Milarepa's Songs

The yogi Milarepa left his wisdom in the form of songs, two of which specifically address the topic of killing and eating animals.

Subjugating ‘outer’ appearances, will not conquer them.
Conquer your own mind, at this very moment!
Your killing this deer will not satiate you,
Killing the five poisons within, all wishes are fulfilled!
Subjugating ‘outer’ enemies, they increase even more.
Conquering one’s ‘inner’ mindstream, there are no ‘enemies’.

—Excerpt from ‘Milarepa’s Song to Animals and the Hunter’ tr. Adele Tomlin (2020)

Read more here: 

https://dakinitranslations.com/2021/10/20/hunters-moon-special-milarepas-song-to-the-hunter-and-the-ear-whispered-chira-kagyu-lineage-and-song-on-the-suffering-of-animals-for-the-evil-custom-of-meat-eating/

May all beings be well

 

Buddhism and Not Eating Animals

 

 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje. Photo by James Gritz

A compelling article focusing on ancient and recent commentaries about why consuming animals is antithetical to Buddhist teachings:

https://dakinitranslations.com/2021/12/29/drikung-kagyu-vegetarianism-if-you-eat-meat-you-are-not-my-disciple-and-it-disparages-great-beings-jigten-sumgon-the-white-food-vegetarian-tradition/

 

 May all beings be well and happy

 

Yes, Insects Too

Insects feel emotions, as well as pain.

Several years ago, I concluded that all sentient beings have the same basic emotions. Science may be catching up to that obvious insight.


https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211126-why-insects-are-more-sensitive-than-they-seem

May all beings be well and happy.

 

Out Of The Mouths of Babes

 I wish people would listen to voices like this wise, caring little girl's.

 

 

May all beings be well and happy.

 

All Life Is Sacred

 

 

 

May all beings be well and happy.

 

 

Why The Chicken Crossed The Road

 

May all beings be well and happy.

Dogs Take On Our Broken Hearts

 

It's no small thing.
A woman's husband dies
after a long marriage.
She is left afraid to date
in a world of scammers
during a pandemic.

A man's wife leaves
after a long marriage.
Some women like him,
but he's still in love
with her.

There are dogs.
Lots of them.
More coming
each day.

They need homes
like we do.
We can give them
a roof
a bed
some toys
water
food.

And they take on our hearts.

We cry, and they feel it,
so they come up on our lap
or push their jaw down
onto our thigh
on the couch.

They awaken to our cries
in the deep night
but pretend they don't hear.
They don't want to keep us
from returning
to sleep.

Every morning
they smile at us:
It's a new day!

It's not that they've forgotten
that our heart is broken.
They want us to forget.

They say, let's have some fun!
Let's eat something good!

Love me.

And, no matter how well
or how poorly
we manage to overcome
our broken hearts
moment to moment
to love them,
they remain beside us
all the while,
through every tear
and sigh.

Dogs take on our broken hearts.

Greta Thunberg's New Film

Greta's brief and excellent film conveys important information about how we can help our planet. Her message corresponds with those of scientists like Dr. Jane Goodall and Sir David Attenborough. I hope you will give it a viewing.

 

"The new Greta Thunberg film is finally spelling it out to all environmentalists who follow her: if you really care about the Earth, go vegan. On May 22nd, 2021, Biodiversity Day, the organization Mercy for Animals launched a new film called For Nature. In it, the renowned Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg explains how animal exploitation has caused our current health and environmental crises."

The article about the film:

https://janeunchained.com/2021/05/23/greta-thunbergs-film-tells-us-to-go-vegan/

The 5:17min film, directly: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WvehTbuvIo&t=8s

May all beings be well and happy.

 

Jain Guidance for Eating

When considering the ethics of food choices, I think our Jain friends have the best approach to this topic. 

Let me try to summarize.

Holding ahimsa (Sanskrit: non-injury, non-harm, non-violence) as the highest ideal, they propose - recognizing that life must consume other life to survive - that we humans (who have lots of choices) think of potential food items something like a pyramid, where the bottom includes life forms with the fewest sensory organs, and at the top, those - like us - with the most.

They suggest that to reduce the harm, pain, and suffering we may do by eating, that we eat our way up from the bottom, then stop where we are able to be healthy with our chosen diet.

With the many options available to most of us today, and factoring in the great suffering caused by the big Dairy and Egg factory methods, this parses out as Vegan.

This does not even factor in well-considered and increasingly widely held opinion that commercial animal production is one of the biggest Climate Change contributors. Scientists like Sr David Attenborough and Dr. Jane Goodall are two who speak clearly to this point.

 

May all beings be well. 

 

Wise words from Buddha Jayanti Celebrations, May 26 2021

Friends, these messages are part of the Parliament of the World's Religions' Vesak Celebrations video "Healing the World: Prayers and Reflections for All Sentient Beings," May 26, 2021

https://parliamentofreligions.org/video/healing-world-prayers-and-reflections-all-sentient-beings

"As we think about the world's sentient creatures, too many of whom - particularly animals - have no say whatsoever in the way in which they are treated, it's important that we all commit towards adopting more compassionate, plant-based diets. ... It's also time for us to say that if the mistreatment of any sentient creature is wrong, then it's also wrong for us to profit in any way from that mistreatment, and to add the major corporations that are responsible for untold suffering of animals around the planet to the list of companies from which we must divest our holdings. Only in this way, by connecting personal integrity with the alignment of our finances with our most cherished values, will we take a step towards the kind of enlightenment that this special day represents. Thank you." -- Rev. Fletcher Harper

 

"The first precept of the Buddha's moral code is the training rule to abstain from destroying life, from the destruction of all sentient life, whether humans or animals. This precept has far reaching implications. The Buddha says that we should refrain from destroying life ourselves; we should encourage others to refrain from killing; we should speak in praise of abstaining from killing, and rejoice when we hear that others abstain from destroying life. The reason the Buddha gives so much weight to this precept is because the most basic urge of every sentient being is to love and to thrive. All beings fear death, all fear violence. So, taking oneself as the standard, we should not kill or encourage others to kill." -- Ven. Bikkhu Bodhi from "Healing the World: Prayers and Reflections for All Sentient Beings," May 26, 2021

 

"Let us follow the precepts and unite together. Let us love and protect all plants and animals. Think about it. Humans are animals too. Everything on this world is a natural part of the universe. Humans are given the right to live, and yet humans hurt, torture and kill animals for food and clothing. Seeing this, we call on everyone to give rise to a loving heart. Let animals come and go naturally with the law of karma. We also need to safeguard our mind. With the laws of nature, our thoughts go through endless cycles of arising, abiding, changing and disappearing. These take place inside our mind. So we have to focus on giving rise to kindness. Together with people of the same aspiration, we give to serve the greater good. Now is the time to suggest a plant-based diet to everyone. Plant-based diets can help. We have to put our hearts into it and talk to people we meet. By serving as a role model, we can also spread the power of love to really care for and protect all living beings." -- Ven. Bhikshuni Shih De Yuan from "Healing the World: Prayers and Reflections for All Sentient Beings," May 26, 2021

May all beings be well.

Joaquin Phoenix, Indigo and Liberty

 

Perhaps you will spend 14 minutes with this beautiful, tender film, INDIGO (which includes no violent imagery): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ9iQLfeGBk

  

All beings deserve to live out their own sovereign lives, free of subjugation, exploitation or abuse. Humans lose their humanity by subjugating others.

May all beings be well.