for that calmness by taking a meditative walk. But each time I tried for that calm, happiness I was confounded.
Today, however, I left the lab 20 minutes early and took a slow walk towards my class. I left my responsibilities behind and enjoyed the sunshine, the smell of flowers, the strength of the cedar trees along the path. I remembered how beautiful the campus is and I tried to extend that love that I felt to everyone I saw (which is a lot of people now that school is back in session). This made me feel much better and I was able to get to back to work after class. I attributed this change to my extending love outward, but I now think that there was also a vital piece that I wasn't taking into account: loving myself.
By finally letting go of the shame I had for myself at not getting work done I was able to bring peace and calm to myself. I hadn't realized that the reason I didn't want to work was because I was afraid of failing. Ironically enough, I was afraid of not getting the work done. As soon as I was able to break the cycle of shaming myself, I was able to be productive.
I believe, for me personally, this is my biggest issue to overcome. I need to be able to accept me for who I am. I get distracted and that's fine, but shaming myself for it is only making the problem worse. I'm finally learning to realize when I'm becoming distracted and come back to the now, not berate myself for it. As many Buddhist and meditative teachers say, imagine those toughest to love as they were when they were children and you will learn to love them as you would a child. I need to remember that I was once a child and still am in many ways. No one is infallible and the sooner I see myself in the same way the sooner I will be able to truly love others (and get some work done :).
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