Expert: Justin Choo - 11/14/2005

Question
In one of the five precepts, it is said that Buddhists are supposed to abstain from destroying living creatures. Does this mean that Buddhists are also supposed to abstain from eating meat or meat by products?

Answer
Hi Megan,

Thank you for asking me.

The first precept is traditionally translated as:
" I undertake the precept of refraining from killing living beings."

A person is fully responsible for the killing if the following 5 conditions are present or fulfilled:
1. there is a living being
2. knowledge of this living being
3. intention to kill this living being
4. act of killing this living being
5. this living being is dead because of the act of killing.

It is now very clear that eating meat is NOT killing.

The world is surrounded by good and bad things. It is the very nature of this world to be such. That was why the Buddha led us to SEE the real nature of this world. Once we realize this truth, we will gradually come to terms with this contradiction, the dichotomy of good and bad. The Buddha referred this as "Dukkha". It is always this Dukkha that we have to live and contend with. If you watch the National Geographic programme, you will see this Dukkha overpowering our lives. Every moment, when a life lives, another life has to be sacrificed. This is great Dukkha. But we are blind to this fact. We ignorantly think that we can live without others dying for us.   

The idea of not eating meat is to avoid KILLING. When we eat meat we are eating DEAD meat. Of course there is some justification to say that we are encouraging others to kill when we eat meat. If anyone feels that way, then there is no commandment from the Buddha that he or she must eat meat. By all means eat only vegetables. One thing for sure, you will be very healthy.

Vegetarianism and killing are two very different concepts. Killing means the taking of life. Vegetarianism is to  refrain from eating meat. A lot of people misconstrue vegetarianism with "not killing". Likewise, they also accuse those who eat meat as encouraging killing, if not committing killing itself. Eating meat means eating "dead flesh". The animal is already dead. If the person who eats the meat does not kill the animal, how can we accuse him of killing?

The dietician will tell you that you are what you eat. The fashion designer will tell you that you are what you wear. The Buddha told us that we are what we think, speak, and act. You see the difference?

Smile from justinchoo :-)