The meaning of Vegetarianism

Different people become vegetarian for different reasons. Some of the reasons include the following:

a. health and fitness

b. religion

c. compassion

d. beauty and complexion

There may be some other reasons, but the above are the more general types of reasons given for vegetarianism. However, what is the true meaning of vegetarianism in terms of Buddhism?

Our Lord Sakyamuni Buddha did not enforce vegetarianism to the Sangha. His lifestyle is one of collecting food dana in the morning for His daily meals, and He never made any rules about the food being vegetarian. In fact, He ate whatever was given by those who wish to give without any discrimination. The food acts only as a nourishment to this body, not for enjoyment.

Simplicity as key

His example was to show us about simplicity. Today, we are very unlike our Lord Buddha, because we are petty about our foods. We demand gourmet foods even if we are vegetarians. Even when we enter the vegetarian shops, we demand for vegetarian foods that look like meat. Fake look-alike foods are now being processed to feel and taste like real meat, and then we, the "vegetarians" say that these foods are delicious. Whatever happened to the objective of making our hearts calm and simple?

True, vegetarianism started during the Tang Dynasty by the emperor to enforce the rule of "abstain from killing". There are benefits to this, but the most important thing about this first precept of non-killing is that it is not just the physical act. To fulfill the non-killing precept, one should also not hurt another being, whether by action, speech or even thoughts. In the Mahayana Buddhism, your thoughts are already part of the karmic seeds, not after you have acted it out. If you wish to become a vegetarian by religion for this precept, you should also learn to control your thoughts to goodness and not a single thought of harm. That is how it should be. Vegetarianism is NOT a ritual for fame.

Inspiration

My inspiration for simplicity in vegetarianism was after watching the late Sister Teresa Hsu's interviews. She would eat fresh vegetables without adding on any flavouring. I also get my inspirations from some very well known old monks who would make their own meals even at the age of 80, and the meals are simply rice and unflavoured vegetables.

No oil cooking

I tried. First with a dash of oil and soy sauce, then only soy sauce and finally only water. You will notice in my vegetarian meals blog entries of how simple my cooking is. Without oil, I may get hungry sooner, but I found that the food is not as rough as what they claimed (some chef claimed that foods need oil so that the textures won't be so rough). In fact, the foods are pretty soft and nice with just a little bit of water added for the cooking. Just nice.

The Benefits

a. Health benefits - There are other significant changes as well. The last month saw a whole lot of my colleagues getting cough and flu, but I was not affected. I can even stay in the same room as those who are having flu but not affected at all.

b. Skin improvements - I used to have some small oil bumps (is that what they are called) between my cheeks and my lower eye lids. The beautician told my mom that it was due to cholesterol or fats, whatever. For a while when I went swimming, I had reduced these bumps a little, but they do not disappear totally. It was ok, though, for I had freckles. Nobody noticed it that much. But taking vegetarian even for just half a day had helped to flatten most of the oil bumps, so it would be a matter of time where these bumps would no longer be there. However, I am not always a full-day vegetarian, at night I only reduce my meat consumption, not eliminate them totally since it would be hard on the hawkers to produce such foods for me. Let them cook what they are capable of for their living.

c. More regular heartbeats - My heartbeat was irregular. My dad died of myocardial infarction, or heart attack. I had some symptoms too, and the doctor warned me against being too hectic. I have been taking some tea to help with this (Gynostemma, let me blog about this later) and yes, being a vegetarian helps too. The way I cook the food means that they are not heavy meals, easily digested and nutrients easily absorbed as well. At least now I seldom experience that skipped heartbeat condition that was very regular previously, that which anytime I might experience a cardiac arrest without much notice.

d. Better waistline and flatter stomach - My goal for vegetarianism was not about the waistline or my stomach, but it happens. This is like some bonus to me, because I have been putting on weight for the past 3 years. I did not try to lessen my weight deliberately, since there had been no real motivation to do so (never mind about my heartbeat, I was never afraid of dying suddenly). The vegetarian meals for lunch really kicked some fats off my tummy. But again, I don't take any added sugar or fats, which also helped in this.

e. Change in appetite - After eating vegetarian this way, I find that I need lesser and lesser foods. While I used to enjoy food of heavy flavouring in the past, now these heavy flavouring felt too heavy and I prefer foods that taste more natural. I can actually taste the sweetness in the vegetables. I love it!

f. Lower food costs - The foods that I buy are pretty simple. Per week, I do not spend more than RM20 for 5 days of lunch, which is so much cheaper than my previous expenditure of almost RM50 per week for lunch alone (food and drinks). If I eat out for lunch, it would be a minimum of RM5 per day (RM25 per week). Now that I have that extra bit of money, I can use them to expand my weekly bread delivery programme.

There are still a lot more micro bits of improvements to my life after being a half-day vegetarian this way, but the above are the immediate benefits that I experience. The others are a mix of vegetarianism and other practices, hence I am not listing them out here to prevent any confusion. Six benefits is already good enough to convince me to continue with this practice, and one day when I finally move in together with my boyfriend, I can always extend my vegetarianism to a full-day practice. I can always cook our dinner at home, non-vegetarian for him and vegetarian for me. No problem.