Is it okay to buy and eat meat from hunters and killers, Fritz asked on facebook.
Quite a conundrum isn’t it? As with most matters on ethics, it can be tricky to simply draw a line and divide things into black and white. My reply
below. 🙂
Tag: Food
七个包子的故事
从前有两个志同道合的朋友，麦佳柔泥和佳碧。 有一天，他们俩约好一起吃午餐。由于佳碧知道麦佳柔泥从小就喜欢吃包子，所以两人不约而同地决定午餐就吃包子！佳碧给自己点了一个大包，也为好朋友点了一样的大包。
那一天，麦佳柔泥非常饿，很快地就把大包给吃完了。但是他还是觉得有点饿，便请佳碧为他点多一个大包。吃完了第二个大包之后，麦佳柔泥还是觉得有点饿，又再一次请佳碧为他点多一个大包。。。就这样，麦佳柔泥吃了第三个大包，第四个大包，第五个大包，第六个大包，一直到第七个大包。
这时候，佳碧不禁松了一口气，心想：我的好兄弟终于吃饱了，没想到他的胃口竟然那么大。。。但是麦佳柔泥似乎有些心思。
“好朋友，你在想什么？是不是要我再点多一个大包啊？”
“我在想。。。我是吃了第七个包子才觉得饱。早知如此，我就不该吃了前六个大包，只吃第七个包子就好了呀！”
“别傻了！你是因为吃了前六个大包，再吃第七个大包才觉得饱！”
“真的吗？但是我吃了第一个包子后还是觉得饿， 吃了第二个还是觉得饿，第三个, 第四个, 第五个和第六个也不例外。直到吃了第七个大包后，才觉得饱的呀！”
朋友们，想一想你拥有的技能或能力。不论它是多么的微小或独特，它必须是你所拥有的。这个技能或能力并非是我们一出世就拥有的，所以回想一下你是如何地培训这个技能或能力。是谁在你的身边帮助了你？你在培训当中需要些什么资源吗？又是谁帮助了你获得这些资源呢？是你自己争取到的，还是他人给你的，或者是他人把它卖给你的？
这个技能或能力，你是从某个人，某本书或网页学习到的呢？若你能够明白使用的语文，还能依然地学习吗？就如阅读这篇文章，你若没有学习华语，便无法阅读甚至明白这篇文章。因此，学习华语是阅读与及明白这篇文章的一个先决条件。
对于大多数人来说，你会发现，几乎所有我们今天所拥有的能力不仅仅是我们自己努力的结果，而是经过我们自己的努力与及很多很多个人，组织，资源的功劳。但是往往，我们不认识这些人，甚至对他们浑然不觉。
当我们反思我们今天的成就，我们可能会感激我们生活中的少数的几个人。但是，当我们更深一层地反思，我们便会意识到我们就像故事里的麦佳柔泥，把成功全归结到最后一个人或团体。事实上，错综复杂的相互关联的依赖关系只能进行建模或抽象的居多，而即使是这样，我们简单的生活其实涉及到很多个别的因素而成就的。
今天，我们庆祝教师节。但是我们要明白，我们生活中的老师不仅仅是课室里的老师而已。就如七个包子的故事，我们生活中的每一个人都教过了我们某些东西，多亏他们的功劳，我们才会拥有今天的成就。我们应该向佳碧学习，感恩我们生活中的每一个教师。解决饥饿不单单是第七个包子的功劳。
在中阿含《连车经》，舍利弗尊者(Ven. Sariputra)及菩那尊者（Ven. Punna）一樣的思择七种清净法，各为彼缘后而究竟解脱涅槃。经中，菩那尊者用了七连车為比喻，述说了波斯匿憍萨罗王（King Pasenadi Kosala）以七连车从舍卫城（Savatthi）到沙只城（Saketa）去。国王并非以任何一辆车抵达目的地，而是以七连车通行。这部经也就以此喻而得名。
所以，我的朋友啊，仔细看看你的生活。联想一下七个包子的故事，要感恩帮助你成长和成熟的老师们。我们要感激许多人，朋友和陌生人，大，中，小，看到的和看不见的，近及远。
让我们用爱和同情，发出内心的感激和喜悦，祝每个老师教师节快乐！
汉译：燏
参照
- Majjhima Nikaya 24 PTS: M i 145 中阿含《连车经》
Ratha-vinita Sutta: Relay Chariots ~ translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.024.than.html
- Image courtesy of http://www.foodmayhem.com/2008/02/wei-chuan-mini-buns.html
You Put a Baby in a Crib with an Apple and a Rabbit … …
“You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit.
If it eats the rabbit and plays with the rabbit* apple,
I’ll buy you a new car.”
~ Harvey Diamond ~
Interestingly, I thought of a similar comparison earlier on and wrote a blog entry on http://buddhavacana.net/2012/01/21/which-would-you-eat-carrots-or-rabbit/
* How many of you spotted this? Thanks to a nice friend who pointed this out! 😮
Which Would You Eat? Carrots or Rabbit?
I’ve met some folks who shared their thoughts on vegetarianism with me. They reason that vegetables are alive as well and if Buddhists do not eat animals out of compassion and do not wish to have a living thing killed for their food, they should not eat vegetables as well.
I present to you Carrots and Rabbit.
I know, I know. This is an imbalanced comparison. For most people who are omnivores would not eat rabbits anyway. But the principle is this. Given a choice, which would you pick?
Between vegetables and animals, when I ask a number of people to choose one to kill, cook and eat, most people would choose to eat carrots. The answer is unanimously because it is easier to ‘kill’ carrots, cook and eat it. When asked further, why it is easier to ‘kill’ carrots, they replied that because it is comparatively less alive than the rabbit. I’ve not had one person choose carrots simply
because they don’t eat rabbits. But I digress.
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How about the following? Is it because we have been conditioned to accept certain living beings as food for the table?
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Or is it because both do not exhibit life? Is that why it is somewhat easier for people to choose between carrots and meat?
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References
Pictures from the following respective sites
http://vegetablezone.blogspot.com/2011/04/carrots-daucus-carota.html
http://www.wallcoo.net/animal/rabbit/html/wallpaper29.html
http://sylbestine.blogspot.com/2007/11/luncheon-meatbanned.html
Denying Mental Qualities to Animals In Order to Eat Them
New research by Dr Brock Bastian from UQ’s School of Psychology highlights the psychological processes that people engage in to reduce their discomfort over eating meat.
This paper will be published in an upcoming edition of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, where Dr Bastian and his co-authors show that people deny mental qualities to animals they eat.
“Many people like eating meat, but most are reluctant to harm things that have minds. Our studies show that this motivates people to deny minds to animals,” Dr Bastian said.
More after the link http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/11437/Denying-mental-qualities-animals-order-eat-them
SAY NO to Sharks’ Fin Soup, SAY NO to Cruelty.
I am not advocating vegetarianism as a religious practice or mandate. Rather I am saying, do we really have to placate our palates in such a manner that requires much suffering in other sentient living beings?
SAY NO to Sharks’ Fin Soup, SAY NO to Cruelty.
Before you eat or order your next bowl of Sharks Fin soup, please watch the following video past 5mins … I’ve not eaten Sharks’ Fin soup for probably over a decade now … watching how these animals are slaughtered for their fins and mostly thrown back into sea to die … mostly suffocating, as the sharks cannot swim without the fins … I feel so :(((
This is not about this or that precepts or whatever. This is about basic humaneness and non-cruelty. I screamed out when I saw the baby shark being stepped on and have its face / mouth sliced open while it struggled. :(((( *weep*
Some people comment that other forms of killing are as inhumane and cruel, if not more. To that, I say that we then have to eat responsibly, to the best of our knowledge and ability.
Gordon Ramsay eats Shark Fin Soup for the first time!
Gordon Ramsey: Shark Bait