Buddhist view on eating meat

Is it a sin for Buddhists to eat meat?

Today we hope to talk about the topic of whether it is appropriate for Buddhists to eat meat, which is a question that has arisen for many people these days. Read this article completely before coming to a conclusion about it.

The purpose of this article is not to encourage or prevent people from eating meat, but to simply and doctrinally examine this topic, which is a big issue for many people today.

The main reasons for doubting whether eating meat is suitable for Buddhists are because of eating meat; The occurrence of the evil of killing or its support, the inability to be kind to all animals and the emergence of a special virtuousness due to eating plant-based food, as well as the doubt whether nobles such as the Buddha would eat meat.

In this regard, very clear details can be obtained by using the Armagandha Sutra, Jivaka Sutra, Maha Sihanada Sutra, etc., and the Bhesajjakandha section of the Mahavagga Pali, which belongs to the Vinaya Pitaka, also outlines very valuable facts in this regard. But this article does not outline the above-mentioned sermons completely, and those who need can consult those books and know the facts.

Does eating meat encourage suicide? In order to know about this, one must have a clear understanding of how the evil of suicide occurs.

Killing an animal's life, through someone's strategy, is the evil of killing living animals, thus five (5) factors must be fulfilled for the evil of killing to occur.

1. Being a living being.

2.Feeling of being a living animal.

3.The mind that wants to kill. 

4.Formulating a plan to kill.

5.Getting killed because of that trick.

If these five elements are not complete, the fatal evil will not occur. No doubt you have heard many examples of this. Animals that are trampled to death while travelling, or animals that are caught in the flame of a lamp when lighting a lamp, etc., do not cause the evil of death. But if someone has the idea that animals will die under his feet while walking, he will commit the evil of death.

Even when lighting a lamp, if a lamp is lit with the idea that the animals will get caught in the flame and die, the number of animals that get caught in the flame and die will be killed. But if you think like this sometimes, "Mosquitoes will get caught in this flame and die." Then, even if other animals get caught in the flame and die because of the mosquitoes that die, the evil of death does not occur.

Thus it is clear how the evil of suicide occurs and the evil of suicide does not occur for any other reason. If a layman or priest claims that the evil of suicide occurs for an additional reason, it would be going beyond the word of the Buddha.

When a child is sleeping, if the mother sees a mosquito circling nearby and kills the mosquito thinking that the mosquito's bite will harm the child, then the evil of killing the mosquito will only happen to the mother who killed the mosquito. But this mosquito killed the child and it did not kill the child. In this way, the evil of killing the child does not happen because there is no command to kill this animal for me, nor any intention that it will be good if this animal is killed because of me.

It is the same with meat. Even if the meat is killed for those who eat it, if there is no order from those who eat it, or at least no good intention to kill this animal for me, then the evil of killing does not happen to the person who eats it or buys it.

Not only that, insecticides are also widely used in the production of plant foods today. Therefore, it is important to know that many animals lose their lives even if they eat a mouthful of rice. Those who think that eating meat indirectly causes fatal evil, it is worth asking whether eating a mouthful of rice can cause fatal evil.

Didn't Lord Buddha forbid meat? It can also be found from the Bhesajjakandhaya of the Mahavagga Pali that Lord Buddha forbade eating ten types of meat. Below are those ten types of meat.

1. Human meat  

2. Elephant meat

3. Horse meat 

4. Dog meat 

5. Snake meat 

6. Lion meat 

7. Tiger meat 

8. Leopard meat 

9. Bear meat 

10.cross meat

When one eats meat very greedily, evil will inevitably occur due to the greedy thoughts that have arisen for the sake of that taste. If one is greedy not only for meat but also for vegetable food, greedy and greedy thoughts which are the root of evil will come down there too. Therefore, it is very useful to eat any food without being too greedy about it.