It Is Wise To Become A Vegetarian
Vegetarian restaurants are very common nowadays. Who is the one who promotes vegetarian food?
It was about fifteen hundred years back when Emperor Liang Wu-Ti who started this. Emperor Liang Wu-Ti was a devoted Buddhist and under his rule, he built four hundred and eighty monasteries throughout China. After reading a sutra one day, he was so touched by the Bodhisattvas for not taking any meat out of compassion.
In Buddhism, to become a vegetarian is to develop a compassionate heart to all living beings by not killing them. Somehow, it depends on individual. We know that it is rather difficult for some people to become a vegetarian even though they understand this principle.
In Buddhism, there are three conditions for those who are non-vegetarian and still taking meat. First of all, we are not supposed to be present when the animal is being slaughtered; secondly, not to hear the cries and thirdly, this animal is not specially slaughtered for my consumption. If we observe these three conditions carefully, we are really appreciated the Buddha’s wisdom and understanding. He always goes according to the interest of people by not changing their ways of living. At the same time, the Buddha also helps them to upgrade themselves morally. This is the teaching of the Buddha.
From here, we understand that learning Buddhism does not necessarily mean that we have to give up our own religious belief, our livelihood but most importantly, how do we develop our virtuous conduct? Otherwise, there will be conflicts between you and your family if you misinterpret the teachings of the Buddha. We must be grateful to the Buddha who helps to reduce our chances of killing. Even though our chances of killing have reduced but somehow, this karma has not totally eliminated. Therefore, it is wise to become a vegetarian.
