[Buddha-l] Re: on eating meat

[Benito Carral]

An interesting quote from Ven. Xu-yun's autobiography:


      During  my  trek  from  Sichuan Province to Tibet
      wich  took  a year, I walked by day and rested at
      night.  [...]  The birds and beasts differed from
      those in China and the customs also differed from
      ours.  The  Sangha  did  not observe the Monastic
      code  and  most of the monks ate beef and mutton.
      They  were  divided into sects distinguishable by
      their read and yellow hats. I thought of the days
      of  the  Jetavana  Assembly  and could no refrain
      from tears.(3)

      (3)  [Note  by Charles Luk] Xu-yun's observations
      about  the  status  of Tibetan Buddhism seem less
      than  salutary  at this point, though his account
      is   otherwise   generous   towards  the  Tibetan
      tradition. Special circumstances need to be taken
      into  account here. The Buddhist Sangha generally
      prohibits   meat-eating   and  Xu-yun  introduced
      rigorous  reforms in the Chinese monasteries when
      and   where   he   found  meat-eating  going  on.
      Consequently,  he was shocked to discover that it
      is  fairly  common  for  Tibetan Buddhists to eat
      meat  as  a matter of course. The Tibetan climate
      and  terrain  does not readily yield up vegetable
      crops  and  cereals are often scarce. Thus out of
      sheer  necessity, the Tibetan monks often live on
      meat.  Barley and millet are sometimes available,
      but  rarely  in quantities sufficient to meet all
      needs.  Having  said  that,  Xu-yun  was a strict
      vegetarian  throughout  his  stay  in  Tibet  and
      obviously   found   sufficient  food  to  sustain
      himself.  Strangely  enough, the Vinaya code does
      not  explicitly  rule  out  meat-eating,  largely
      because  monks  are  supposed  to beg or eat what
      their patrons offer. In China, the Vinaya code is
      linked  with  the  _Brahmajala-sutra,_ which does
      rule  out  meat  eating,  like  the  _Lankavatara
      Sutra._ Thus in china, the precepts do explicitly
      prohibit meat-eating.

      [...]


   Best wishes,

   Beni