Vegetarianism, in the buddhist point of view

Convenhamos, é bem difícil a tarefa de explicar que você não come carne por compaixão e porque valoriza a preciosidade da vida (no caso, não somente a vida humana). O texto abaixo trata disso....

"All methods of Buddhism can be explained with the four seals – all compounded phenomena are impermanent, all emotions are pain, all things have no inherent existence, and enlightenment is beyond concepts. Every act and deed encouraged by Buddhist scriptures is based on these four truths, or seals.

In the Mahayana sutras, Buddha advised his followers not to eat meat. Not only is nonvirtuous to bring direct harm to another being, but the act of eating meat does not complement the four seals. This is because when you eat, on some level you are doing it for survival – to sustain yourself. This desire to survive is connected to wanting to be permanent, to live longer at the expense of the life of another being. If putting an animal into your mouth would absolutely guarantee na extension of your life, then, from a selfish point of view, there would be reason to do so. But no matter how many dead bodies you stuff into your mouth, you are going to die one of these days. Maybe even sooner.

One may also consume meat for bourgeois reasons – savoring caviar because it is extravagant, eating tiger´s penises for virility, consuming boiled bird´s nests to maintain youthful-appearing skin. One cannot find a more selfish act than that – for your vanity a life is extinguished. In a reverse situation, we humans cannot even bear a mosquito bite, let alone imagine ourselves confined in crowed cages with our beaks cut off waiting to be slaughetered, along with our family and friends, or being fattened up in a pen to become human burgers.

The attitude that our vanity is worth another´s life is clinging to the self. Clinging to the self is ignorance. And as we have seen, ignorance leads to pain. In the case of eating meat it also causes others to experience pain. For this reason, the Mahayana sutras describe the practice of putting oneself in the place of these creatures and refraining from eating meat out of a sense of compassion. When Buddha prohibited consumption of meat, He meant all meats. He didn´t single out beef for sentimental reasons, or pork because it´s dirty, nor did he say it´s ok to eat fish because they have no soul.”

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, in What makes you not a buddhist.

Estou terminando este livro e recomendo muito aos interessados em entender mais sobre a filosofia budista. É um ótimo guia introdutório.

Foto by Carline Piva, Tucumã, na Ilha de Marajó (Pará), em 2005.