By Nicholas Ribush This article was first published in Mandala magazine, July 2013. Veganism is not just a diet. It is not just a ‘lifestyle.’ It is a nonviolent act of defiance. It is a refusal to participate in the oppression of the innocent and the vulnerable. It is a rejection of the insidious idea that harming other sentient beings should be considered a ‘normal’ … Continue reading On Becoming Vegan: When Vegetarian is not Enough
To this day, I haven’t heard of any teaching of the Buddha which supports harming other beings for our own happiness or benefit. I think all the teachings of the Buddha support being a vegan because a vegan lifestyle is fully against harming other living beings. -Pema Rinzin Please begin with telling us your name and where you live. My name is Pema Rinzin. I … Continue reading An Interview with Pema Rinzin
―a brief address by Tashi Nyima to the Richardson Interfaith Alliance (TX) during the Thanksgiving Observance Not all abuse happens in dark alleys. Much unspeakable cruelty takes place in the brightly lit aisles where we purchase the flesh of animals, their eggs, their milk, their skin, their wool, their feathers, and their fur. Those brightly lit aisles conceal the horrible darkness where animals are confined, … Continue reading Bright Aisles, Dark Alleys
Introduction As practitioners of the Buddhist dharma, we continually strive to act in ways that reduce the amount of suffering in the world, both for ourselves and for others. When it comes to animals, the single greatest impact we have on their suffering is the decision to eat – or not to eat – them. In considering a diet that is consistent with the dharma, … Continue reading Right Eating: What the Buddha Taught
[Note: At Common Ground Meditation Center in Minneapolis, MN, on 27 June 2013, a discussion on “Humans, Animals, and Non-Harming” took place at the invitation of the Center’s guiding teacher, Mark Nunberg. Presenters included Dr. Mark Berkson, Religious Studies Professor at Hamline University, Dr. Deane Curtin, Philosophy Professor at Gustavus Adolphus University, and Dr. Greta Gaard, an ecofeminist activist-scholar and Professor of English at University … Continue reading Community Discussion: Humans, Animals, and Non-Harming
This article is taken from the Introduction to The Great Compassion by Norm Phelps (Lantern Books, 2004). Buddhism ought to be an animal rights religion par excellence. It teaches the unity of all life; it holds kindness and compassion to be the highest virtues; and it explicitly includes animals in its moral universe. Buddhist rules of conduct – including the First Precept, “Do not kill” … Continue reading Introduction to The Great Compassion
