Does being at the top of the food chain prohibit any of us from having Right View?
I guess I should start with talking about what Right View actually is. Keeping in mind that Buddha did not lay out rules as you might find in something like the Ten Commandments.
First of all, right view constitutes the correct understanding of the central teachings of the Buddha. Each phenomenon to be comprehended by right view is to be examined in detail in terms of its individual nature, its arising, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation.
More simply, I think right view means to see each situation and circumstance clearly as it happens. And of course to handle it with loving kindness and compassion.
So my question to you, is one that I have recently come to ask myself.
How can I have right view, and be the cause of suffering and killing for the sake of food?
I see that the way that I have been able to do this all my life, is by a lack of right view. I gave little to no thought about the animals I have been eating. Their suffering and abuse they endured meant little to me as I enjoyed my delicious steak.
Without the least bit of mindfulness, this gentle creature was killed in my name.
Powerful words I know, but none the less accurate.
I’m afraid I sound like I am getting on a soapbox here, but I am trying my best not to do that.
But as I drove home this evening and looked at the cows grazing in a field, I wondered how anyone can look into their eyes and not feel loving kindness or compassion.
Certainly, I have been living in some cloud of illusion to not have been aware of this many years ago. But I cannot go back in time, I can only be present. And this mindfulness has exposed the reality of other living creatures, and the compassion they deserve now.
Many of you have probably already stopped reading, and left the site, so I can only speak to those of you who are still hearing my words.
I do not condemn nor criticize any of you who currently eat meat, it is a personal decision we all make. And I am so very aware of how easy it is to close ones mind to the suffering.
But I ask that you at least consider right view.
May all living beings, and all living creatures, be safe from harm and free of suffering.
May you be well, happy and peaceful.
