11.17.07
Thich Nhat Hanh Advocates Veganism
“Eating meat… with mindfulness, we will realize that we are eating the flesh of our own children.” -Thich Nhat Hanh
In a recent letter by Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh (who often goes by Thây) speaks to many pressing social justice issues: human rights and democracy in Burma, global warming, the war in Iraq, and the benefits of a vegetarian diet.
He recounts a poignant story told by the Buddha in the Son’s Flesh Sutra and applies it to our relationship with food. Here it is as told by Thây:
This couple, with their little child, on their way seeking asylum had to cross the desert. Due to a lack of geographical knowledge, they ran out of food, while they were only half way through the desert. They realized that all three of them would die in the desert, and they had no hope to get to the country on the other end of the desert to seek asylum. Finally, they made the decision to kill their little son. Each day they ate a small morsel of his flesh, in order to have enough energy to move on, and they carried the rest of their son’s flesh on their shoulders, so that it could continue to dry in the sun. Each time when they finished eating a morsel of their son’s flesh, the couple looked at each other and asked: “Where is our beloved child now?”
Having told this tragic story, the Buddha looked at the monks and asked: “Do you think that this couple was happy to eat their son’s flesh?”
“No, World Honored One. The couple suffered when they had to eat their son’s flesh,” the monks answered.
The Buddha taught: “Dear friends, we have to practice eating in such a way that we can retain compassion in our hearts. We have to eat in mindfulness. If not, we may be eating the flesh of our own children.”
UNESCO reported that each day about 40,000 children die because of hunger or lack of nutrition. Meanwhile, corn and wheat are largely grown to feed livestock (cows, pigs, chickens, etc.) or to produce alcohol. Over 80 percent of corn and over 95 percent of oats produced in the United States are for feeding livestock. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equivalent to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people, more than the entire human population on earth.
Eating meat and drinking alcohol with mindfulness, we will realize that we are eating the flesh of our own children.
He then goes on to outline the full extent of the environmental problems of consuming animals, advocating that all people become vegan or eat vegan 15 days out of the month. Read Thich Nhat Hanh’s full letter.
Rich said,
February 10, 2008 at 9:37 am
Thank you for sharing Thich Nhat Hanh’s letter. I have been studying and have had a Buddhist practice for the past 7 years. The first precept in Buddhism relates to not killing other creatures which is often interpreted as a need to eat vegetarian food (sadly, veganism hasn’t taken hold, at least not here in the U.S.; I notice cheese at various events at the center I study at regularly; I’ve also noticed that many practictioners at the center ignore the vegetarian food only rule during eating times). What has interested me the most is how to work on behalf of animals while carefully avoiding proselytizing or judgment; to create a space for discernment without judgment. I can’t say I have figured this out completely yet.
I used to be an angry activist, wishing to convert the whole world to my way of thinking; I now step back, take a breath, and realize that if delusion is strong in me then surely it is strong in everyone else - and eating and abusing animals is based on delusional thinking. So forgiveness is key - compassion not toleration, speaking and creating actions on behalf of animals without hatred or dislike of others (it makes me sad when I hear activists say they “hate” other human beings).