Daily Buddhism

The "Three Marks of Existence" is the post of the week over at http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/4313

Three Marks of Existence The Three Marks or The Three Basic Facts of Existence In Buddhism, the Three Marks of Existence are three characteristics shared by all sentient beings, namely impermanence (anicca), suffering or u...

Impermanence – Not Even the Mountains?

http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/4272

Impermanence - Not Even the Mountains? Impermanence - Not Even the Mountains? A reader wrote: I'm a big fan of your Daily Buddhism blog and thought that you'd be interested in seeing this 8-minute film that I recently made about imperma...

"The Five-Minute Buddhist's Buddhism Quick Start Guide" is now also available as an AUDIO book on Audible/Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1507736061/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1507736061&linkCode=as2&tag=askdrarca-20&linkId=FERFODPXSLQL7Y7S

The Five-Minute Buddhist's Buddhism Quick Start Guide Welcome to the world of Buddhism! Americans and others in the West have certain expectations and images that come to mind when the word "Buddhist" comes up. Most people have seen the Dalai Lama on the news or in magazines, and he has almost become synonymous with Buddhism in general. The truth is...

This week's topic is "Reality TV and the Fifth Precept" at Daily Buddhism: http://t.co/mXKCBKJBSS

Do you know of any good, POSITIVE TV shows?

Reality TV and the Fifth Precept A reader wrote in: I just got through reading about the five precepts. Whew. There are some tough ideas in there to try to put into practice. If the idea of not watching my favorite reality televis...

A reader wrote in:

Dear Brian,

I am thinking about converting into Buddhism. To me it just feels right. Although after listening to your introduction about the 5 Precepts, I find it hard to follow the 1st and the 5th.

I have been to Iraq and fortunately I wasn't put in a position to take another person's life. I don't think that I could live with myself, although many others didn't have a choice... Since then I don't feel comfortable harming a life, great or small. My problem lies in my being a vegetarian. My wife has hard enough of a time getting me to eat my vegetables now. I know that the mass suffering and the mass murder is very wrong, and I also know that by choosing to eat meat that I condone the chaos. At the same time right now I can't imagine being a vegetarian.

For the 5th Precept, I do drink an occasional beer and have a coffee almost daily, but neither excessively. I usually find myself the designated driver. My question is, can I call myself a Buddhist when I have problems with the fundamental elements if Buddhism? Perhaps later in my life I will correct these problems, but for now I am at a loss for what to do.

I appreciate what you are doing, and look forward to your thoughts about the matter.

My Response:

The short answer is that Buddha didn't say anything about being a vegetarian. Actually, according to legend, he died from eating spoiled pork. Then again, back in those days, they didn’t have factory-farms, and animals lived a much more “natural” life than they do now.

Here are what I consider the important factors to consider when deciding about vegetarianism:

The food chain and the chain of life are intertwined. No matter what you eat, something dies. There’s no way to avoid that. When judging what kinds of things we eat, it usually boils down to how "sentient" the creature is.

We don’t eat other people. Yes, it’s illegal, but it’s primarily because we can empathize with other people. We recognize that they are sentient and intelligent, and they react just like we would in most circumstances. We wouldn’t want to be eaten, so we don’t eat others of our own kind.

Chickens, cows, pigs, and other food animals are less intelligent than humans, and are generally eaten by most people. On the other hand, how many Americans would eat a dog or cat? Dogs and cats are, in our society, often seen as part of the household, part of the family, and possibly even as surrogate children in some cases. We would never eat one, yet in other countries, where cats and dogs are held in less regard, they often become meals. Are American dogs more evolved or more sentient than in other parts of the world? Of course not-- it's just a matter of perception.

Plants are (we must assume) less intelligent than animals, but they are undoubtedly alive-- and we eat them all the time. We have to eat something and plants are the furthest thing down the list that is edible

A huge number of people in Asia identify as Buddhist... Do you suppose they are all vegetarians? Definitely not! Still, keep in mind, many monks and very devout Buddhists choose to be vegetarians, mostly due to the reasons you have mentioned. It seems that the more thought and focus you put into the subject, the more likely you are to choose vegetarianism. Again, that's a choice, but it's not a choice that most Buddhists make.

Personally, I’ve always thought that being a vegetarian would be the best thing for me, but I fully admit, I don’t have that kind of willpower. I certainly wouldn’t judge anyone for being in the same situation. Do I feel guilty for eating cheeseburgers? Yes, but feeling guilt is a post for another time.

Thanks a lot for the email!

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Something I put together for the absolute beginner: "The Five-Minute Buddhist's Buddhism Quick Start Guide"

It's excerpts from my bigger books. Just essentials, at a very introductory price. It's a good newbie starting point!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SRXPW0U/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00SRXPW0U&linkCode=as2&tag=askdrarca-20&linkId=57HMNCTCAWDVP7GV

The Five-Minute Buddhist's Buddhism Quick Start Guide Welcome to the world of Buddhism! Americans and others in the West have certain expectations and images that come to mind when the word "Buddhist" comes up. Most people have seen the Dalai Lama on the news or in magazines, and he has almost become synonymous with Buddhism in general. Th...

The Five-Minute Buddhist Returns
Apply Buddhist Principles to Your Life

ISBN: 1507601573
ISBN-13: 978-1507601570

Buy now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords or Apple
A jargon-free, plain-language introduction to the foundational ideas of Buddhism and real-world tips for practicing Buddhism while balancing life in the real, modern world.

This follow-up to the immensely-popular "Five-Minute Buddhist" continues the tradition of easily-understood application of Buddhist principles and ideas to your everyday life.

After a brief "Buddhism Refresher," this book presents approximately 150 short topics, mostly reader-submitted questions and answers. How do you use Buddhism in your life? Find out how we do it in short, five-minute chunks

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SO1G4FW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00SO1G4FW&linkCode=as2&tag=askdrarca-20&linkId=HUHQCH5OBJ4XFG4D

"Planning for the Future and Being in the Now" is today's DailyBuddhism post. Is "Be Here Now" taken the wrong way? http://www.dailybuddhism.com/?p=4186

Planning for the Future and Being in the Now A reader wrote in: It’s said in Buddhism that the way to happiness is not to escape or avoid pain, but to just “stay.” I recently decided to leave my job because I felt I was being treated poorly, ...

Audio sample of "The Five-Minute Buddhist Reads the Dhammapada" https://soundcloud.com/brianschell/dhammapada-chapter-23

Dhammapada Chapter 23 This is chapter 23 of the 26-chapter Dhammapada. Get the whole thing at http://www.dailybuddhism.com/books-media/the-dhammapada

"Buddha Salt, Buddha Beer, and Christ’s Corn Chips: Are We Offended Yet?" Discusses too much attachment to respect. http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/4086

Buddha Salt, Buddha Beer, and Christ's Corn Chips: Are We Offended Yet? Someone (I suspect it wasn’t actually a reader) wrote this to me: Dear Sir/Madam, As we go to the grocery stores and kitchens, we may see “Buddha Salt” by www.buddhasalt.com. We think it is a gre...

A second new audiobook: "The Five-Minute Buddhist Reads the Tao the Ching" is out NOW. https://gum.co/EgWQz

Both the Dhammapada and the Tao were available as audio CDs on the DB site for years, but now I'm getting with the 21st century and going MP3.

The Five-Minute Buddhist Reads the Tao te Ching The entire Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tse. Translated by James Legge. Read by Brian Schell. This MP3 audiobook contains the entire 81 Chapter Tao, playable in all MP3 players or directly from your computer. 1 hour and 24 minutes.