Why I'm on Vegetarian Diet after Meditation

It seems like there are people  out there who are not happy to see others on vegetarian diet. They would say sarcastic remarks like there are monks who are also eating meat. 

For those who do not know, the Theravada monks who go out for alms will eat whatever people offer which include meat. Whereas the Mahayana monks mostly from China, Taiwan and Singapore are on vegetarian diet. 

However if you read one of the five precepts set by Buddha, one should refrain from harming living being. Buddha prohibited his disciples from taking life for meat. If you specifically request and pay for the meat, you are encouraging someone to harm another living sentient being so that they can earn money by harming the sentient being. The person will want to expand his business to cater to huge demand for meat. 

For me, after practising meditation and chanting Om Mani Padme Hum mantra, I don't have much desire to eat meat. I felt like vomiting after I had some meat after chanting.( Does anyone has similar effect?) 

Monks are different, they do not ask specifically for meat. They accept whatever is offered to them when they go on alms. 

As for me, since I'm a lay person. I do not want to pay for a meal that cause another sentient being to suffer just because I crave for the meat. After meditation and thinking of animals suffering stop me from eating meat. Anyway, nowadays there are lots of delicious vegetarian food. If you think about it, it is not the meat that is delicious. It is just the seasoning coated on the meat that is delicious. 

The Greatest Treasure

When I was young, the only Buddhist sutra is the Heart Sutra. I got to know about Heart Sutra from TVB channel when the drama featured Buddha's teaching. Thus, the title of my blog is Heart Sutra and Buddhism. 

As I read up more on Buddhism, I realised there are so many other sutras besides the Heart Sutra. There are the Lotus sutra, the Diamond and Suragama sutra. Sometimes I wonder when I finish reading all the sutras. 

For this, I am really grateful to Master Ananda, Buddha's younger cousin and disciple who remembered and shared Buddha's teaching. 

Buddha is right, we can never satisfy our endless desire and material pursuit is not the key to happiness. Even though I have hundreds of pens, I still buy whenever I see new design. 

I tried meditation because Buddha said the only way to be liberated from endless samsara is through meditation. When I sat in quiet meditation, I felt immense peace and joy. Sometimes I recite Om mani padme hum mantra during meditation. After few months, I stop eating meat. I just lost the desire to eat meat. Do you also have the same experience? 

Sometimes I just feel tired of the endless samsara. There are times when I wonder if others feel the same. Sometimes I ask what is the purpose of my life? My body is a vehicle for my soul in this human realm. Like all living beings, our body can at most last 100 years if you get to enjoy a long life but at 100 years old, the body will be old and weak. Nothing last forever. Only a clear conscience that you have done your part in this life, giving help when ever possible.

If someone ask me what is the greatest treasure in this world, I will say it is Buddha's teaching. He selflessly taught the Dharma which encapsulated what he knew to the path to enlightenment to many people. Thus, it is important to share his teaching to others and stop false teaching propagated by others. 

From Buddha
"I have delivered all the sentient beings as I could and have planted the seeds of deliverance  for those who have yet to be delivered.

Let the Precepts be your Teacher, and my Teaching as your guide, and I will be you forever."