Vegetarianism and the Major World Religions A Presentation by Sandpoint Vegetarians June 13, 2010.

Vegetarianism and the Major World Religions

A Presentation by Sandpoint VegetariansJune 13, 2010

Etymology

Spiritual: comes from Latin spiritus meaning “breath”, “vigor”, or “life”Vegetarian: comes from Greek vegetas meaning “full of the breath of life”

Carnal & Carnivorous: come from Latin carnis meaning “flesh”In Hebrew meat (basar) stems from shame (bet), corruption (sin) and worms (resh)In Sanskrit pashu-ghna can apply to both “meat-eater” and “one who commits suicide”

Almost all world religions emphasize spiritual growth over the world of flesh

At The Heart of Religions

Love, mercy and compassion are the avowed spiritual goals of all major religious traditions

Vegetarianism is NOT advocated because of purity or dietary considerations but because of mercy and compassion for all living beings

The older the religion the closer it is to advocacy of vegetarianism

Religion and Animal Sacrifice

“I am full of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of the goats…” – Isaiah 1.11

“I will have mercy and not sacrifice.” – Hosea 6.6, Matthew 9:13, Matthew 12:7

“Maim not the brute beasts.” – Prophet Muhammed

“Because he has pity on every living creature, therefore a person is called holy.” – Dhammapada

"In this Age of Kali, five acts are forbidden: the offering of a horse in sacrifice, the offering of a cow in sacrifice,…” – CC Adi 17.164

Animal sacrifice, a true depravity, became a convenient vehicle for people to circumvent the religious prohibitions against killing animals and to indulge their desire to eat flesh.

Eastern Religions

Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism

Based on the Vedas from 3000 B.C.

Not necessarily monotheistic

Common theme is universal ahimsa (nonviolence)

They condemn not only those who eat meat but those who assist in slaughtering, buying, selling and even those who serve meat

“Ahimsa is the highest duty”. – Padma Purana 1.31.27

Jainism

Vegetarianism is integral to Jains whose cardinal teaching is ahimsa (nonviolence) and believe it is wrong to kill or harm any living being. All Jains are strict vegetarians

Jains comprise less than 1% of India’s population but contribute more than half of all the money donated in India to provide medical and other social assistance to India’s poor

Jains are also famous for their animal hospitals

"All breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away. This is the pure

unchangeable law." – Sutrakritanga Sutra

Hinduism

Universal compassion abundantly found in Vedic literature

Vedas promote devotion to the good of all creatures over devotion to the good of humanity

Eating meat involves killing and leads to karmic bondage

A notion of the equality of souls and the soul is the same no matter what body it inhabits (contrast: dogs as pets versus pigs as food)

Vegetarianism from the Vedas is the awareness that all living beings are spiritually equal

“Having well considered the origin of flesh-foods, and the cruelty of fettering and slaying corporeal beings, let humans entirely abstain from eating flesh”. – Manusmriti 5.49

Buddhism

Buddhism was a response to the central purpose of the Vedas which was devotion to the supreme being and not the mass slaughter of animals in sacrifice

Buddha extended compassion to everything that lives

The first precept of Buddhism is: “ Do not kill but rather preserve and cherish all life.”

The bodhisattva (enlightened soul) should refrain from eating flesh – born of blood and dying in terror

When intent superceded action then meat eating became acceptable among Buddhists (“it was already killed so I ate it”)

In Japan the deeply religious still consider meat-eating to be a lower activity

“The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion.” – Mahaparinirvana Sutra

Taoism

Taoism holds nature as sacred

The Tao Te Ching teaches that simplicity promotes peace and protects nature

The production of meat is too yang (too aggressive) it involves extreme and unnecessary impact on nature

Taoist simplicity encourages a diet of vegetables, grain and fruit

Famous Taoist Master Li Han-Kung prohibited “those who consume meat” from his holy mountain

“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.” – Lao Tzu

Abrahamic Religions

Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Baha’i Faith

Monotheistic having origins in Judaism

Foundational event is the covenant with Abram

They all portray an all powerful, all loving God who holds Earth and all its Life as a good and holy Creation

“Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to every beast of the Earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the Earth, wherein there is a living soul, I have given every green herb for meat” – Genesis 1:29

Judaism

From Adam to Noah the people of Israel were veganMidrash has many Jewish heroes and heroines being chosen by God because they showed compassion to animalsThere are numerous injunctions on the proper treatment of animals and causing them the least pain and harmThe original kosher laws were formed to cause animals as little pain as possible – vegetarianism is a logical extensionJewish dietary laws only apply to animal foods – all fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed grains are kosherIt is literally impossible to remove blood from meat (= not kosher)On Yom Kippur no leather shoes are allowed in the synagogueMany Jewish thinkers have adopted vegetarianism in preparation for a return of the Messiah and a return to an Edenic state

“You who have compassion for a lamb shall be the shepherd of my people Israel” – Exodus Rabbah 2, Midrash

Christianity

The original injunction in Eden was for a vegan diet

A second attempt was made with the Manna diet when fleeing Egypt

The Spirit of God is in all living beings: “When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.” – Psalm 104 29:30

That Jesus ever ate meat is questionable and disputed

Christian tradition is replete with vegetarian followers, saints and vegetarian orders: James the apostle, the Desert Fathers, Clement of Alexandria, St. John Chrysostom, Tertullian, Origen, Cathars, Trappists, Benedictines, Carthusians, Franciscans, Ellen White (7th Day Adventists), John Wesley (Methodists), the Booths, Mister Rogers☺

“Thou shalt not kill” – Exodus 20:13

Christianity (contd.)

Very strong advocacy of vegetarianism among early Christians such as Ebionites, Essenes (Gospel of Peace), Gnostics, Nazarenes (The Gospel of the Holy Twelve)

In contemporary Christian traditions the Seventh Day Adventist church recommends vegetarianism and requires adherence to kosher laws

Mormonism condemns killing animals unless absolutely necessary and even then flesh is to be consumed sparingly

The Bible envisions a return to vegan Eden: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.” – Isaiah 11:6 (plus a little something about swords being beaten into ploughshares)

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.” – Luke 12:6

Islam

113 of the Koran’s 114 chapters begin with “Allah is merciful and compassionate”It’s instructive that when on pilgrimage to Mecca, after donning the shroud, there is absolutely no killing of any living creature allowed (not even mosquitoes!)Mohammed preferred vegetarian foods. He even instructed those who eat meat to wash out their mouths before going to pray.The prophet often entreated his followers to show kindness to animalsLike Judaism the Islamic dietary laws (halaal) serve only to curtail the eating of flesh – halaal is also practically impossibleSufi mystic, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen spoke about the slaughterer of animals, “He has to look into the animal’s eyes, he has to watch the tears of the animal, and he has to watch the animal’s eyes until it dies – hopefully his heart will change”.The imperative is that Muslims seek compassion and mercy by first minimizing the number of animals killed and then give it up altogether

“There is not an animal on the Earth, nor a flying creature flying on two wings, but they are peoples like unto you.” – Koran, Surah 6:38

Baha’i Faith

Reverence for and protection of nature is a central Baha’i tenet

Abdu’l-Baha also said, “Truly, the killing of animals and the eating of their meat is contrary to pity and compassion, and if one can content oneself with cereals, fruit, oil and nuts… it would undoubtedly be better and more pleasing”.

“You must not only have kind and merciful feelings for humankind, but you should also exercise the utmost kindness towards every living creature.” – Abdu’l-Baha

The Bedrock of All Religions

The Golden Rule

• Vedas: This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause

you pain if done to you (Mahabharata 5.1517)

• Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful (Udana-Varga 5.18)

• Confucianism: Surely it is the maxim of loving kindness: Do not unto others

that which you would not have them do unto you (Analects 15.23)

• Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow men (Talmud, Shabbat,

31a)

• Christianity: So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to

you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12)

• Islam: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which

he desires for himself (Sunnah, Hadith)

A Vision For World Peace

“By not killing any living being, one becomes fit for salvation” –

Manusmriti, 6.60

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured

by the way in which its animals are treated”. – Mahatma Gandhi

“For behold, I create new Heavens and a new Earth and the former

shall not be remembered… and they shall plan vineyards and eat

the fruit of them… the wolf and the lamb shall feed together and

the lion shall eat straw like the bullock. They shall not hurt nor

destroy in all My holy mountain.” – Isaiah 65:17-25

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God Owns Earth!“The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” – Psalm 24:1

“Earth must become Heaven So That God Can Find A Home Here.” – Meister Eckhart, 13th Century Mystic

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The Peaceable Kingdom

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