The
Company of Saints and Others
From
the beginning of recorded history we can see that vegetables have been
the natural food of human beings. Early Greek and Hebrew myths all spoke
of people originally eating fruit. Ancient Egyptian priests never ate
meat. Many great Greek philosophers such as Plato, Diogenes and Socrates
all advocated vegetarianism.
In India, Shakyamuni
Buddha emphasized the importance of Ahimsa, the principle of not harming
any living things. He warned His disciples not to eat meat, or else
other living beings would become frightened of them. Buddha made the
following observations: Meat eating is just an acquired habit. In
the beginning we were not born with a desire for it. Flesh eating people
cut off their inner seed of Great Mercy. Flesh eating people kill each
other and eat each other... this life I eat you, and next life you eat
me... and it always continues in this way. How can they ever get out
of the Three Realms (of illusion)?
Many
early Taoists, early Christians and Jews were vegetarians. It is recorded
in the Holy Bible: And God said, I have provided all kinds of grain
and all kinds of fruit for you to eat; but for the wild animals and
for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food.
(Genesis 1:29) Other examples forbidding the eating of meat in the Bible:
You must not eat meat with blood in it, because the life is in the blood.
(Genesis 9:4) God said, Who told you to kill the bullock and the
she goat to make an offering to me? Wash yourselves from this innocent
blood, so I may hear your prayer; otherwise I will turn my head away
because your hands are full of blood. Repent yourselves so I may forgive
you. (Isaiah 1:11-16) St. Paul, one of Jesus' disciples, said in
his letter to the Romans, It is good neither to eat flesh nor to
drink wine. (Romans 14:21)
Recently,
historians have discovered many ancient books that have shed new light
on the life of Jesus and His teachings. Jesus said: People who have
animals' flesh become their own tombs. I tell you honestly, the man
who kills will be killed. The man who kills living things and eats their
meat is eating the meat of the dead men.
Indian religions also
avoid the eating of flesh. It is said that, People can't get flesh
without killing things. A person who hurts sentient beings will never
be blessed by God. So, avoid taking flesh! (Hindu Precept)
The
holy Scripture of Islam, the Koran, forbids the eating of dead animals,
blood and flesh.
A
great Chinese Zen Master, Han Shan Tzu wrote a poem which was strongly
against flesh eating: Go quickly to the market to buy meat and fish
and feed them to your wife and children. But why must their lives be
taken to sustain yours? It's unreasonable. It will not bring you affinity
with Heaven, but make you become dregs of Hell!
Many
famous writers, artists, scientists, philosophers and eminent men were
vegetarians. The following people have all embraced vegetarianism with
enthusiasm: Shakyamuni Buddha, Jesus Christ, Virgil, Horace, Plato,
Ovid, Petrarch, Pythagoras, Socrates, William Shakespeare, Voltaire,
Sir Isaac Newton, Leonardo Da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Benjamin Franklin,
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Emile Zola, Bertrand Russell,
Richard Wagner, Percy Bysshe Shelley, H. G. Wells, Albert Einstein,
Rabindranath Tagore, Leo Tolstoy, George Bernard Shaw, Mahatma Gandhi,
Albert Schweitzer; and more recently, Paul Newman, Madonna, Princess
Diana, Lindsay Wagner, Paul McCartney and Candice Bergen, to name a
few.
Albert
Einstein said, "I think the changes and purifying effects that
a vegetarian diet have on a human being's disposition are quite beneficial
to mankind. Therefore, it is both auspicious and peaceful for people
to choose vegetarianism." This has been the common advice of many
important figures and sages throughout history!
