Expert: Bodhicitta - 8/13/2006

Question
Dear Bodhicitta,

Can you please explain to me why the Tibetan monks can eat meat ?
Because as far as i know , some teaching in Buddhism say that eating meat will contribute more negative karma to a person whether the animals are killed by the eaters directly or indirectly .
Example: we go to order a plate of chicken rice in a restaurant  , we are indirectly encouraging people to kill chickens to serve the potential customers in the market .
Please help me to clear my confusion .
Thank you very much.  

Answer
i am not sure i can add more to my previous two answers.But I will try one last answer. This issue
is often an emotional issue. You clearly feel it is good to be vegatarian.

As I said you are killing countless beings all the time
by just breathing and moving around. So these issues
are complex. To grow rice fields are flooded and
mainly rodents, animals and insects are killed.
If we all decided not to eat meat all farm animals would
be killed as they would have no commercial value.


One important thing in Buddhism is what vows you take,
and whether you keep those vows or not.

Some Buddhists take vows not to eat meat. Some don't
both are valid paths of Buddhism. The point of Buddhism
is not being a good citizen in an ordinary way. It is
finding out truth, awakening, and finding out the truth.Through this truth we could really help suffering beings in a very vast way.

Bodhicitta