{"id":358,"date":"2008-07-18T20:00:34","date_gmt":"2008-07-19T01:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.1.99:8888\/blog\/2007\/06\/13\/1181751512264.html#comment1216429234580"},"modified":"2008-07-18T20:00:34","modified_gmt":"2008-07-19T01:00:34","slug":"comment-re-the-dalai-lamas-rider-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.morinfamily.com\/?p=358","title":{"rendered":"[Comment] Re: The Dalai Lama's "Rider""},"content":{"rendered":"

.. like most people who value human relationships over tradition, [he] will eat meat if it is served to him in good faith..<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I don't think the concept of doing no harm, is based purely on "tradition", it is more about feeling empathy and compassion for other beings.. Thus I would have thought this was the driving force behind a buddhist's choice to not eat flesh.<\/p>\n

… I come to your house for dinner. You do not know that I am a Buddhist and vegetarian. You serve me a steak. Because I value your personal comfort and friendship more than a beef that has already been killed, and that was not killed for my personal benefit, I will eat (and enjoy) the steak.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I honestly think this is a bit of a cop out.. I mean, of course, all beef has "already been killed", and rarely is it specifically for anyone in particulars personal benefit..<\/p>\n

\nWhat you are saying is that if you as a buddhist, find yourself sitting down for dinner with a tribe of cannibals you would gladly share and enjoy eating human flesh too, if it is offered to you, and no questions are asked..<\/p>\n

\nIt seems like you don't understand that a vegetarian does not eat flesh.. If there are circumstances that you do, then frankly you are not a vegetarian. You may eat predominantly vegetarian food, but clearly you are happy and willing to make exceptions..<\/p>\n

..There is no need to be extreme; it gains nothing, and causes unhappiness.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Making an ethical stance that you do not wish under any circumstances to support the flesh trade should not be considered as extreme. It is a choice we are all capable of making, and potentially labeling it "extreme" does not really help anyone.<\/p>\n

\nLET him not destroy, or cause to be destroyed, any life at all,
or sanction the acts of those who do so<\/b>.
* Let him refrain from even hurting any creature,
** both those that are strong, and those that tremble in the world.<\/i>
\n(Dhammika Sutta, v. 19)<\/b> <\/p>\n

\nI think the Dalai Lama, as do many other buddhists, fails to understand this concept, and attempts to justify his actions by making unfair comparisons – Hiding or playing down the cold hard bloody facts with misleading words – tradition vs human relationship.<\/p>\n

\nIf you invite me to dinner and I don't tell you before hand that I am vegetarian, then shame on me.. But if it happens, I will politely and respectfully refuse to eat any animal products.. This does not mean that I will not sit with you and enjoy your company, but making my stance clear from the onset, I have found, gains me more respect than allowing myself to eat something which I would be ethically opposed to..<\/p>\n

\npeace,
\nMango the Fruitarian<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

.. like most people who value human relationships over tradition, [he] will eat meat if it is served to him in good faith.. I don't think the concept of doing no harm, is based purely on "tradition", it is more about feeling empathy and compassion for other beings.. Thus I would have thought this was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.morinfamily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.morinfamily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.morinfamily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.morinfamily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.morinfamily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.morinfamily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.morinfamily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.morinfamily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.morinfamily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}