|
The following is an extract from tiandi temple mailing list: Many people know the benefits of becoming a vegetarian but making a decision is hard. "Some people think it is equally as bad to eat plants than animals.
They believe plants have a nerve system as well and if we are not to harm animals, why is it ok to eat plants."
Responses? Views?
Yeng Hao
----- I believe that plants do have a nervous system but are not in the animal class. The human digestive system is designed to be vegetarian and herbivores and although not used, we have an appendix which was needed when we used to eat grass. Meat is difficult to digest, some up to 7 days and this leads to a high bowel cancer rate in the western world especially, because it is releasing poisonous toxins while decaying within you . Meat has a lot of chemicals such as uric acid which I have found caused my arthritis and gout resulting in painful swelling in my hands. However since becoming an ova-lacto-vegetarian my gout and arthritis have disappeared in the last 4 months. It is for this reason alone that I believe it is ok to eat plants. I wonder why people bring the comparison of meat versus plants. I guess they are trying to justify their meat-eating habits. I know when I was a meat-eater I had no argument with vegetarians because my soul told me that they were correct. Yet my friends will always bring up that; "they cannot go without meat" and that; "I will become sick" and "I need iron to live"...bla...bla.. bla. All negative information! The meat industry uses the powerful medium of television to sell their product to an unsuspecting public who then believe that there is nothing wrong with meat. Meat-eaters would rather take a medical supplement to correct the symptoms of a meat-causing disease rather than give up meat which is the first cause of their problem. That is, they cure the symptom and not the cause. Will there ever be an advertisement that promotes vegetarianism only? They advertise vegetables as a supplement to meat and fish dishes only. Throughout the Beijing Olympics, westerners will be treated to so-called gastronomical delights such as, scorpions, dogs brains, snakes and other animal fare exotically cooked. Guess what? They will enjoy it and may return to their own countries and adopt these diets and make them fashionable. People will want to eat them because they will be "cool" as well. I do wonder though about Inuit (Eskimo) they have no vegetables because of the ice tundra and they live on every part of the seal, drinking the blood, eating the flesh and offal and wearing the hide. This brings me to another point. Is there karmic debt in wearing leather shoes made from the hide of animals? Thanks for listening..oops, I mean reading. Next please. Nepia James Tipene
Carol Ann Greatorex
-- Thanks Jim and Anne for your words, they help encourage me to become an ova-lacto-vegetarian. However I failed the last 2 nights and ate some meat and my body is angry at me. Strangely, I didn't enjoy the meat either. I'd like to contribute to this highly debatable topic of meat vs plant, but before I do I need to digress a little and ask a question. I have long believed in re-incarnation (long before I came to the Temple that is), and that it is also possible to re-incarnate as an animal, other than a human, if the Universe sees it as the best way to give you the experience and opportunities you need to better yourself. My understanding of Tao thus far, is that Tao supports this idea. So, does Tao also support the idea of being re-incarnated in plant form? Jeremy Kincaid
--
I believe that plants will survive when you cut them down. They will just grow again. Animals on the other hand will not survive. Animals have blood like us humans and feel the pain when they are hurt just like we humans when we accidentally cut ourselves with a knife. So mercifully, we do not kill animals just to satisfy our own taste buds. There's enough food apart from animals to sustain us in this world. As a matter of fact we only need 22 amino acids to keep our bodies healthy. 18 are produced by our own bodies. We only need 4 amino acids from food. And they are easily available in fruits and vegetables and pulses. And the fact that when somebody says that we will be weak if we don't eat meat is a fallacy. The strongest animals in this world are vegetarians. Horses, cows and elephants are just a few examples. Thank you. Chin Moi
-- Thank you Chin for what you called your "sixpence" worth, whereas I think it is more like "six million dollars" worth of wise information. I like the fact that plants can be regrown and fruit have seeds to replenish. For those wanting more info on vegetarianism, there are some excellent booklets in the Tian Di library: "VEGETARIANISM- The perfect way to a healthy & peaceful life", and "The Unfolding Truth of Man and the Universe plus Vegetarian Recipes" by S.H. Lorna Wong. The information in these booklets are based on scientific evidence and cannot be refuted. The evil is not only in lying but also in not revealing the truth. An interesting advert during the Olympics is a classic example. A well known athlete is promoting healthy activities aimed at children which is excellent, but at the end he recommends that they eat a "healthy diet" and that they should also have fruit and vegetables with that "healthy" diet. Doh! Cheers Nepia James Tipene
Carol Ann Greatorex -- I completely understand the health side of this discussion and agree with it. However, I choose to renounce meat not on the grounds of health, but rather on the grounds of happiness. Eating meat would give me pleasure, I enjoyed the taste, texture, and my skill in the kitchen, and whilst it gave me pleasure, it didn't make me happy. People would ask me if I was capable of killing the animal I ate or if I hid behind the butchers apron, and I would put on a brave face and say I was capable of killing, knowing full well that I wasn't. And I couldn't for the reasons that Chin mentioned earlier. Animals are too much like me and I see them capable of experiencing pain and emotion a similar way I would. So I was a meat eater who hid behind the butchers apron, too compassionate to do the dirty work, but discompassionate enough to pay for the faceless result. Acknowledging this and informing my friends and family of my intentions to head towards vegitarianism seems to have induced an inner calmness in me because it put an end to a battle I had forgotten I was fighting. And now that everyone knows my intentions I no longer have to worry about turning up to a dinner and only have meat presented and then try to justify eating it to preserve other peoples feelings. To the question that started this discussion, I respond with this: "I choose to eat plants instead of animals because it is the most compassion I can give to all living things, and the biggest sacrifice I can make to my diet, whilst not harming myself." Thankfull for everyone's support, Jeremy Kincaid
|
Article 
