Burning Quest - Part 33

I had always thought that true Buddhists never ate meat of any kind.  I stand corrected by Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda from what he says in his book What Buddhists Believe.  He says legalists, yes, strictly stick with vegetables.  However, he goes on to say that eating

 "fish and meat by itself does not make people become impure" (Page 281).  

It is rather 

"evil thoughts and actions" 

that make a person impure.

The main advice the author gives is that Buddhists

 "should not be involved in killing intentionally or ask others to kill any living being for them" (Page 282).   

However they may eat that which has been killed so long as it was not expressly for them.  For example, any chicken or fish, etc from the market would be ambiguous enough as to who killed what for whom.

Sri Dhammananda said that Buddha said,

 "As Buddhism is a free religion...leave the decision regarding vegetarianism to the individual disciple (Page 282).

The book further denotes,

 "Buddha declared that it is not what goes into a persons mouth that pollutes, it is what comes out" (Page 283).

He continues, 

"The destruction of greed should be the primary aim, not the kind of food that is taken" [eaten] (Page 284).

The Holy Bible Scriptures talk about those who restrict people from eating certain foods, that those foods should actually be received with thanksgiving to God Who provides the food (1 Timothy 4:3).

Another verse, Colossians 2:23 ESV, tells us that such restrictions,

"...indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of their body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh."

The Bible reiterates that,

"A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it" (Matthew 15:11).

If you back way up to Genesis 1:29, you see that God told Adam and Eve that He gave them plants and trees with fruit to eat.  Later on in Genesis 9:3, God adds, 

"every moving thing that is alive shall be food..."

Later God stipulates that only the completely 

"cloven -footed, cud-chewing animals (Deuteronomy 14:7); 

and those with fins and scales from the waters (Leviticus 11:10-12), should be eaten.  They were also not to 

"eat blood of animals, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat" (Deuteronomy 12:23 ESV).

For the first Gentile Christians, the issue of having to be circumcised came up.  A contingent of brothers went to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles on the matter.  They concurred that 

"Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood" (Acts 15:20).

However, Scripture does leave the eating of meat up to the individual and neither those who eat, nor those who do not, should hold the other in contempt (Romans 14:3; Colossians 2:16).

It is good to clarify  here that this eating of meat only refers to animals, insects, birds, and fish, NOT of killing of human beings and eating of their flesh.  That would be most wicked.  On this score, I do still feel surprised that, as stated in the opening sentences above, that vegetarianism is left up to the individual Buddhist.  This, because if one truly believes that Buddhist rebirth means that the mental continuum of one creature and/or human being can be transferred to another:  man or beast, then it stands to reason why they would be strict vegetarians.

That aspect aside, it is true that our thoughts will govern our actions.   The input into our thoughts governs our thoughts.  It is wise then to guard what we allow to be put into our minds; filter out what does not honor God.  When we read and meditate upon God's Word, memorize it, and hide it in our hearts, and obey it, allowing it to guard and guide our thoughts and intents of mind and heart,  we will be less likely to sin against God and others.  

"...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:8) .

We will have more pure thoughts and actions.  These will not be upon our own effort alone, but by the Word of God and God's Holy Spirit providing His dynamic power for the self-control, and courage, needed to purify our thoughts and actions.  

We can praise God then and give Him grateful thanks with clear and clean conscience for whatever food we chose to eat.

                                                       ~ERC August 2018~

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