Meat, Myself and Irony: From Carnism to Compassion (The Buddha, The Vegan and You Book 1)

Description

Sila,Samadhi and Panna (ethics, meditation and wisdom) form the foundation for all Buddhist traditions. The core of Buddhist ethics is respect for all sentient life, all beings (pali: sabbe sattva). This comes from understanding our commonality with all life. All beings want life, happiness, and not to suffer.All sentient life will fight with all their strength until their last breath in order to live. In this way we are each the same. This is why the first precept in all Buddhist traditions is respect for life, practice Ahimsa (non-harm), and do less harm. The respect for life includes the animals we consider food; pigs,chickens, fish and cows. When we consider this in regard to the 70 billion land animals raised and slaughtered on an annual basis globally, with the facts that eating animals and their secretions harms our body by being implicated in numerous diseases, is the largest factor in depletion of environmental resources,including climate change, all spiritual practitioners are informed to change our cultural habits, preferences, and food choice when it comes to eating,wearing and using animal products in any fashion. For the animals, our human life, and all life on earth we are compelled to change. In The Buddha, The Vegan and You: Part I, the author, a student and practitioner of Buddhism since 1997, shares how he changed his eating habits, improved his health, and lost weight by using various meditation practices. These meditation techniques, in conjunction with research, helped him to curb cravings and attachment to "standard American diet" foods. He reveals what it was like going from a heavy intake of animal products to a vegan diet. The book explores the role of eating meat, dairy, fish and eggs in relation to the five Buddhist Precepts on ethical behavior as well as myths and stories non-vegan and non-vegetarian Buddhists tell themselves sanctioning them to eat as they always have. These myths and stories are the same ones the author told himself, in many cases, but after careful reflection he found that his eating habits contradicted his Buddhist practice and training. The book concludes with a vegan perspective on the four powers, a Buddhist practice designed to transform ourselves and change our karma.