dagon wrote:
Some of the aggressive and attached people i know are vegetarians - some of the kindest are vegetarians - i guess that it is what is going on in the mind and how the self is identified that makes the difference, not the menu choices that are made.
metta
paul
I don't mean any disrespect Paul. I think the passage you quoted is an argument ad hominem with the underlying motive to discredit vegetarians to make it easier to dismiss them rather than having to think about what they have to say. Isn't that attachment to views, something which Buddhism warns people about?
As to some other implied points, most vegetarians are vegetarians because they are very aware that animals have the capacity to suffer, they want to live like we do and they want to avoid pain like we do. People have a hard time being agreeable when something horrible is in the process of happening. A creature being that suffers like we do, being put into pain and killed.
If any person had that view, they would feel very strongly and would say something about at least avoiding using animal products.
That is the point were I interjected my comment, a subtle making fun of monks seeking out vegetarian food. Someone trying to sustain themselves without hurting another creature like themselves. It is my belief that is the result of many people not being able to handle the fact they could unknowingly be doing something horrible so they discredit the people who provoke those thoughts.
The dhamma is about seeing things as they are, especially unpleasant things we intentionally avoid looking at like death, aging, dukkha. The value in looking at things it would be easier to avoid seeing is to make things better.