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Hi all, lemme start the ball rolling. The below is from the old moonpointer website. You can see comments on it at http://moonpointer.com/index.php?itemid=2267
Since young, I never felt quite right eating deceased animals. There was always some sense of guilt – though I couldn’t quite place it then. When I read about vegetarianism in detail, at about the age of 18 (to prepare for a talk on Buddhism and environmentalism), I became vegetarian – right after giving the talk – with great relief too – as if I finally got enough good reasons to become vegetarian. The friend that I gave the talk with did not turn vegetarian for long though – probably because I was the one doing the bulk of the research. I was the one facing and digesting the hard facts. From this experience, I came to believe that if one takes enough interest to look mindfully and deeply into the advantages of vegetarianism and the disadvantages of meat-eating, one will naturally turn vegetarian. Most of all, is to see the suffering animals go through – which is hidden from view most of the time. It’s time to meet your meat – at http://www.meat.org – before they became mere meat.
I thought I was an accidental vegetarian (who later became vegan) – since I stumbled into the rationale of vegetarianism via the subject of environmentalism – and was always amazed at how I could turn vegetarian overnight. Later, I got some hints that the sudden change probably was a carried-over effect from a previous life. My mother told me that she did not feel like eating meat when I was in her tummy. Maybe I was already vegetarian in the immediate past life, and this habit affected her appetite while I was part of her body. This might explain why I never felt easy eating meat. All I needed were solid reminders of the reasons to go vegetarian – to “revive†this past life habit. (I didn’t like cow milk as a baby too. Maybe I already was vegan previously.) Family pressure to eat meat was simply brushed aside with the rational facts for the vegetarian cause I learnt. There was simply no turning back – and my family knew it.
Non-vegetarians who are reading this might think that being a vegetarian might be difficult – as it might need to be a habit nurtured from life to life. This is not always true – in the sense that even if one was not a vegetarian for 500 past lives, there has to be a turning point, if one wishes to become vegetarian. This life is as good as any other to make that change. And if it is indeed a habit that takes many lives to nurture, this is also as good a life as any other to start nurturing this good habit. You got to start somewhere! And who knows – you might be on the verge of change already! To go against the grain of habit might not always be as easy as in my case, but it can be done within this lifetime. And because it’s totally worth it, please try – for the animals, for other humans, for the planet, for yourself…
Related article:
Why Vegetarianism is Environmentalism –
http://www.moonpointer.com/index.php?itemid=2265
I started as an accidental part-time vegetarian a few years ago when I was working at Suntec City. A colleague of mine who was very thrifty suggested that we have vegetarian food for lunch – as it was the cheapest on the menu. I didn’t mind as I wanted to save anyway.
Shortly after, as I took a rekindled interest in Buddhism and learnt more about its teachings from Shi’an. Many nights, we would meet and discuss Buddhism. I began to appreciate the teachings of compassion and how they should also be applied to sentient beings like animals and insects. It was then that I knew I could no longer buy or eat any meat.
Recollecting, I was having problem with my digestion system at that time as well. I was very easy prone to what could have been irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and it even worried my family doctor as I was having IBS too often and too regularly. There were a few occasions when I had to be driven to a hospital clinic for jabs to ease sharp abdominal pains. My body was literally sending strong signals that it was high time to change my diet.
But I didn’t become a full-fledged vegetarian for long! While having the usual late night discussions, we stumbled upon the deeper significance of the spirit of non-harm in the Bodhisattva precepts. We were awakened to the idea that to truly uphold the precepts, we should no longer support or consume any animal by-products such as milk, honey, leather etc. It was then that we pledged to be vegans for life. Below is an excerpt from https://moonpointer.com/index1.php?itemid=2449
‘Is veganism advocated in the Buddhist teachings? Consider this passage from the highly revered Surangama Sutra – “How then can those who practise great compassion feed on the flesh and blood of living beings? If bhiksus [monastics] do not wear garments made of silk, boots of local leather and furs, and refrain from consuming milk, cream and butter, they will really be liberated from the worldly! (See more at http://moonpointer.com/bvf.php?itemid=384) The above can be seen as the Mahayanist urge to be vegan – out of great compassion.’
In 1993, accompanying my mom to KMSPKS for the Sunday Pureland Sutra Recitation Session, so that she would not be all alone. Accidentally, I pick up a Free Distribution Book in KMSPKS – Hall of Great Compassion – on the suffering of animals. I can’t remember the content now but that book make me go vegetarian.
Was once a non-vegetarian grew up in a family that mom and dad can cook yummy meat dishes. When I first thought of going vegetarian, I wanted to eat seafood (I love prawn and I just fell in love with Chilli Crab).
So I told my sister my decision, she shouted at me “They are also lives! Might as well you don’t go vegetarianâ€. What’s next, I say ok, I shall not eat seafood too and turn vegetarian over night from 1993 till now … I thought I can’t resist seafood and in these 15-16 yrs there were no craving for it …
Turning vegetarian seems so easy for me. When I started to go vegetarian, I am able to find vegetarian stalls easily around my work place. I pray for them to flourish, so I’ve vegetarian food, more can enjoy the food and lesser animals being killed. It worked, whenever I switch job, there will be some veg stalls nearby and I would pamper myself with yummy food at veg restaurants often. It all becomes so easy.
I must admit that Buddhism, did play a part of me going vegetarian. And I must say Vegetarian bring me closer to Buddhism.
Since 1993, although there are lots of up and downs, “someone†is always guiding me. If we try to be compassionate to other including the animals, when we are in difficulties, “someone†will be compassionate with us. That is real important to me, it helps me get through tough times easily.
I even get to see the effect of some little good karma and that helps to strengthen my understanding of karma even I am not a Buddhist yet.
http://living-vegan.blogspot.com/2007/02/why-i-became-vegan.html
That’s how for my case. Basically,I felt really guilty eating parents’ flesh (on top of other influences), so I stopped. It was really a big relief!
Hi guanzhao,
I’m not a vegan & I think i have the same problems with u,i also hv IBS & I tend to eat too fast.Nothing I eat seems to be right as after eating, I will feel bloated or hv indigestion!!
Maybe I should give vegetarian food a try..
Hi bloated tummy,
Yes do give your body a break… take more light food like fruits and slightly boiled vegetables (as you won’t want to kill all the nutrition).
FYI, different persons have different outcomes. For my case, it took my body a while to cleanse the toxins that had accumulated for many years. So don’t despair if you don’t see results immediately. Just make sure you eat healthy and avoid oily and fried food as much as possible. Last but least, stop all dairy products and drink more water =] (This would be part of going vegan, which lessens health problems.)
Don’t know what turn them into Veg*n but some interesting fact on veg*n in some Europe countries
The book : Where We are Now: The Smartest, Clearest Guide to the Issues That Shape the World, first published in 2008 has some interesting facts on Vegetarianism – Saying No to Meat, pg 51 :-
“India has the most vegetarians (and vegans) in the world, about a quarter of its billion inhabitants avoid eating meat, as recommended by the Hindu, Jain and Buddhist Faiths. Most are Lacto-Vegetarians (they drink milk but avoid eggs).
The INTERNATIONAL VEGETARIAN UNION (IVU) provides the following statistics for Europe:
SWEDEN 60,000
TOTAL: 8M Population 0.75%
POLAND 75,000
TOTAL: 38M Population 0.2%
FRANCE 500,000
TOTAL: 56M Population 0.9%
NETHERLANDS 700,000
TOTAL: 16M Population 4.4%
GERMANY 700,000
TOTAL: 56M Population 1.25%
UK 3,500,000
TOTAL: 57M Population 6.1%
Hi bloated tummy,
I would recom you the 1 or 2 Day Purification & Rejuvenation Program at Kampung Senang:
http://www.kg-senang.org.sg/pdf/Detox%20schedule%202009_1st%20Jan%2009.pdf
After attending the program, I became more conscious of what to eat or avoid and the knowledge gained is invaluable.
I told this girl at a restaurant that I was buddhist, and she asked if I was vegetarian. I said, “No. I just ate shrimp.” She was like, “Oh. I thought maybe because you’re Buddhist…” “I don’t know anything about Buddhists needing to be vegetarian…” So that sparked my interest, and next time I came across Buddhist vegetarianism, I looked it up on Google and a website asked me to make a pledge. I pledged not to eat meat on Buddhist holidays and made a Buddhist calendar for myself. I told some Buddhists this, and they were pretty sarcastic and blunt and told me Buddhist holidays are every day. That made me angry, but then I realized they were right and gave up meat altogether within a couple of months. Then, a week later, I told a friend I’d just gone vegetarian, so he told me I should go vegan. He sent me the videos of factory farming, and I went vegan over night.
And that’s that. Now I spent most of my time proselytizing or studying how to effectively proselytize.
:whistle: :bandit:
I turned veg because of an email on fur, I was totally freaked out, that woke me up.
Go veg to save the planet, ourselves and most importantly the animals, they need love just like you and me!