Vegetarian Era

To attain Buddhahood (complete enlightenment) is similar to climbing a mountain, and we have to reach the top in order to become saints. However, there are many logs and stones in our way so we cannot go up. We call them obstacles. For instance, when we are young, we are controlled by our parents and cannot observe a vegetarian diet; when we grow up, we are controlled by our spouses and cannot observe a vegetarian diet. We may have wisdom, but we cannot use it.

We should not beat or kill other human beings even if they are as big and strong as we are. How then could we possibly kill and eat animals that are very weak and cannot protect themselves? Such actions are totally lacking in human feeling. They are inhuman. We are not supposed to eat animals. However, we have become barbarous through many lifetimes of transmigration and do not understand that now. We think that eating meat is as normal as eating chocolate. If we think it over, we will feel scared.

For instance, if our family members die, we would not eat their corpses. How then could we eat the corpses of animals? Animal corpses are dirtier than human corpses. We should not eat meat, but we are eating it now and it is difficult for us to change our habit. The entire society is eating meat. We will have trouble if we want to change. This is the first obstacle.

What is the second obstacle? It is that we cannot find an enlightened Master. Many people claim to be enlightened Masters, but we do not know who is an enlightened Master and who is a dark one. Enlightened means being in the light, and dark means being in the dark.

The third obstacle in our way is that after we find an enlightened Master, we do not easily have faith in him.

The fourth obstacle is that after initiation and despite having faith in an enlightened Master, we do not practice diligently. For example, we attend school and have good teachers who give us many materials for reference, but we do not like to study and do not do our homework after school. Then we cannot graduate.

Similarly, few people pursue spiritual practice because there are many obstacles, and few spiritual practitioners attain God-realization because they do not practice diligently and do not have enough faith. The reason that we do not practice diligently enough is because we have many problems that trouble us when we practice, so we cannot progress quickly. Throughout the ages and throughout the world, people always have respected those who have attained the Truth or God-realization. They have always admired those who have attained the level of a saint, because ordinary people cannot easily become saints. Even spiritual practitioners cannot easily attain that level or the level of God-realization. However, this does not mean that no one can become a God-realization and no one can become a saint. As long as we have a good teacher and a good method, we have hope of becoming a saint and obtaining the great power. From my personal experience, it is not difficult to gain such power and to become God-realized.¡¹

Animals suffer pain when they are killed. If we can eat meat happily regardless of that, there is no need to measure our compassion. Some people look merciful. They recite the sutras, prostrate to the Buddha's statue, keep the precepts, and do not kill; but their subtle compassion has not developed. That is why Shakyamuni Buddha said that those who eat meat cannot become a Buddha. He said that very clearly, but it is we who do not understand.¡¹

It is rather interesting to observe that within a few months many different kinds of animals and fowl, which traditionally have been considered to be ordinary meals by meat-eaters, have encountered some strange and incurable viruses that can be transferred and fatal to human life. Let's look at what's been printed recently in the media:

BEEF: According to the Associated Press, on Wednesday 12/3/97, Britain announced a ban on rib roasts, T-bone steaks, and all other beef on the bone after new warnings about mad cow disease (Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, that causes brain damage and death) were issued. At least 20 people in Britain are known to have died of this disease so far.

On the same day, the American FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved use of irradiation on beef and other red meat such as lamb to kill bacteria at the end of the meat packaging production line. This radiation technique was adopted after 25 million pounds (or about 12 million kilograms) of hamburger were found that might have been tainted with E. Coli bacteria in the summer of 1997.

Americans are eating 13% less beef than in 1970, but it is still by far the nation's leading meat at about 64 pounds (or about 30 kilograms) per person every year.

The following is from the personal notes of this author:

With 250 million people in America, on the average of 16 billion pounds (or about 7 billion kilograms) of beef are consumed, or at least 16 million cows are slaughtered in America alone every year! More cows are killed to feed Americans than comprise the total human population of Australia which is approximately 15 million.

HOGS: On 12/4/97, the Indianapolis Star newspaper reported that in Indiana, some hog herds are still infected with pseudorabies, a highly contagious disease that is actually a herpes virus. This virus is not known to harm humans, (yet!)but it is deadly to wildlife such as raccoons, and farm dogs and cats have died of the disease that is nicknamed the "mad itch." The goal of wiping out pseudorabies by January 1, 2000, has cost Indiana pig farmers and taxpayers millions of dollars!

FISH: On October 20, 1997, "Business Week" magazine reported that a single cell called Pfiesteria Piscicida can kill fish by the millions and produce potent toxins linked to human skin sores and neurological disorders, including memory loss. Early in October of 1997, Virginia officials reported finding symptoms of Pfiesteria poisoning in five people, following similar reports in Maryland several weeks before. These "red tides" of Pfiesteria are striking many places around America and around the world. Virtually the entire coastline of the U.S. is now affected. The cost of the outbreaks is conservatively estimated to be about one billion dollars a year, and that figure could rise.

POULTRY: On 12/29/97, the Washington Post reported that a "bird flu" virus that apparently killed four people and infected many others in Hong Kong caused government authorities to announce plans to slaughter all chickens in the territory. They will also kill geese, ducks, pigeons and quail that might have been housed near chickens. The virus is known as AH5N1. By 12/31/97, 1.3 million chickens have been killed, either by carbon dioxide suffocation or by knife, which cuts across the neck.¡¹

Then I became Master's disciple several years ago and everything changed. The first big change was the nutrition: as I didn't eat meat anymore, I feared the loss of my muscular strength and physical resistance. My best friends believed that I needed meat to match records, for without it, I would be trembling and lack stamina. More serious was the fact that, in the meanwhile, I was obliged to stay in the hospital for a long time. I didn't understand why I became so sick, but soon I realized that Master had sent me this "examination" to clean all the karma I had collected during the recent years. When I was released from the hospital, I tried to participate in the sports competitions as I had done previously. My first results were not bad, just "acceptable". I found that I had to modify my food intake according to the vegetarian diet.

On Sunday, I participated in a compound bow-shooting competition, shooting 42 targets with 84 arrows. The competition was held in the woods of Ottenburg. The weather was cool but sunny with no wind. I had adapted my previous shooting technique to one of meditating and shooting at the same time: before shooting, I closed my eyes and recited the Holy Names, then I opened my eyes, looked at the target, and tried mentally to put a golden aura around the target. I didn't succeed in creating this mental image each time, but I tried my best. Slowly but surely, my scores went up; sometimes I succeeded in placing two arrows right in the middle of the target.

At the half of the competition, I was in a position to match the Belgian record if I maintained the same trend. I continued to use the same technique: close eyes, open eyes, and project a golden aura around each target. I didn't know if it was an illusion or not, but I didn't care.

At the end of the competition, I had already shot 82 arrows out of 84 without being exhausted or having muscular pains. At target number 41, I tied the Belgian record for compound bow-shooting in the men's aged 50 and over division. On the last target, number 42, I completely missed my last two arrows: too much nervousness and stress. But this was no longer important to me. I had succeeded in tying the Belgian record, proving that vegetarians can compete successfully in sporting endeavors.¡¹

With Master's blessings I have found no difficulty in shifting my meat diet to a vegetarian one, and this happened as soon as I decided to follow Supreme Master Ching Hai after reading the sample booklet at a vegetarian restaurant!

Before the change in my diet, I constantly experienced nameless physical discomforts, the most serious one being gout. In ancient times, only rich people who ate a lot of meat could have this disease, but it is very common nowadays! I had to take expensive medication whenever I couldn't follow the doctor's instructions, which were not to eat my favorite seafood, such as shrimp, oysters, and crabs, as well as no soybean products including soy sauce. Even vinegar and spices also had to be avoided; it made my diet very tasteless! Fortunately, I found my Master in time, and She saved me from my misery!

After being a complete vegetarian for just a few months, miraculously, the gout was gone! It bothers me no more, and without taking the medication, I can eat everything that the doctor had told me not to except meat and seafood! I have been free from those nameless discomforts since then! Now, I am in the best physical condition that I can remember! Spiritually, I feel liberated, and my life has become easy, smooth and joyful!

While I have tremendously benefited from being a vegetarian, I can't help but wonder why there are so many people who can't give up that piece of meat in exchange for a healthier, happier and spiritually rich life!¡¹