If You Are Buddhist And Still Eating Animal Flesh You Are Wasting Your Time

That’s my summary of the Shurangama Sutra’s explanation of the necessity to keep the Precepts — specifically against killing in this case.

Hi James, thank you for posting this important clarification about Buddhists eating animal flesh of any kind. It’s not at all a case of a prohibition against it for lay practitioners, they can do as they like after all. Each advances based upon their own meritorious actions (or not). I like a different translation of the Shurangama Sutra on this point, although it is totally coherent with those you’ve posted:

The reason for practicing dhyana and seeking to attain Samadhi is to escape from the suffering of life, but in seeking to escape from suffering ourselves, why should we inflict it upon others? Unless you can so control your minds that even the thought of brutal unkindness and killing is abhorrent, you will never be able to escape from the bondage of the world’s life. No matter how keen you may be mentally, no matter how much you may be able to practice dhyana, no matter to how higher degree of Samadhi you may attain, unless you have wholly annihilated all tendency to unkindness towards others, you will ultimately fall into the realms of existence where the evil ghosts dwell.

…

After my Parinirvana in the last kalpa these different kinds of ghosts will be encountered everywhere deceiving people and teaching them that they can eat meat and still attain enlightenment. But how can any faithful follower of the Lord Tathagata kill sentient life and eat the flesh?

You of this great assembly ought to appreciate that those human beings who might become enlightened and attain Samadhi, because of eating meat, can only hope to attain the rank of a great Raksha (ghost) and until the end of their enjoyment of it must sink into the never ceasing round of deaths and rebirths. They are not true disciples of Buddha. If they kill sentient beings and eat the flesh, they will not be able to escape from this triple world.

Of course, some will immediately question if it is ok to eat flesh that they didn’t kill themselves, but even criminal law points out that paying someone to kill is the same thing as killing. And this whole question is off point anyway— it is not the act of eating the flesh that blocks a Buddhist from advancing even a little bit in this life, it is the desire to eat the flesh that is:

To wear anything, or partake of anything for self-comfort, deceiving oneself as to the suffering it causes others or other sentient life, is to set up an affinity with that lower life which will draw them toward it.

Splitting hairs on this point about not eating the flesh of any animal is nothing other than deceiving oneself. But if that is what you find yourself doing, becoming conscious of your motivations in doing so, then there is some hope that you can progress if you sincerely make an intention to try to stop inflicting suffering in other sentient beings.

Personally, I see it this way:

1. If you want to eat meat, you’re screwed (as far as progressing in this life).
2. If you want to eat meat, and do so, you’re doubly screwed because of your intention to do so and the suffering you cause.
3. If you don’t want to eat meat, but do so unintentionally (really unintentionally, not with your fingers crossed), you’re ok. (But maybe you should pay more attention to what you’re eating!)
4. If you don’t want to eat meat, and don’t, you are golden.

Thank you for publishing this James!